Chris and Cheryl's Ultimate Holiday Road-trip: Part 1

As the holidays rolled around again, Cheryl and I found ourselves preparing for a brutal 8 hour car ride up north.  Brutal in the sense that sitting is our little Yaris for that length of time can really take a toll on a body.  Also, since we would be heading over to San Francisco for New Years, we decided that this road trip would be a perfect maiden voyage for our new, much larger, much more comfortable, much much more luxurious, and slightly less fuel efficient Lexus RX350.  Voila.

Back in August, Cheryl and I swung by the Tustin AutoMall on out way back from a Disneyland trip and ended up taking two cars home.  Needless to say, I could write an entire blog on how great a deal we got on such a fully loaded family car.

Hitting the road in comfort.

Did I mention that it has navigation and a back-up camera!

After long last, we made it to Red Bluff and were greeted with some Christmas cheer!

Tom did a great job on the decorations.
I never thought yard sailing could look so festive.

A large part of our excitement for our Christmas trip was to see the Swain boys. They are growing so fast and it was tons of fun rolling around playing with them.  It really was amazing to see how big, and how cute, they had gotten in such a short amount of time.

Both Davis (pictured here) and Reed (picture above) have the most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen.

 As much fun it was to play with the boys, there is no sense in lying about the other wonderful thing about this trip...FOOD!  Dinner was a delicious stuffed pork, twice baked potatoes, and all the fixins'.

I'm getting hungry just looking at this picture.

After dinner we needed a little time to digest before we started dessert so we all piled in the car and went to go look at Christmas lights.

Some folks took their time and planned out an amazing display of themes and color.

While others went for the shotgun effect...

... and even dunked Santa Claus.

 As we all settled in for some family time and present opening, I grabbed the camera and got some great shots  of all of us together - just like the holidays should be.

Say cheese!

Stop taking pictures and HELP ME!

Tayden with his new boots.  Looking good Cowboy!

The discontinued Mud & Bugs cereal made one last "home-made"comeback,
much to the pleasure of Tyler.

Grandpa Tom reading a story to Tayden and Alise.

Marcie and Chris with some new presents for the boys.

Alise figured out the best way to take home all her new toys
was to put them in her new suitcase.  Perfect!

Cheryl, I think you have something on your nose!

Two days later the whole Sanders side of the family got together at Logan's for a delicious and fun lunch - Thanks Aunt Jan.

The kids love watching the cooks while they prepare our meals.  So do I.

What a sweet old lady.  Feisty too.

 After lunch, Cheryl and I headed over to Tyler and Alethea's in Chico to spend some time with our nephew and niece - after-all,  it takes a lot of time and energy to be the best Uncle and Auntie :)

Not quite sure why, but very cute never-the-less.

Hanging out and playing some video games.

Cheryl and Tyler had been talking about making spring rolls when we came by, so they did.  Delicious looking, aren't they.

The following morning, we all woke up and got ready for the day.  We got dressed, Cheryl packed up our stuff, and Tayden shaved...

Careful, you don't want to get a razor burn.

A Tayden-Alise burrito.

Nice move buddy.

 After a very relaxing couple days with the family up north, Cheryl and I prepared to take a quick trip over to San Francisco to meet my family for a few days.  It had been a while since visiting the 'city by the bay' and we were both looking forward to ringing in the new year in a place we both loved.  But first, some more delicious food :)

A few years ago, Cheryl and I took a trip to Solvang, CA where we discovered an amazingly delicious Danish treat called Aebelskivers.  While Christmas shopping for the family, we found the pan, mix, and recipe at William's Sonoma and thought it would make a great gift for Cheryl's mom.  Plus, this way, we could enjoy eating it again!

Filled up and ready to go, Cheryl and I started the second leg of our Ultimate Holiday Road-Trip.  

See you in San Fran.