Happy 2010: Part 2!

The first day after Christmas my family was heading to Santa Barbara, and Jake and I spent the whole day with the Moffats. We had such a great time! I don't know if I've adequately expressed this, but the Moffats are some of the most fun people in the world. Everything about them, everything they do is big and over the top and sure to entertain. We went to see Sherlock Homes, which was highly entertaining all by itself (if not all for Mr. Downey, Jr.--my pick for the Golden Globe--yea!) and we all sat together. This activity, as it was, with the Moffats, is among the most fun in the world for the following, numerous reasons:

1. Because the Moffats have very big reactions to things so the laughter is loud, raucous, and fabulous.
2. There are a lot of us, so we take up nearly two full rows which ensures that at any time during the movie, a very large portion of the theater is having a rip, roaring time.
3. The Moffats are very friendly and they know a lot of people. If any one of them ever finds themself in a place where they don't know a lot of people, that circumstance will most definitely and immediately change. They will say hello, they will tell you all about their day, they will hug you, and share your popcorn. Which makes them all undeniably and irrevocably loveable. What does this have to do with seeing a movie, you ask? Well, let's just say it makes the acts of getting to your seat, leaving from your seat, gettting M&Ms at the concessions counter, and watching the previews a LOT more interesting.
4. The world is a stage for the Moffats, and the larger the crowd, the larger the audience. The "showman/stand-up comedian" effect multiplies the more Moffats you have together, and we happened to see this film on one of the most popular movie days of the year when (almost) all of them were together . . . you get the picture. *(We missed you Rich and Lo!)
So after the movie, we all went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Gecko Grill, where the entertaining mayhem rolled along and the bubbling, enthusiastic recognition of friends continued with every three out of four patrons who walked through the door. Aren't they lovely? *(Megan is rockin' a new touch-of-golden-highlights look that I, for one, am loving.)Two things Jacob has been really into lately (besides, ahem, me, of course): Rubik's cubes and ping pong. Kind of adorable. And very quizzacle. He plays the latter with his buddies from work a lot and I came to watch the other night, making a tiny joke about a play, and then paying a dear price in dirty looks for making light of what was, evidently, a very serious matter. Don't let this picture fool you into thinking it's all about fun. Moffat boys throw down, too. At 2 AM, in the freezing desert, they will talk smack like champions, and play like little leaguers, but all with lots of heart!!

Two days after Christmas, my daddy's birthday, we headed to Santa Barbara for the annual "Dalton Reunion." This is our 6th year celebrating the week after Christmas there. It is such a fun and relaxing place. You should all come visit (and stop by to say hi to me on your way to and from!) Some of my favorite times include:

1. Nieces and nephew time! Did I already mention that I love every waking second I get with my nieces and nephews? Not sure I did. Let me elaborate one more time.

We get to read stories!
And hang out at bedtime! *(Oh my goodness, look at that little Iris' face?)
And go to the darling new gelato shop on State Street!

2. Sister Time! There is a person in this world that likes to shop as much as I do, and it is my sister. We took a ladies night to State Street and perused the farmer's market. The fun thing about perusing with Rachel is that when she gets a night to herself, she talks about her kids and all the things that remind her of her kids (which, I don't mind a bit, because in case you've forgotten, I love them!) This avocado was one such reminder, as was the yellow bike with training wheels (Evie), and the carrots with the tops on (Devlin), but darn it all I can't remember why we took this picture of the avocado. She's adorable though, no?

3. New Year's Eve! This is a Dalton party: low-key--a welcome change to the rest of the year when I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, which is about what it feels like living in Southern California and working in the business we do. This year's flavor: Scrabble Slam, lots of chocolate, diet sodas, and those blowy, paper things.

But darn it all if we're not dressing up for it! We all switched accessories, and I was totally in love with this silver ball necklace of my sister's and the idea of wearing it on New Year's! You know, Times Square . . . the countdown. Well, I got a kick out of it.
This was the sass photo. Um, I really went for it.

To the nines. (Or should I say, the '10s! Ha!)

The annual New Year's Eve kiss photo. Jacob totally loves this. I couldn't get him to stop smooching me or taking pictures of the two of us, for that matter, all night long. Really, it was just ridiculous. (*or that could have been me. wink.)

4. New Years Day! Here's the unofficial annual family photo, outside our favorite restaurant: Tupelo Junction. And evidently, we have A-list taste. Ashley Olsen was brunching there, too. First official star sighting of 2010. (Maybe my first one ever? Huh.)

Isn't she beautiful?! The grandkids love Nana. She gives them each so much time and attention. And who knew? She's also an amazing Wikki Stix artist, as you can plainly see by the beautiful sculpted flowers in lucky Evie's hands.

To me, there's only one bad thing about the holidays: the end. It's true, I still have all my Christmas decorations lit and shining in our place (which was technically Jacob's idea this year--cute, I'm growing on him.) But unofficially, Christmas decorations at our place stay up through today, Martin Luther King, Jr. day. And this year probably longer. I'm really okay to take them down, now, really. We just don't have another place to put them . . .

So, what does sweet Jacob do to cheer me up the day the holidays are over and the vacation ends and I have to go back to real life and (another seemingly very uncertain) 2010? He takes me to The Princess and the Frog in downtown Brea. WHICH WE BOTH LOVED! And here he is afterward, chatting it up with a reindeer. *(?)

Brea really is a good place for me. They were playing Christmas music down the streets here even though it was the day after New Year's. And since we're on the subject, we'll be here in Brea another month due to a mini miracle today. Jacob's end date for Yo Gabba, which was originally December 20th, which was then extended to January 29th, has now been pushed back again to the 12th of February. This job will not be permanent as they will eventually run out of work completely as they wrap post production, but we acknowledge this as an answer to prayers in that it gives us more time to find the next job. This opportunity to work on Yo Gabba Gabba has been the answer to so many prayers and the reason for so many friendships. We are so happy to squeak out two more weeks of it.

Whew! I think we're caught up! Me, and the two of you reading this, I'm sure are delighted. Well, may you two have a very, very wonderful new year! ;) Love you!