December 2011

 More crafts and friends in prep for Christmas.  Here #3 and his friend Caleb make Christmas notebook gifts.

My Daddy turned 60, and I got to go!  In fact, all of us kids surprised him.  First we gathered at Wendy's, where Em invited Mom for a frosty.  She had no idea we'd be there, and it was super fun to see her reaction, especially because the day before she'd told me she wished she'd thought to bring us all out.  I'd just told her we could've thought of it, too...  :)  Then Gene and Quynh took Dad to dinner like they always do, and we all walked in after they were seated.  It was funny because Dad said he really felt like we were all coming, so he was let down when he got home to a quiet house and again when we weren't waiting at the restaurant.  Glad we waited to walk in!

 This is our baby sister Allie (#5 in our family) and my beautiful niece, Cienna.

 This is my Dad and next younger sister, Annie (#3).

 This is my nephew, Charlie, and I (#2) at the San Francisco zoo.

 Quality time by the hippos--our favorite place to stop for lunch.  Dad's holding Max next to Quynh (married to #1).

This is my brother, Gene (#1), and my nephew, Preston.

This is my sister, Emily (#4), holding Max.

 

Charlie got his very first haircut during our visit.

 #1 did the Christmas tuba fest again this year.  We sent videos to Grandma, who LOVES tuba music, and really had a blast listening to their fun music.

 More friends and crafts

 We got Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas this year.  It was wonderful.  My parents come about once a quarter, and it is really fun to watch their relationships grow with these boys.