Fa La La La La

 It's a week from Christmas, so you can bet we have decked our halls by now.

 Bennett sweetly participated in hanging ornaments for 5-10 minutes until his "spot" was completely saturated and he decided his trucks were calling him from the play room.

 Orelia was so happy to be helping this year and seems to be filled to the brim with Christmas spirit these days.

 Last year Orelia hung the star on our tree, so she said this year Bennett could have the honors.  We were so proud of our mature girl for volunteering this up without any prompting from us.

 She has since, however, made sure we know it's her "turn" to take the star down this year and she will definitely be putting the star up next year.  True enough, sweet girl.

 The kids have been orbiting around the tree a lot and each have one present with their name on it under the tree.  Bennett has manhandled this present more than I can even describe, and has even taken to sniffing the wrapping paper (which reminds me of his grandpa who always makes a big show over trying to guess his gifts - in jest of course).

 Orelia worked very hard making some penguin ornaments from a craft kit.  Bennett joined in the fun too for a bit and made one ornament before he decided to become a trash truck and he started to shove all the leftover ornament pieces down his back (I guess that's where his trash compactor is?).

 Orelia takes great pride in our tree this year and her favorite ornament is the one that lists all four of our names.

 She reluctantly wore her matching pajamas to a pajama party only if I tied the long sleeves behind her back to make it a strapless dress/nightgown.  She is always herself, if nothing else.

 Last week Orelia and I headed up to San Francisco to see the Nutcracker.

 This year we left school early to give us extra time, and Orelia loved playing on the random playground near city hall.

 Orelia went with her friend again this year, and the two girls were bursting with excitement for the show to begin.

 Orelia said multiple times that she wishes she could go to the Nutcracker every day, though I wasn't sure if it was for the ballet, the fancy dress, the new Santa Bunny toy, or for getting out to school early.  Perhaps all of the above?

 Since we also went to the show last year, she knew what to expect this year and I think could follow along even better.

 She was in awe during the show and kept whispering to me wondering if Herr Drosselmeyer really could perform magic.

She also asked if the Spanish, Russian, and Chinese dancers really spoke Spanish, Russian, and Mandarin.  Ha!  I can't say that's something that ever occurred to me.  She said out of the whole show the Spanish dancers were her favorite - because they had the best dresses.  This girl sure makes me smile and it's so much fun to be sharing this Christmas season with her and Bennett.

A Christmasy Morning

 According to John Tesh on the radio, this weekend is the number one weekend to buy Christmas trees.  We of course heard this report while driving back from the Christmas tree farm while a tree was strapped to our roof.

 We took our annual visit to Santa's Tree Farm in Half Moon Bay, and Orelia was eager to help us find the perfect tree.

 Bennett was eager to find the tree, but not overly eager to keep looking and looking for just the right tree.  He was pretty keen on this creek, though.

 He was tolerant and trudged alongside us while we looked for just the right tree for our family. 

 Once we found it he was mesmerized by John sawing it down.

 I should've brought his logging truck and he would've fit right in.

 John carried our tree down the mountain for it to get strapped to our car (thankfully that's the one step we don't have to do ourselves).

 The kids were excited we found our tree but were mostly excited to get the free candy canes at the exit.

 We came home and made Reindeer Nose cookies, and then I walked into the playroom to find Orelia diligently cutting out snow flakes (she learned how to do this at school).  It was so sweet and organic, I was loving seeing her working on this task.

Bennett wasn't a snowflake maker, but he put every vehicle sticker he could find on a single piece of paper, which is about as arty as he feels the need to be. 

We had a great Christmasy morning, and our house is starting to look more festive by the day.  The kids wake up every morning eager to check in on all their advent calendars, and we talk about all the festive activities we have coming up on the calendar.  Orelia is just about bursting with excitement this month, and Bennett is really joining in on the fun this year.  When he saw Orelia's flannel Santa pillowcase, he asked for his own.  When he saw Orelia's small Christmas tree (that she had from last year), he asked for his own.  So when I put twinkle lights in Orelia's room today, I knew to grab a second set for Bennett's room straight away.  We are a Christmas-obsessed family and I'm loving every second!

The Color Factory

Living in Palo Alto is great and all, but one of the best things about it is its proximity to San Francisco and all things urban.  A perfect example is the pop-up color experience that came to San Francisco for a limited time --- The Color Factory.

 I can't even tell you the lengths I had to go to in order to get tickets for this, but it was definitely worth it to experience things we never would have expected (like this scratch and sniff wall, above - this one smelled like drinking out of coconuts on the beach).

 Throughout the factory there were rooms dedicated to certain colors, and we managed to hit all five senses throughout the morning.

 After the scratch and sniff wall we headed to a marshmallow tasting center.

 Orelia was not keen on her flavor (I think it was cherry chocolate).  Bennett's was much better - mint chocolate chip.

 The next room was black and white and we got to try a completely black lemonade that had charcoal in it.

 This one was another bust for Orelia.  Ha!

There was a huge balloon installation that felt like you were on another planet.

The Color Factory had some cameras throughout where you could take photos and scan your ticket to have them emailed automatically to you.  This was our best attempt.

 After the balloon room we went to a room decorated with tons of disco balls (that I somehow forgot to photograph).  Orelia and Bennett loved spinning around in here.

 Next we went to a giant Lite Brite room which the kids loved, but only John and I felt the nostalgia for this toy of years ago.

 Bennett could have stayed here all day removing the pegs and putting them in the "trash" (the bins to collect them).

 The green room had markers taller than Orelia where you were encouraged to draw on the walls.

 These markers were so big, Bennett couldn't even hold one by himself.

 There was almost an entire room full of ribbons hung from the ceiling.  It felt surreal to be in the middle of it (almost disconcerting really).  The kids loved running inside the ribbons and popping out to surprise us.

The purple room had a printer that would print out an image that someone has hashtagged #selfie somewhere on the internet.  One selfie would print out every minute or so, and the kids loved literally swimming in these selfies (even if they didn't quite "get" it).

 I can't even describe the pure joy Bennett felt watching a picture print out every minute or so.  He was just beyond delighted by it.

 He and Orelia would scramble to catch the picture before it hit the ground, and they felt so proud when they were able to manage it.

 One of the most fun rooms was the confetti room (especially since I didn't have to clean it up).

 There were grated contraptions on the ceiling that slowly turned and let out a steady stream of confetti from up above.

 The real joy, however, was playing with the already fallen confetti on the floor.

 This was the most crowded room we saw of the morning.  One of the nice things about the Color Factory was how few people they allow to enter in at a time (every ticket has a time you may go) so that the day isn't ruined by crowds.  It made getting the tickets a bear, but it was a great decision by the owners to make sure there weren't too many people there at one time.

 The last room was perhaps the most memorable.

 Apparently there are over 20,000 yellow balls in their ball pit.

 Orelia loved jumping around, hiding, and generally swimming in yellow.

Bennett loved finding the smashed balls and removing them to the nearby trash can.  Ha!  He's nothing if not consistent.  

The Color Factory isn't really a kids place, but it's made for all ages. I wasn't sure if the kids would get much out of it, but Bennett especially has talked about it every day since we went (two weeks ago).  He is begging to go back, and wants to take everyone he loves.  Sadly, the Color Factory is closing in San Francisco soon; it was only open for a few months.  I am so, so glad we got a chance to visit and make the most of this unique city we are lucky to live near.

And thankfully Orelia's last taste at the Color Factory was met without a grimace - a miniature yellow ice cream cone in her favorite flavor: vanilla.