Baby's First Christmas

California was once again a glorious way to round out the year. We enjoyed almost 2 weeks with the De Los Reyes clan. We were awed by a performance of Circ du Soleil's Corteo on the 23rd. Even Gregory was enchanted by it (well, most of it)! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with family, prayer, food, and music, as always. Then we journeyed up the coast to visit Solvang, a Danish town, Big Sur, home of the coastal Redwood trees, and Monterey - well the famous aquarium anyway. Near Solvang we visited the ranch of The Horse Whisperer, Monty Roberts, whose autobiography we listened to on the drive up - gotta love those books on tape! We saw wild elephant seals on the beach on our way to Monterey - it was calving season and it was hard not to stay forever watching this newborn pup trying to find his mother's teat - we're telling ourselves he did just moments after we departed! We hiked through the Redwoods to a waterfall, and visited Point Lobos State Reserve, one of the most beautiful coastal areas I've ever seen. And of course, we wrapped it all up with corned beef and cabbage (and dimes) on New Year's Day. Dan was in heaven, fitting in 3 rounds of golf in the perfect weather. And me, I was just feeling blessed to spend some desperately missed day to day time with my people, and share our little guy with them. There are a lot of pics, and these are only the best ones! Enjoy!


Also, sorry its sideways, but here's a video of Great Grandpa Wil talking to Gregory. He had a stroke about a year ago that took his speech, but it sure seems like Greg knows exactly what he's saying! They have a special rapport.