How about adding on to a gingerbread neighborhood? Joel and Michaela put this together when they were here for Christmas, and left it for the girls to add on to. Today was a perfect day for it.
Anna seemed as much interested in eating it as in building it.
Ellie was a bit more used to doing programs this year and got into the motions of her songs.
She enjoyed her Christmas dress that she got from her Grandma & Grandpa Larsen in St. Paul.
Instead of our usual Christmas dinner menu, Joel treated us to his special varieties of chicken wraps.
Ellie and Anna loved entertaining Michaela.
After the adults heard a reading on the Christmas story and sang a Christmas carol, Joy led in the children's version of the Christmas story.
And, let's hear still another version from Uncle Joel.
Then, down in St. Paul, we took in Summer's dance recital. The next morning, on Christmas Eve, we gathered at Michelle & Pete's home to celebrate with their family. Newborn Rachel was 4 weeks old.
A little reluctant in the past, this time Anna warmed up to Uncle Pete quite soon.
And now we have four!
Summer enjoyed the gift of sea shells that we brought her from Auntie Gail in California.
On the first day there, Gail and her daughter Lisa took us south into the Sonoma valley, the land of grapes. Francis Ford Coppola recently bought a Souverain winery, and has transformed it into a showcase of his life's work.
Above is a display case with his awards, and the desk that appeared in The Godfather. Costumes and other items from the sets of his and his daughter Sophia's movies were on display.
The next day took us up north into the Avenue of the Giants, the coastal Redwoods. Here is the "Drive Through Tree," and we saw a number of cars fold in their mirrors and creep through the opening. One gal from New York got so excited that she started guiding cars through and volunteered to take pictures for people with their cameras. Before she left she had to make one more drive-through herself.
Gail and Lisa sitting in the opening of a felled Redwood tree.
Lisa packed a picnic lunch for us and we found a beautiful open spot near a river. The mountain air was fresh and sweet.
Then to the picturesque oceanside towns of Fort Bragg and Mendocino.
We were treated to Olallieberry pie and tea in a beautiful historic hotel in Mendocino. 
Gail was working on a project of making crafts for a local garden club fundraiser, and she asked Joy to teach her, and her husband David (so he could remind her of folding steps she might forget after we left) how to make origami ornaments.
Thanks Gail, David and Lisa for an unforgettable week!
Michelle, Pete & Summer were up this way recently, and Michelle and Summer joined Tim and his family at our place for breakfast on a Saturday morning. Summer, Ellie and Anna had a great time together. The video is a little fuzzy, but it shows how much Anna was enjoying being with the "big girls." I like the way she kicks the ball and brushes her hands together afterward.
(Tim following Joel out on the lake.)
Then time for smores.
The next morning, Tim headed back to work, and Joel and I had breakfast and headed out on the lake. There were a number of dead trees standing in water, and one inlet looked like a tree graveyard.
Then back to the camp to pack up and head home.
