Highlights from Christmas in Los Angeles - Part 4

The best times for the five of us undoubtedly took place in the home that my parents rented for all of us to stay in for a week.

Here's a shot of my parents with all of their grandchildren...ranging in age from 4 through 20.

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My sister with her niece...both of the same name. 

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Part of the property we stayed on had a grove of fruit trees. There were orange, blood orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees to pick fruit from every day.  There's nothing like going from the orchard to the glass in five minutes to give one a real understanding of freshness!

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Carrying freshly picked oranges up to the house.  This is a classic look for Lizzie's face - she's such a mischievous little ham with a ready twinkle in her eye!

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Cutting up and squeezing the blood oranges.  For the entire week, Lizzie called them "bleeding oranges!"  Note the mouths dripping with juice.

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Ahhh...Tropicana...eat your hearts out!

(left)  Both Seth and Lizzie love lemons...as in, eating fresh lemons.  I don't know how they do it, but you can see the tears on Lizzie's cheeks from the tartness of the fruit...but the tears didn't stop her...she loved them!

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Same-age buddies for life...hidden away on a bunk bed doing crafts and sharing secrets (Matthew is on the right)

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A quiet moment between Geoff and Seth

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Lizzie getting a piggy-back ride from her cousin.

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A few shots of my parents.

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We ate a lot of meals together, and breakfasts and lunches were either in the kitchen or outside on the patio.  But we ate all of our dinners out, so I didn't have to cook a dinner for eleven blessed days!

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And the cousins loved playing with each other.

  

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Geoff and me. 

 

 Undoubtedly, the highlight of the week at the house was the many, many hours spent in the pool.  Matthew is a fish in water, and spent more time at the bottom of the pool than he did at its surface! And Seth and Lizzie transitioned from kids who clung to one of their parents to kids who (with lifejackets) jumped freely into the pool and 'swam' endlessly.  All three kids LOVED the water.

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Probably the most welcome words we told the kids every day was 'ok - let's go swimming!'  Here's Lizzie on her way down...isn't her suit adorable??

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Brothers.

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Brother and sister.

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And all three together.

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Matthew...who is remarkable in the water, especially underneath it!

(below) Seth and Lizzie started the week out hanging onto Geoff or me.

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But it didn't take long before these antics started...this is Seth.

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Can you see Seth suspended over the pool, having just been thrown in by his cousin and father?  He loved this!

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Geoff holding the football...and Seth jumping in after it!

 

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And Lizzie wasn't far behind! (note how tiny she is next to one of her big cousins!)

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I love this shot - Geoff throwing Lizzie into the pool as they both jump.  Can you see her?  She couldn't get enough of this!

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Classic Lizzie with those big, sparkly eyes.

 Let me just say that by the end of the day, the kids were t.i.r.e.d! There are so many more pictures I could post from our trip, but the bottom line is that it was fabulous to be together as a family and spend time catching up on life and rest.  It was hard coming home on Jan.02, but simultaneously a great way to start 2012!