Eastside Rehab Holiday Party

Brea works for a Physical Therapist office and Wednesday (December 19, 2007)they had the party at Hill Country Barbeque it was a lot of fun. There was a lot of good (free)food and it was great to have friends, collegues and family there with us. The band was...interesting, but we all enjoyed the night.

How the Grinch Stole Chistmas

For Christmas Ben and My bosses (our bosses are married) gave us two tickets to go see "How the Grinch Stole Chistmas" on Broadway. We saw it Tuesday December 18 and it was great. We both agreed that the Who's were a little creepy at first (their bodies were weird shapes and they were so gittery) but it really brought the holiday spirit. The music was fun and lively and the set was amazing. It was a children's show, so it was short and to the point. It was very fun for us to go.
On the way home we went to John's Pizza. It was really good and a great way to end the night.

Statue of Liberty

The one last thing that I (Brea) really wanted to do before we left was go to the Statue of Liberty and on Saturday we got close. The actual tours cost money- so we took the Staten Island Ferry (FREE!) which goes right next to it. It was so great to be able to see this key image that represents our countries beliefs, freedoms and democracy. It was very special. It was also very cool to see the city from Staten Island- and to be able to see the buildings and skyline from a different angel (rather then from under it- ha). The boat drops off at Battery Park- which has such a great history and story (war monuments, ect).

Then on our way home we went to China town and Little Italy for more Christmas bargain shopping. It was a wonderful day and was so much fun to be out and about- but together. It was great.

Bryant Park at Christmas

We were going to go ice skating at Bryant Park (but it was kind of expensive- and cold) so we just walked around instead. The park was decorated very beautiful and there were many holiday booths and things set up for the holidays. It was fun to walk around and see all the interesting things being sold (life sized figurines made of junk, muppets, ect).

Rockefeller Center and Sax Fifth Avenue

This week we experienced Christmas in New York. We went to the Rockefeller Center to see the big Christmas tree. It was magical to see all the lights and it was a wonderful way to get us into the Christmas spirit. We also walked past the Radio City Music Hall (where the Rockets perform) and we walked up and down 5th Avenue (very high end stores). We had a chance to see the Sax Fifth Avenue music/light show and to go in and explore the famously expensive store. It was absurd how much everything cost ($995 scarf) and we both decided that we would never want to spend money in such frivolous ways- but it was interesting to see. We were able to shop at street vendors for Christmas gifts- and do some pretty good bargaining. It was very festive, cold and holiday-ish.

Farwell to CA

Saturday Night we went on a date to In-n-Out Burger and then went back to Dana Point to see the Christmas Boat Light Parade. It was kind of cold- so we didn’t stay to watch the parade but it was cool to see all the boats decorated for Christmas. It was a very relaxing and peaceful evening together.

Sunday we went to church and then just hung out with the family. We taught the older boys how to play poker with cheerios (a very useful skill) and played with the little ones. Then Monday we had to say our goodbyes- we also went to a Mommy-and-Me Christmas Party- and then we were on our way back to NY. The trip was a blast and it was great to see Ben and Andrea. We love them and miss them already.