So many things to do while were in California. We thought a day at the Zoo would be nice. I hadn’t been there since I was in Kindergarten. It was lots of fun, and Evan seemed to enjoy all of the animals. It was a beautiful day and well worth the drive.
Daddy with his own little monkey!
So we had a 2nd Birthday Party for Evan on his actual Birthday the 22nd. It was lots of fun, until it came to singing. He didn’t quite like that. Oh well. He understood the whole opening presents this time around.
We love going to the Dog Beach while were in California. We took Brian and Farrah with us this time. It wasn’t too cold but we didn’t brave the water.
Evan enjoyed playing in the sand. I had to fish some out of his mouth.
Christmas Eve, no we didn’t give Evan Sparkling Apple Juice.
Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, with Rolladen, Potatoes, Asparagus, and Gurkensalad. It was enjoyed by all.
Christmas morning we all slept in until 9:00. It was great. Evan has the opening presents thing down, and Charlie enjoyed watching.
The Grove is a really trendy outdoor shopping center in LA. We were told the Christmas decorations were spectacular, and they were. We spent the evening enjoying the lights and sounds of the season.
We are down in California Enjoying the warm weather. They have a beautiful Ginko Tree that they planted about 15 years ago. The leaves turn yellow and then start falling. If you get one big wind storm all the leaves drop which they did on this tree 2 days after we took these pictures. Evan seemed to like playing in the leaves and didn’t want to hold still for a picture.
So Evan’s Birthday is not until Saturday the 22nd for which we are going to be with Grandma and Grandpa Balke in California, so Grandma and Grandpa Barclay wanted to do something before we left for warmer weather. We had a little pre-birthday party on Wednesday, which if Oma knew about, yikes (according to her you don’t celebrate Birthdays early it brings bad luck) Hey, he’s only going to be 1 once. It was fun, and a good excuse to eat cake and ice cream. 
Our Friends the Fritz’s came too. Zayne and Evan thought the scooter was fun, they both wanted to go for a ride.
