Connor won the special “character pillar” award for Trustworthiness for his class, and was awarded it during the Flag Friday ceremony.
It happened to also be “Dress Like A Pirate” spirit day for 4th and 5th grade, which explains Gavin’s fashion choice.
We got in one last trip to Universal before our annual passes expired. The boys got to try “butterbeer” (a drink from the Harry Potter books), which tasted like extremely sweet butterscotch soda.
The boys had fun learning to cross-stitch and stamp leather this year. They also got to drive the competition robots made by a couple of high school teams.
This year, Gavin was living his MLB dreams dressed as Mike Trout.
Connor was representing Hogwarts as Harry Potter. His buddy Helena was Voldemort, so I imagine they spent all day dueling.
The two new baby elephants, Zuli and Kaia, are a lot of fun to watch run around and play.
For the first time in a long time, I was in the same city as my parents, brothers, and sisters for a family holiday. We all gathered in Portland at my Mom and Dad’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving.
My brother Nick came down from Seattle and cooked a delicious Turkey. Connor and my little sister Michalea made a cake for my niece Camdyn’s birthday. The house was packed with food, family, and dogs!
We were given some Legoland tickets a while back, so we decided to use them to check out the holiday decorations.
Although the boys have outgrown most of the rides, they still had a good time. Especially at the end of the night, when we rode the Ninjago ride over and over, until the park closed.
After only 3 months of once-a-week classes, the band was ready to put on their first concert. They sounded great!
Some of the songs they performed:
During the holidays, the Zoo celebrates with Jungle Bells, where it decorates with light displays and remains open late so visitors can enjoy them.
The animals were all asleep once the sun went down, so there wasn’t much to see besides the lights, but it was an interesting experience.
I’m amazed any of my photos turned out, because I was shooting in the dark with no flash.
Another nice and sunny San Diego Christmas. In the morning, the boys opened their presents. Then we headed to Eddie and Sally’s house in the afternoon, for Christmas dinner and a few more presents.
We started off the afternoon looking at some beautiful gems on display in the Nat’s new minerals exhibit. Then we went up to the roof to check out the view, which was open to the public for the holiday week.
Next, we headed across the plaza to the Fleet, to play with electromagnetism. The boys learned how a telegraph works and practiced their Morse code skills.
