So, after my week at home, Ben was due to arrive in Cali. Remember how I told you that we had flight issues? Well, Ben "missed" his connecting flight. I say "missed" because he didn't really miss it. He made it to the plane before it left (barely since his first flight was delayed), but they gave his seat away. Thanks a lot, United. They told him that he could get put on the flight the next day, but being awesome like he is, he told them that wasn't good enough. They taxied him to another airport about a hour away, and he got to California later that night. Finally.
We did a lot of relaxing, and Christmas shopping, and seeing family. A few days before Christmas, the whole family was over to decorate sugar cookies. The kids loved it, the adults loved it, and it was messy! Here are some of us hard at work.
Next up was Christmas. We went out to eat on Christmas Eve since most of the family was with their in-laws. That night we helped get all the presents situated for the next morning. And got some pictures in front of the Christmas tree.
On Christmas, before we opened any presents, we made everyone get together for a family picture. Some people were a little stressed about it, with a million kids and presents waiting to be unwrapped, but it went pretty smoothly. Here's the final result.
And the grandkids in front of the tree on Christmas morning.
Christmas was great. Wild, crazy and fun. As usual at the Ulrich house. It's always nice to be with family for the holidays, and you can't beat a Christmas in sandals. It was fabulous!
After Christmas was over, we had another week before we needed to head home. We spent our time taking advantage of having family close-by. We ran errands, ate good food, visited the beach and the zoo, and just enjoyed the sun (while we had it).
Here are some pictures from the zoo. We went with Danny, Errin & Matthew and I think Ben enjoyed it more than anyone.
Ben & Matthew with the giraffes. Probably the coolest thing we saw.
He wanted to walk around and look at everything.
The stroller wasn't doing it for him.
We also went to Balboa beach, because neither of us have had chocolate covered bananas, and we had to try them. It was fun to walk around the shops, and be on the beach and in the sun in December. I don't think I can ever say I love California too many times. =] And it was fun, even though Matthew was NOT ok in his car seat during the entire ride there. Haha.
With our bananas. They were tasty.
This cutie standing by the bird that was posed up on the pier. Ben was a little scared he might turn around and bite him. Which would have been awesome.
David, Tessa & Sammy. That boy is stinking cute.
Ben & Matthew, who was "cooing" - adorable.
Cousin Pals. Need I say more?
Sammy was loving the swing. All smiles from him!
Super buff Matthew. I mean, He IS an Ulrich.
Luckily, we were able to stay in California throughout the New Year, so we stayed up all night with some of the fam on NewYear's Eve to bring in 2014.
The most hilarious attempt at a group photo. Epic fail.
Ben & I. Always fun trying to get a decent picture with him.
Matthew REALLY liked the apple cider. =]
And a few other random pictures from the trip.
Ben loves my mom.
Dorky kids.
Ben creeped into this picture with Karly.
She was still scared of him at this point.
Mel & Sammy
Matthew in the car that specifically says "Do Not Sit." We're so safe.
It was a great trip! Lots of family time, good weather and no stress (or very little). It was nice to be with family for the holidays. I can't wait to visit again! =]
Remember how I told you we had travel issues? Well, we headed back to Halifax on January 2, ANNNND got stuck in the crazy winter storm. Due to the blizzard, crappy airline situations, and crazy extenuating circumstances, we spent a week in airports and hotels, and didn't get back to Halifax until the 9th. We spent countless HOURS in line (in one line for 8 hours), and had to deal with a million different people. We ended up traveling through 6 airports, and stayed in 3 different hotels. It was a nightmare, but in the end, we made it home safely. And thanks to my parents for helping with hotels, and friends who were on stand-by for us, things weren't as bad as they could have been.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Our checked luggage got lost part-way through our trip. And it showed up 3 days after we finally got home. Annoying? I think yes. So very annoying.
