A new year. A new decade. A new start.
But first, a look back at the holidays.
We picked up Savannah the afternoon of the 26th
of December at Long Beach Airport. Then, we joined her aunts, uncle, cousin and
her mother’s best friend for dinner. Everyone—including us—was so happy to see her!
We made it an early evening because we had to get up early
the following morning to go to Universal Studios. Savannah’s mom’s friend, Liz,
spent the night with us.
We left the house at 5:00 a.m. and made the very best time ever—one
hour, door to door! Our friend, Kit, got us passes. Such a wonderful gift!
We were early enough we even had time for breakfast at a
terrific waffle house near the park. Then on to Universal.
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly twenty years since we
worked for Universal Studios. How the park has changed! Gone are E.T,
Backdraft, Terminator 2, Back to the Future—most of the attractions we worked
on.
We headed first for the Harry Potter area. The theming on
the castle and queue area is fabulous! We were all Harry Potter fans, so we truly
enjoyed being in the environment.
We boarded the ride, but it stopped immediately. A woman
behind us fell. It took nearly 45 minutes to get her onto a gurney and get her
out of the building. They restarted the ride, but unfortunately, they left all
the work lights on, so the effects were compromised. Larry loved being able to
see all the mechanisms, but the storyline was lost.
We went by later to try it again, but the ride was shut
down.
We did get on the tram ride and enjoyed it a lot.
Liz and Savannah went on Transformers while we located a
table for lunch. (They were very hard to come by.) When they got off the ride,
they joined us, and we all ate.
Next, they went on the Mummy ride—after a two-hour wait! We went
on Transformers and the Mummy the last time we were in the park, so we chose to
sit them out.
We finished with the WaterWorld show. Still the best
live-action show in the world.
Then we went to Citywalk and had crepes for dinner.
Along the way, Savannah collected a few keepsakes.
We returned home, dropped off Liz, and returned to John
Wayne airport to pick up Kim. She arrived from Dallas on a late flight. Then
home and to bed.
The next day, the 28th, was the big family dinner
party. Members of Savannah’s family as well as ours came—about 24 altogether. I
loved seeing our big table filled along with the “kids’ table.” Kim and Carrie
wanted to sit there, but Savannah, her cousin Vlad, and Carrie’s boys, Eli and
Asher, staked out the table early.
The four of them had a great time together. Eli and Savannah
are the same age and share many of the same interests. It helps that they are
both off-the-charts smart! Asher and Vlad also hit it off. They are both
younger than the other two.
Asher and Eli brought their laser tag equipment, so a
rousing game began. Even Savannah’s uncle Chase joined them. As it got dark, we
watched the lights move up the back stairs, up and down the waterfall, and
through the trees in the backyard. They tracked in a bunch of mud and grass,
but they had such a great time, it was worth the mess.
The next morning, we went down to the Outlets at San Clemente.
Both the girls had gift cards to spend, and Mom felt like shopping. (This is
code for she’ll buy them a few things if they find something they like. Kim and
I do it every year after Christmas. This year, Savannah joined us.)
We started with brunch at Ruby’s, followed by shopping. Kim
got some new items, and Savannah got several sweaters.
The girls enjoyed spending time together. Kim has adopted
Savannah as her little sister.
The next day went by far too quickly. We watched several movies,
and ate at the Northwoods Inn at Kim’s request. She had to leave the morning of
the 31st. Her trip was far too short, but we enjoyed seeing her for
the little time we had her.
Vlad spent one night with us. His dad brought him down. We
intended to go to the show, but the movie we wanted to see was sold out when we
got to the theater. So, we all went to Islands for a late lunch and then came
back to the house where the kids played games.
The next day, they played some more, watched a movie, and
Vlad’s mom picked him up. We ate dinner here before they went home.
All too soon, Savannah’s visit came to an end. We took her back
to Long Beach and put her on the plane home after a wonderful time.
We spent several days un-Christmasing the house. As much as
I look forward to Christmas, I always feel good when everything goes back to
normal.
Now, we’re looking forward to the new year and whatever it
holds in store.
Wishing everyone a fabulous 2020!
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