Happy New Year...

Well, this little bit late, but here we go anyway!

My parents and the Bateman family made their way out to Southern California for the New Years weekend. We were so excited to have them come up to South Pasadena for New Years Day and hang out with us. We took them down to the Rose Bowl where all the floats were lining up in preparation for Monday's Rose Parade.  It was also all set up for the big Rose Bowl Football game, so we enjoyed the surroundings and soaked in the atmosphere.

The floats were amazing, as expected, but it was neat to see them up close and all the detail that goes into them.  If you didn't know, everything on them has to come from natural substances.  So, some of the floats had potatoes as cobblestone paths, or oatmeal and seeds as skin, etc. 

We were welcomed back to SoCal with 85 degree weather.  We didn't complain.  We were told it was the warmest Rose Parade in 20+ years.  The Rose Parade was one thing that had been lingering on our bucket list for the past few years.  With it starting only a mile or so from our house, we couldn't not see it, but every year we'd go home for the holidays and stay over the New Year.  This year we decided was the year.  We started planning months in advance and scored some A-MA-ZING seats through a guy my dad knows that produces the parade with NBC.  We couldn't have done it any better.

Here we are at the front of the parade, waiting for it to start.  There was a fly-over in the beginning by a Stealth Bomber.  It was awesome.. 

Dieter was loving the parade.  When he wasn't sitting on his daddy's lap, he was on the street in Finnley's beach chair. He had the best seat in the house if you ask me!

After the parade, my dad's friend led me and my mom into Al Roker's trailer (he had already left) and let us use the restroom.  We had fun taking pictures and my mom noted that he'd left the toilet seat up. ;)

After the parade we headed down to LA to eat breakfast at one of our favorites - Jack N' Joe's before heading to Malibu to finish the day off at the beach. We were all beat, especially the kiddos, but it was worth it for such a fun day.  I'd say we started 2012 off right!