Last few days together

 Stace eagerly broke open his latest cider creation. This time, he skipped making his own apple juice, using store-bought instead.

Similar to last year, Stace was the biggest fan of his brew.

 On Boxing Day, we took Nan and Pop to Mentryville for a walk. It was peaceful and beautiful, with perfect weather for a hike.

We were happy the weather cooperated so completely, with the SoCal sun shining warmly each day of their visit. It made a welcome change from the flooding back home.

 The only fox or coyote we saw on our jaunt was the one perched on my shoulder.

 Before our walk, Cora exchanged her long-awaited Flutterbye Fairy in for a gift card at Toys R Us. This toy had been No. 1 on her list, and she was so pleased to open it Christmas evening.

But after a few flights Christmas night and a few more the next morning, it stopped working. Stace, Fixer of All Things, took it apart and found the gears were stripped.

When we returned it, the employee noted that they had already had lots and lots of the fairies returned that morning. For most of the day, that was little consolation to Cora, who was so disappointed that the toy that looked so cool flying in the commercials would break so quickly.

It's a tough lesson, and one we all have had to learn.

 Cora and Violet also made and decorated a gingerbread house-in-a-pan with Nan.
This was high on Cora's list of Christmas things-to-do with Nan and Pop here.

Also on the list was a hot chocolate-fueled trip to the lights at Wakefield Court, which sufficiently "wowed" them. We also drove them around to some more "normal" neighborhoods with nice lights, and they loved those too. 

 Speaking of hot chocolate, Violet enjoyed hers at the mall on one of our several shopping trips with Nan and Pop. Stace was a trooper, spending more time at the mall in one week than he had the prior two years.

Violet had to try on these amazing leopard pumps.

Our time with Sue and Gord was amazing. Sadly, they could only stay a week, and the time passed by quickly. But, on the positive side, their week here coincided with Stace's week off from work. It was lovely to be together all week, a real vacation in our own home.