Christmas Break with the Richeys

We spent a wonderful (and very busy) Christmas break with the Richey family this year. It began with a fun drive down to my parents' house, which we spent writing parody Christmas songs for the different members of my family. That's been our little tradition for three years running, now!

We hit bad traffic in LA, so it was a huge relief to finally make it. Cal loves his cousins and grandparents so much. My mom read the boys books that night. We were all so tired!

Here's my little Cal, fast asleep Christmas Eve:

This next shot isn't a great photo, but it does seem to capture the awesome chaos that is Christmas morning at the Richey home. My favorite is Brooks in the foreground. It was so fun to play with the twins. They're getting super big, and very mischievous. :)

Some of the highlights as far as presents this year included Mr. Whale, a toy that Reed's sister Diana apparently stole from him when he was younger. This was an act of sibling reconciliation.

Cal received Thomas Trouble from his cousin Brandon, which we love!

My parents got Cal a totally cool VW van pop-up tent. Carson got a tent, too, and the boys stored their gifts and treasures inside all week while playing. We all thought they were the best, until we attempted to put them away. Reed, my dad and my brothers spent hours consulting youtube videos to no avail. We're still not sure if we put it away correctly. I'm kind of scared to take it out again!

The days after Christmas were wonderful -- and busy! We enjoyed wonderful weather, which we tried  (and failed) to feel guilty about, given the frozen state of the rest of the country.

My mom and dad took us all to The Lion King at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, which is an amazing building in the Art Deco style.

My mom is so good at planning fun activities and making it convenient for everyone, and my dad is always so generous about treating us to these awesome events. They even arranged babysitters for the kids so we could go. I love spending time with them and making memories.

After our big putting to the Lion King, we set our sights on prepping for Rachel and Taft's wedding, and hosting the groom's family. It was so fun to meet the Memmotts. We spent hours playing "Time's Up" (it was the biggest group we've ever had!), rocking out to "Just Dance" on the Wii, and going to movies at the Krikkorian. 

Reed, Cal, and I saw Frozen (which I loved -- highly recommend it), and got in a little time at the theatre arcade, too!

The weekend was filled with meaningful events for our family, including Rachel's endowment on Friday, the beautiful wedding ceremony Saturday morning, a fun luncheon with close family, and the reception at the carriage house that evening. Rachel looked beautiful, and we are excited to have Taft in our family.

And check out these two little friends in their wedding outfits. They were so good the whole day!

I love the holidays, and I'm so glad we got to see our families during this special time of year!