Snyderville

And still more floats...

I thought this float was one of the prettiest. It was a Valentine's Day theme.

We were able to go look at the floats close up on the day after the parade. This drumming lizard was so fun.

The lady who gave us the tickets to the parade worked on the red ring on this float.

More floats

This float was so cool. It was a transformer and went from being a car to a spaceship.

This float was so tall I could hardly believe it. It was amazing.

The Grand Marshal this year was Emeril Lagasse! Everyone yelled "Bam!" as he drove by.

The Trader Joe's Float, "Getting there is all the fun!"

Floats

Here are a few of our favorite floats as well as a video of Noel's favorite.

About 15 hours after arriving home in Pasadena, my parents came to visit. Long time no see! They planned to come and see the Rose Parade, which turned out better than any of us could have anticipated. After church on Sunday morning, Noel was given 2 tickets to sit in the grand stands to watch the parade. The tickets were for front row seats right across from the Norton Simon museum, which is THE place to sit. We decided to give the tickets to my parents since they had never been to the parade before and we've been twice. Later that afternoon, the lady who gave Noel the tickets called and said she had 2 more! What a blessing! We no longer had to worry about getting up at 4 in he morning to go look for a seat. We had reserved seats, which were better than any we'd be able to get on the street. It made for a great experience for all of us.

We introduced Mom and Dad to Julienne, our favorite breakfast restaurant in San Marino. Once again, our meals were fantastic.

We headed down Colorado Blvd the day before the parade to see where our seats were and how long it would take us to walk. We were so thankful for spectacular weather.

And more Christmas fun...

We were so fortunate to be able to see all of our grandparents as well as several other relatives during our whirlwind trip. We headed over to Grandma Fannie's and Grandma and Grandpa Kraushaar's the day after Christmas.

Dad and Uncle Ned watching Noel and I open presents. We both got some great books, which we're so thankful for!

We had a great lunch at Grandma Fannie's. She mad her famous meatballs, which we all went nuts over.

Grandma Doris, me, Noel, Grandpa Don

More Christmas Fun

We spent Christmas day with the Dykema's. Our day started with church and was followed by stockings, presents, and a fantastic dinner of prime rib. Too bad I woke up with a cold and felt a little "off" all day.

Hillary and me during present time.

Josh showing off his new sweater. Jett sporting one of his new bibs that Hillary made for him. She's so great at making cute baby stuff with her new sewing machine. Check out the burp cloths on Dad's leg.

Ruby's favorite part was hiding in the boxes.

Hillary was able to find some fantastic deals shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Heather and I definitely benefited from these deals! She gave both of us so many presents; I could hardly believe it. We each got 2 tank tops in addition to lots of other fun stuff.

All the men in the family got the same shirt from American Apparel (Heather organized this). Nothing like wearing matching shirts while drinking beer together.

Christmas Fun

Jett and I had a bit of a rough first encounter. He had been passed around between lots of people before I got to hold him. When I got him, he cried...no, he screamed, and needed to be comforted by his mom. Luckily he calmed down and I was able to feed him later at the party.

We were able to spend a little alone time with Heather, Josh, and Jett. Here's Noel getting to know his nephew.

It was so nice to meet Heidi's boyfriend, Brian, for the first time. We're so glad he was able to join the Snyder family party at Emily and Jason's new home.

The Snyder fam: Jason, Dad, Mom, Noel, Emily, Heidi, Heidi

The first of 3 snow storms we had while in Michigan. This picture was taken as we celebrated Christmas at Emily and Jason's house.