January 31st~
Sam started to make a cardboard house for his stuffed animals, but it did not take long for Trixie to claim it as her own.
I took the kids bowling at Big Al's and the kids could not get over the big chair.
January 15th~
Chris and the kids had Monday off for Martin Luther King Day, so they headed to Bogus Basin for the first skiing trip of the year.
January 6th~
Molly participated in the Caldwell Fine Arts musical for her third season. The program had grown so large that the play was divided into two sessions.
Molly was cast as a cook with multiple lines. Normally, we go to both productions of the play, but Chris was unfortunately on his Minnesota ice-fishing trip, and Sam had a basketball tournament all weekend. Still, Grandma and Grandpa were able to watch Molly on Friday night, and Auntie Kristin and I were able to watch her Saturday performance.
January 1st - 3rd ~
When we landed in California I received the following text from Molly.
It made me laugh and better yet, when I called my parents to get the story, they had no idea what I was talking about.
We rented a house in Topanga, California, high in the hills and trees, but we still spent a day on the beach at Santa Monica Pier.
On the way, Chris and Jody spotted a rock shop. From the pictures it looks impressive. Later, I found out Chris got me a beautiful flower necklace for Valentine's Day.
I was feeling nostalgic and ordered champagne from France. It wasn't from Reims, but it was still fantastic.
I also got a run in along the beach and saw a pod of dolphins.
There was also a little relaxation.
January 1st~
Jody has always loved parades, and seeing the Rose Parade in person has always been a dream of hers. We decided to make that dream come true as a 70th birthday present. Unfortunately, tickets sell out quickly, so we gave this to her for her 70th but waited a year and made it two weeks before her 71st birthday.
I am not a fan of crowds, and it was reported that 700,000 people were at the parade, but I have to say I was pretty impressed and happy I got to be there. However, I also feel like it was one and done.
The parade started with a stealth plane flyover. It was surreal how quiet it was until it was almost on top of us.
The parade route was 5.5 miles and included 84 floats and bands. It took over an hour to reach our section.
The floats were beyond impressive, but both Chris and I were surprised by how much we enjoyed the marching bands.
During the parade, Chris noticed the Pulaski, Wisconsin marching band was there, which is where his college roommate was from. Proving it is a small world, as we were walking away from the parade, Chris spotted his college roommate, Chris Glinski. It turned out he had kids performing in the marching band.
After the parade we had tickets to the Floatfest that allowed us to walk around the floats. Seeing them up close was mind blowing. The floats had to be made of all natural materials.
