Christmas

After our activity filled trip to San Fransisco, all of us Heppner's were ready for a few days of lounging at home. Sunday we went to church and had a quiet afternoon, but on Monday, we headed up to Sequoia National Park with Byron and Kristal. On the way there we had a picnic lunch on the side of the road. There was snow at 6000 ft (but not at 5000 ft, weird....), so we needed to put snow chains on the van. The weather was mild and Joel and Kezia were thrilled to be reunited with snow; that was until they slipped and fell and got their bums wet. We went to see General Sherman (the largest tree in the world), took lots of pictures, hunted for Jack's soother (and found it!!) and headed back home.
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On Christmas Day the kids didn't get up as early as we expected. Carl read a Christmas story to all the kids, we sang a few songs and then opened the presents. It was quite the show and everyone was happy with the gifts they got. Some highlights were Joel and Kezia's Christmas socks, Sam's motorcycle, Asha's baby toys, the tissue paper for Jack, the hot wheels track for Joel and Kezia's new dress up dress and matching shoes. We had a nice brunch of french toast, bacon and fresh oranges that we picked that morning. By the time we finished eating, it was time to rest. Whew!
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For supper we decided to have Tostados. It's kind of fun to have the freedom of choosing the meal and the activities of Christmas Day. In past years at this time of year, we are all running from one family gathering to another. We feasted on our Mexican meal and then after supper we went for a walk along Huntington Ave. to see all the Christmas lights.

The next day, we did a little photoshoot of all the kids for Christmas. It was quite the challenge trying to get 5 pairs of eyes to look at you and look at least slightly amused. It was somewhat of a novelty for us Canadians to capture Jack's and Asha's first Christmas on the lawn in California, with the backdrop of palm trees. I think we got many great pictures and made some special memories.
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