The next day we all went to the LA County Arboretum (Yes, I just posted about that place a month ago, but this was with different people, which makes it totally eligible again!)
Connor thought it was his job to attack the bamboo forest with sticks. And yell. It was a little embarassing.
Kelli was obsessed with getting a picture of these turtles. The turtles didn't seem to mind, though.
To those of my family who were up nights wondering what this cool bird was, it was a "Black Crowned Night-Heron". Nobody cares, I know, but I have a nerdy interest in this kind of thing.
You have to look really hard in this picture, but Ryan and Connor are in the upper right hand corner, above the waterfall. They hiked up a trail to get there, and the rest of us were too lazy, so this was their moment of triumph.
Elise in the rose garden. She would smell a flower, then look at me, nodding her head, and say, "Mmmmmmm!" I don't know if she could really smell anything. I'm trying to decide which of these pictures to blow up and put on the wall. I like that little girl.
So, after the arboretum we went home, Kyle and Kelli took a nap, and we eventually ordered some nasty pizza for dinner - apparently you can't get last-minute food at 9:00 on New Year's Eve. We then ditched poor Kelli and Kyle to go look at Rose Parade floats. (Kelli was feeling wretched with child, and Kyle had to stay home to appreciate her sacrifice.)Ryan's coworker lives in Pasadena, and wrote on a map showing him where to find the floats and where to park. The night before the parade, they stage all the floats along these residential streets near the parade route. It's actually a big production, which surprised me. There were flood lights all along the streets and tons of people. Thank you to Ryan's friend, or we would never have been able to get in! Here's Ryan explaining to my mom where we're going:
This float was one of the first ones we saw, and was definitely our favorite. It's kind of dark, but it's Oscar the Grouch made of some sort of shrubbery. All the floats had to be made of flowers, leaves, and the like. I guess most people know this about the Rose Parade, but it was news to me.
So, we passed the stroke of midnight with my parents and a crowd full of friendly Pasadena strangers. It was a lot of fun, we'll definitely do it again next year. I think we'd go earlier in the evening, though, since the kids were pretty wasted by midnight!
This float was one of the first ones we saw, and was definitely our favorite. It's kind of dark, but it's Oscar the Grouch made of some sort of shrubbery. All the floats had to be made of flowers, leaves, and the like. I guess most people know this about the Rose Parade, but it was news to me.So, we passed the stroke of midnight with my parents and a crowd full of friendly Pasadena strangers. It was a lot of fun, we'll definitely do it again next year. I think we'd go earlier in the evening, though, since the kids were pretty wasted by midnight!
Ryan traditionally makes waffles on Christmas morning, and he added an extra element this year by picking up a crate of berries at the farmers market downtown the day before. I made sauce and whipped some cream, and Ryan was so proud of the results he had to take a picture.