We went to Seattle this year to my folks house. I decided at the last minute to stay for a month so I could get some help with the kiddos. Fernando stayed for 10 days, then had to start his new assignment with Exxon back in Houston. He enjoyed being baby-less for the remaining weeks although he was a bit lonely.

We got to meet my sister Crystal’s new baby Megan (on the left) born 6 weeks before the twins. Such a cute little chunk. To get an idea of their difference in size, Megan wears 9 month size and the twins are in 3 month.

Some of the things we enjoyed over the holidays

It was so nice having help with the kids. Even with the help, I think I left the house on average twice a week. My parents babysat one night and treated us with tickets to go see Annie Get Your Gun, which was a super fun musical. We went to my favorite breakfast place: The Original Pancake House a couple of times and got the amazing apple pancake and bacon waffles.

Unfortunately we all caught a never ending cold. Mine turned into the flu, which let me tell ya, it stinks being sick when you have babies to care for! Thankfully my mom was there!

1. My sister Crystal made this amazing rainbow birthday cake that was to die for!

2. Grandma ice skating with the grand kids.

3. Everybody watching Cassidy play Angry Birds of the iPad. (You’d think the other kids would find something more interesting to do).

4. Story time with mom

My nephews got a puppy for Christmas. Lilly is such an adorable and well behaved puppy. Maybe she’ll finally convince my husband to get a dog…

As I was leaving, a great snow storm was hitting Redmond. I loved it! But we high tailed it out of there. My mom flew with me, and thankfully a lot of people missed the flight because of the snow, so we had empty seats next to us. The babies did surprisingly well on the flight.

 

 

This year we spend two full weeks in California for Christmas and New Years Main Beach Laguna

Fernando’s parents along with our niece and nephew, went to the beach (Mladineo tradition) on Christmas day, even though the weather was pretty chilly.

We took the kids for a stroll around RSM Lake

We met up with my college roommate Melissa at one of my favorite places in California, Balboa!

Our favorite pastime is Skeeball. But I totally scored the jackpot on that game where you have to push the button to catch the light.  Skillz baby skillz.

The banana’s were so heavenly, next time I have to get the x-large one.

I love this picture of my hubby in his aviators

We took a road trip to San Diego to visit some friends and go through the temple. It was so amazing! Definitely one of my favorites.

Carlos wanted to take the kids sledding at Bear Mountain. Unfortunately it took 3.5 hours to get there since one of the freeways was closed.

Beautiful views

I finally got my hair done (since I don’t know of any good places in Houston)

It was so cold, the kids weren’t too happy.

Carolina and I.

I don’t think I could feel my chin in this picture

We took advantage of having someone else take our picture of the two of us together.  That doesn’t happen very often.

One thing I had to do was go fabric shopping at the LA Fashion District

I scored huge at this store. Unfortunately we went on New Years Eve and I only had 20 minutes to shop.

Fresh mango and pineapples to go.  Such great street food!

Some yummy tacos

bacon wrapped hot dog

and taquitos

While in LA, we met baby Matthew, the newest Mladineo at the NICU at the UCLA Hospital who was born two weeks before Christmas

Seriously such a cute baby. He has the most gorgeous hair. We hope he can go home soon!

The waiting room at the hospital…gotta love smart phones

New Years Eve, Ferd’s mom made delicious empanadas

Delicious chocolate cookies

Grandma Gloria was ready to get the show on

We went to this really good donut shop in Mission Viejo called Donut World, unfortunately they didn’t have any Crullers left. But they did have really good buttermilk bars.

Fernando is the greatest husband to go fabric shopping with. I know most men can’t stand these stores.

M&L Fabrics discount store in Orange County.

This store was absolutely amazing though. Piles and piles of clearance fabrics and tons of flannel. The designer prices were very reasonable as well.

We dropped off our luggage at the airport and headed to the beach (Manhattan Beach) for one last time

I thought this dog was sitting so cute

It was a beautiful day to have to leave.

This past Sunday, our stake held its annual Christmas Concert. It featured 3 choirs: a children’s choir, a youth choir, and an adult choir. Overall, the music was pretty enjoyable; there were only a couple of songs that didn’t really fit very well. I hear the “Follow the Star” program back in California was a success.

After Christmas, we call got attacked with the flu. Nobody was spared. It was a rough couple of days, but we still managed to have fun.

RSM Lake

Diane happy by the lake

Sunset after one lap (i.e., mile) around lake

Pink’s Hot Dogs in Hollywood

Sadly, one of the worst hot dogs I’ve ever eaten

Diane’s coleslaw dog was better

When I’m home, I love taking walks around the lake. Boy, do I sound like an old person nowadays. Oh yeah, we also went to Pink’s Hot Dog stand in Hollywood. We waited at least 45 minutes in line and the food was NO GOOD! Seriously, I will never go back. The Food Network recommendation was a total let down for me. Diane enjoyed her dog, but I sure didn’t.

Moi

UCLA

My lover and me

Santa Monica Pier

Our poor tree!

Yes, can you believe it? We came home from LA and this is what the living looked like. Our poor tree lay prostrate on the ground. Fortunately, few ornaments were lost and the piano wasn’t hit. Anyway, that’s our vacation in a nutshell!

OK, so we’ve been terrible about blogging for the past two months. Things got busy and we’ve been spending a lot of time house hunting. Anyway, here’s a 30-second recap of our Christmas vacation in SoCal.

Wahoo’s Fish Tacos with the Sumans (Eric/Laura and Mark, Sara, and Makenna) and the Hopes (Jason/Elise)

Christmas Eve Dinner

Diane opening some gifts

Christmas Day dinner before making its way to the dining room

Laguna Beach after Christmas

We had a great time celebrating Christmas and once the rainy weather left (Christmas Day), we hit the beaches: Laguna, Newport, and Santa Monica.