We all got together for the holidays this year. All my siblings and all the cousins have been hanging out this week all over Southern California. The weather has been a bit frustrating, but we still managed to have some fun.
We were all at Mortensen Manor by Sunday night and were able to take a family picture with everyone in it. It's been a long time since that happened.On Monday everyone in Redlands went to the movies. We weren't there so we did not go.
On Tuesday everyone came down here and we went to the Mormon Battalion Museum down in Old Town. After the museum tour we had a picnic lunch in the square of Old Town. The kids loved running around and playing games.
Tuesday night my sister took all my kids back to her house for a slumber party. It was wonderful, but weird having my house so quiet. I spent that quiet time putting away the rest of the Christmas decor.
Wednesday we drove back up to Redlands to join the rest of the family in fun. Everyone else went to the San Bernadino Natural History Museum. That night all the adults were able to go to the Temple and all the kids stayed home. It's amazing that the grand kids are old enough to do that now.
Tuesday night my sister took all my kids back to her house for a slumber party. It was wonderful, but weird having my house so quiet. I spent that quiet time putting away the rest of the Christmas decor.Wednesday we drove back up to Redlands to join the rest of the family in fun. Everyone else went to the San Bernadino Natural History Museum. That night all the adults were able to go to the Temple and all the kids stayed home. It's amazing that the grand kids are old enough to do that now.
Thursday we said goodbye to some family, but the party continued. We played lots of games inside and out and that night we had a murder mystery dinner. It was set up in Napa Valley at a Wine Vineyard. We had grape juice in wine glasses and lots of cheeses and crackers. We had a light Italian dinner while the game continued. It was a lot of fun. Damon ended up being the murderer. There were lots of laughs and even more fake accents. I didn't take any pictures of that and I am still kicking myself.
We celebrated New Year's Eve, a separate post, on Friday.
Saturday morning everyone went to the church for games and the great trash can races. Saturday evening we had a fun talent show. The talents ranged from standing on one's head to playing the violin, but we all seem to have AMAZING talents.
It was a great family gathering. Thanks to Mortensen Manor for hosting and to Pookie for planning. It was nice not being involved at all with the organizing I might add.
Twas a few days after Christmas and all through the house everyone was stirring except for a mouse (thank heavens for that because if there were a mouse it would really do me in right now). The presents were opened and wrappings were thrown all over the place and it made us all groan. We dashed to Riverside for some Christmas Cheer (Samoan style) and then headed to Redlands for some fun that was sheer.
We played games and sang songs that made us all merry you would think that we had all drinked some sherri. (i know that is horrible English, but it rhymed) 
We've been doing some Christmas crafts in the house and having a lot of fun. Here's a look.
Lily had her second ballet recital tonight. She was a snowflake. At least that is what they all looked like. She did a great job and was all smiles. We are very proud of her.
Here is a taste of the show. It's kind of far, the camera wouldn't zoom in more than that. 
On a happier note, we had our church's Christmas party last weekend and the boys sang a song while Damon played the Uke.
The week was hard without dad being around. The kids and I missed him a lot during the week. On Thursday we decided to take a break from the normal routine of school and we drove up to Disneyland for the whole day. We had lots of fun. It was a tad bit more crowded than I liked, but we still managed to have a great time. We danced in snow on Main Street, sang along with Small World, screamed our brains out on Space Mountain, climbed through caves on Pirates Lair, and were mesmerized by the fireworks display that night. It was a great day and the best way to fill the rest of the week until dad got home.
If you never have been to Disneyland during the Christmas Holiday you should do it at least once in your life. Here is a little taste of it.
The holidays are in full swing at the Afualo household. We got our tree, decorated it and the house. The cards are ordered. The Advent calendar was actually put up on time this year and we are having a lot of fun with it. We got a smaller tree this year to avoid some of the craziness that comes with a tall tree. Well, the smaller tree brought the same issues. We ended up having to get a bigger tree stand and it was still a pain to get in the house and set up. Every year we tell ourselves we are going to get a fake tree and every year we end up with a real one. We just love them and their pine smell. 
Time to get baking.
We left Monday morning to drive to St. George to spend our Thanksgiving Holiday with Damon's family. We had a nice drive. We stopped in Las Vegas to visit the M&M store. It was Lily's idea. We also noticed how fast the temperature was dropping the closer we got to our destination.
Tuesday we celebrated Damon's birthday. He was well taken care of by his parents. He had cake, got to golf, relax, and go out to dinner. It was a good day for him. My sister and BIL also stopped by that day on their way to Vegas.
Wednesday we took the kids to go see Tangled. It was a cute movie although Lily was bawling at the end because she thought the fake mother was really mean and that Flynn had died. I can't take that girl anywhere without her getting emotional now a days. She must get that from her dad. Auntie Dara and Uncle Brian came that night and the kids just love spending time with them. Damon and I were also able to go to the St. George Temple. We had a nice time there.
Thanksgiving morning Dara and I started the day out right with a good run... inside, not out. It was in the 20's*F. We drove to Las Vegas to have dinner with some extended family members. The kids got to meet some more cousins and enjoyed their time there.
