SAYONARA 2014

2014 is almost over here in California. It's already ended in Britain and they are all peacefully asleep ready to wake up of the first day of the new year....2015!

Well this past year has been a pretty big one for us as it involved a life changing move across the world, but there's also been some other pretty big happenings. In no particular order, here are our top 10 things from 2014...

1. Being reunited after living apart for 6 months. 
2. Moving to California.
3. Taking our first trip to San Francisco and seeing the Golden Gate bridge. 
4. All the concerts we have been able to go to, including Switchfoot, Fyfe Dangerfield, 30 Seconds to Mars and Linkin Park amongst others.
5. Our nephew Elisha being born!
6. Having Mummy and Daddy K coming out to visit in California for 3 blissful weeks. 
7. Seeing Sir Bradley Wiggins in the Tour of California. 
8. Surprising everyone in England by just appearing on their doorstep!
9. Buying the largest Christmas tree ever. 
10. And possibly the best event of the year......Ben getting engaged on Christmas Eve!! Yay!

We are already looking forward to 2015. It holds our 5th wedding anniversary, special wedding anniversaries for both sets of parents, Elisha's first birthday and a certain husband turning the big 30!! But for now 2014, you've been a pretty great year!

A&H

THE GETTY CENTER

Yesterday Andrew and I took a cultured trip over to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Its situated on the top of a hill in the Brentwood area looking out across the whole of LA. Its reachable by a tram which takes you up from the car park at the bottom and up to the heart of the center. There is so much to explore at the museum; there are lots of different buildings housing different art collections from a variety of time periods but also special exhibitions as well, not to mention the grounds and gardens.

We looked at so many beautiful paintings, drawings, sculptures, collections and even furniture. It was lovely to just wander around and see what we could spot. Below are some photographs that give you a snapshot of what it was like. We've already decided that its a place we'll go regularly though, so you may get more photographs by and by. 

This was one of my favourite things in the museum. It's a choir book from the middle ages and this particular page is all about Saint Nicholas who is the forerunner to Santa Claus. The letter C depicts Saint Nicholas giving out gold coins to those who were in need and it is said to have inspired the gift of giving at Christmas. 

So there we go, a snapshot of culture for your 2014 Christmas. 
H

MACINTOSH MONDAY

Macintosh has been having a wonderful Christmas so far. There's been lots of present for him to open, walks to go on, wrapping paper to shred, naps to be enjoyed and a few seasonal food tidbits have gone his way, including turkey and ham! Here's a few pictures of what he's been up to.

I've saved the best photo for last though...

He definitely tugs at your heart strings that one. Handsome boy!
H

A FACELIFT

Thought the blog could do with a little freshen up, so whilst you were all asleep in England we had a bit of a play about. We created a new logo that involved placing the beagle on pride rock in front of some fluffy clouds, paired it with a clear cut font that stands out and tweaked a few other little bits to create the new look. Voila! 

Enjoy the holidays!
A&H

OUR CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas day has come and gone already, can you believe it? We spend so long gearing up for it and its over in a flash! Well our Christmas day was rather different this year as you can expect. We had no Christmas day service to attend and no family to meet up with which are two of the things that usually define our Christmas day in England. So we knew it would look a little different this year but we really loved our day. There was present opening, skyping/facetiming, Christmas dinner eating, game playing, dog walking, film watching and lots of enjoying. It was a great first Christmas in the USA.

H

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We hope you have a wonderful day, but we want to challenge you to remember the whole reason for the Christmas. We celebrate Jesus' coming into the world. The video below shows you (in the cutest way possible) the nativity story. But remember Jesus didn't stay a baby and Easter reminds us of His great purpose on Earth; to provide a way for man to be right with God. This is the fundamental truth to our life and we really hope that if it isn't yours already then it will become yours! 

Merry Christmas again! Don't eat too many mince pies!!
A&H

SANTA BARBARA

As Andrew has been given a few days off before Christmas so we decided to we should make the most of the free time. We have a whole list of small day trips that we want to do around Christmas that will allow us to see more of beautiful California without all the faff of packing up for bit. 

So on Monday we went off to Santa Barbara for the day. It was really weird playing Christmas music as we drove down and yet looking out the car window at bright blue skies. It felt even more strange being on the beach with the sun beating down on us. The temperatures during the day reached 24 degrees so it was really warm! Not at all what a Brit is used to at Christmas!

We spent the morning on the beach allowing Macintosh to have some time exploring, meeting other dogs and jumping around in the water. It really is so strange how much Mac loves the beach. For a beagle who won't allow his belly to get wet normally he just abandons all reason at the beach and piles into the waves! Granted he doesn't enjoy being wet afterwards as he spends a lot of time shaking out every single droplet of water he can!

The afternoon and evening was spent wandering around the town of Santa Barbara, seeing the old Mission and wandering on the pier. We really enjoyed it and managed to see more of the town this time than last time.

I loved the old Mission. It was really beautiful. They had a nativity outside it with live animals that Macintosh was obsessed with wandering up too. There were some amazing plants growing too and some great architecture to enjoy. I think Andrew loved the pier best, just watching the sun go down and enjoying the time together. It really was wonderful. 
H