Christmas 2007

CHRISTMAS 2007!!!

We had a really nice Christmas this year. We were unable to make the journey to the frigid north and stayed here in Bakersfield and had our first California Christmas.

This is our humble little tree. That is our "First Christmas" ornament.

The beautifully finished tree. The pumpkin ornament is really a Halloween decoration that my mom (Janet) sent down with our Christmas gifts. It is an unofficial tradition to get decor for holidays other than the holiday it really is (plus my mom just likes to get us decorations and when you see each other only 3 times a year that is when you give them).

Natalie's parents Sheri and Garth were able to make the trek to come visit us.

The traditional pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Natalie liked the ones that we got Sheri so much that she had to get herself a matching pair. She was SOOO excited to have matching pajamas with her mom. It was actually pretty funny because Natalie was wearing them and Sheri commented on how cute they were.

Natalie made me this U of U bath robe. She was able to hide the fact that she was making it from me for an entire month. She would take the scraps to work and throw them away to keep it a secret. She would also go over to her friend Stacie's house at lunch and get help and pointers. She spent as much time picking up every little red thread as she did sewing it. I was impressed when I opened it, then my jaw hit the ground when she said "I made that."

Sheri and Garth opening our gift to them. We got them the family crest and origin of the name Thornock. We have been planning to give it to them since September when we found the crest at the county fair.

My mom has been very busy working on genealogy and gave us both a 4 generation picture. It was very awesome! (Nat got teary eyed) Thank you for the great gift mom.

Manders got me a new Yoda shirt!

The day after Christmas we all piled into the car and headed over to the coast to look at the ocean. This is a picture of Nattie enjoying her car trip (note the sarcasm).

The Madonna Inn. The Madonna Inn is a rather famous themed Inn. The decor is VERY floral! The banisters are all carved to look like grapes and flowers. If people are nice to us and we like you, we may just book you a night in the Pony Room, Traveler's Yacht, or Irish Hills. In the men's room the urinal is a giant rock waterfall that takes up half the wall and is activated when you step up to it. Classy!!!

The pier at Pismo Beach.

I started to feed the Seagulls and they swarmed the car.

I was holding up a Cheez-it trying to get the bird to take it out of my hand and got bitten. It actually kind of hurt and left a red mark on my thumb for almost 2 days.