Christmas Part 2 -- L.A. Story

We flew out to L.A. on Christmas morning to join Papa Tig and Mimi for a visit with Mark, Monica, Maya, and Emma.  This is the adorable house we rented off of VRBO.  It's Rita Hayworth's childhood home!

Swimming in December?  Sure, why not!

Papa Tig continuing to be a good sport ...

Chris and Maya, on the other hand, preferred to use a sleeping bag for one of its intended purposes -- lounging while watching a movie.

We visited the Skirball one afternoon.  It's a Jewish cultural center that -- among many other things --  has an amazing children's area that looks like a floor-to-ceiling animal-filled Noah's ark that kids can climb and explore.

The ladies did a little interpretive dancing in the activity room.

For our last night in town we headed to Benihana.  It was our kids' first time to eat teppanyaki-style at a griddle/table, but they rocked it.

Blurry (bad lighting), but too funny not to include.

Chopstick antlers.

Smoothing out her chopsticks, because apparently, Scarlett is a chopstick savant (see video below) and didn't want to get splinters.

Here's a video of Scarlett eating with chopsticks.  (She's not a fan of the corn, which she spit back out.  Bad etiquette, but I've learned that rubbing your chopsticks together is as well, so at least she's consistent.)

Max shows off his skills.

Next up ... Disneyland!

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Side note:  no photographic evidence like I had with Cuba Gooding Jr. a few years ago, but one night when we were out to dinner in Beverly Hills with Mark and Monica (Mimi and Papa Tig were watching the kids), we sat at a table next to Robert Duvall and his wife.  I never in a million years would have noticed him, and even when he was pointed out to me, it took me a good ten minutes to realize it wasn't Robert De Niro.  (Duvall/De Niro; tomato/tomatoh.)

(Update:  I was stalking Robert Duvall online and found this random photo on the Daily Mail's website of him and his wife leaving lunch in their green Range Rover with her behind the wheel.  This is exactly what they were driving (with her driving as well) when they left dinner, so pretend that it's nightime and imagine us in the restaurant watching this go down through the big windows at the front of the restaurant.)

 

Christmas Part 1 -- Old El Paso (or New Mexico, if you want to get technical about it ...)

We had a whirlwind travel schedule this Christmas and New Years.  First up on the itinerary was New Mexico to visit BB.  (I'm sure I'm totally confusing the kids because I always call it El Paso even though BB and Mimi/Papa Tig all live in New Mexico just outside of El Paso.  But I digress.)

Scarlett and BB on BB's back patio.  The lighting is harsh, but the Franklin Mountains are behind them.  Cha Cha watches on.  Enjoy your two minutes of not being held by a toddler or preschooler, Cha Cha, because you're about to not be put down for three days straight.

See?  What did I tell you, Cha Cha?

Chris and Max playing a little croquet.  (p.s. -- I don't think that's how you play croquet)

Shuffleboard at BB's friend's house.  Max was surprisingly good at this.  Check out the tongue -- helps to concentrate.

Another friend let us borrow her golf cart so the kids could take a ride around the neighborhood.

It was really cold and we even got a few snow flurries (although nothing stuck), so we checked out an indoor play area.  Here's Max rounding up some dinosaurs.

Lunch with Denise, Mike, and the boys.

We stopped at the main overlook along scenic drive so the kids could climb rocks -- one of their favorite activities.

A little El Paso-style wind can't stop Scarlett the Rock Climber.

"I'm king of the world!"

A few photos before BB's annual Christmas Eve party.  Not a lot of cooperation from anyone except BB.

BB with my cousins William and Greg.

The kids got to meet their baby cousin Austin (Greg and his wife Courtney's new baby) while William skulked around mysteriously in the background.

Dressed in their Christmas pajamas leaving cookies for Santa.

Checking out what Santa left on Christmas morning.

Wow, I'm SO SURPRISED!  He got Scarlett a robe just like she asked!

Cookies and Castles 2014

We joined Amy, Stella, and Henry for our annual trip to Cookies and Castles Gingerbread Extravaganza -- a Tri Delta alumnae fundraiser for Texas Scottish Right Hospital for children.

Some photos beforehand (and this was inexplicably before anybody got amped up on sugar (I'm looking at you, Scarlett)).   Max was finally old enough to come! 

Anyone who knows Scarlett is not surprised to hear that she is not into Santa (or at least not the talking to/sitting on his lap part; the bringing her presents part she is totally into).  So in prepping her for our visit, we settled on writing him a letter that she could give to him.  I wrote most of the letter and then she wrote in what she wanted (a robe, ha!), signed her name, and decorated it with a flower and stickers for good measure.

Hello, Henry and Stella!

Max takes a quick look around to make sure nobody catches him eating the candy.  Smooth move, buddy.

Happy girls.

I put the icing where the kids wanted it and then let them have it.  They both did a great job.

Note the big "M" on the roof for "Max" (his request).  

The masterpieces.

Checking out the trains while waiting in line for Santa.

Ah, Santa.  One of these days my children will not be terrified of you.  But this was not that day.  (And now that Hattie is here, his reign of terror over the little Schwegmanns will almost surely be extended by another five years or so.  By the time all three are collectively over their Santaphobia, Scarlett will probably think sitting on his lap is lame and will refuse to do it for pre-teen-angst-y reasons rather than who-is-this-strange-guy-in-a-fake-beard-and-bizarre-fuzzy-red-outfit reasons).  Regrettably, I didn't take a picture of the Santa picture before putting it away with the Christmas decorations.  And I know myself well enough to admit there is no way I'm going to dig them out now to find that photo, and I'm already six-plus months late posting this Christmas post in JULY, for crying out loud.  So just close your eyes and imagine the cooperative Kovac children and Amy smiling happily, my pregnant self with a crazy "we WILL take this Santa photo and WE WILL ENJOY IT" smile holding Max in my lap while he desperately tries to squirm away and run for his life, and Scarlett safely standing several feet to the side of the photograph because she doesn't even want to be in Santa's field of vision much less his lap.  Sounds like a keeper, doesn't it?

Letting off some steam after surviving the Santa encounter.  

Riding the "elevator" on the awesome playground (we've been to several birthday parties at this playground, it's great).

More silliness.  Max takes it in ...

... and decides he wants no part of the tomfoolery.