New Year's Day and Huntington Beach. (Again!)

It's later on New Year's Day and we drove back from Pasadena to the hotel.  We split off from the rest of the family and decided that we needed some more time at the beach.  We first stopped at a great seafood restaurant and then went back to the same beach we were at yesterday.  The kids brought their suits this time, and braved the chilly surf.  Jordan held Rylan in the bigger waves and she loved it.

The rest of the family eventually joined us and we watched the sun set on a wonderful New Year's Day.  I think every first day of the year should be spent at the beach - it is a great way to begin!!

Tournament of Roses Parade

Good Morning and Happy New Year from Pasadena, California!  We went to bed early last night - celebrating NYE at 9 pm, in anticipation of getting up at 4 am this morning.  We made the drive to Pasadena, snagged some Starbucks and made our way to our special parking area that was right behind our grandstands.  It is a warm and sunny morning and there is excitement in the air in anticipation of the parade.  The streets are full of people and dozens of dirty tortillas.  I'm not sure what that is about, but it looks like they had quite the party last night.

 
The parade began with a group that danced and sang, and then these guys were doing flips on moving trampolines.  It was neat to see it later on TV and see how they began the parade by emerging from the crowd.

This was my favorite float - how beautiful!!

It's the cast from Loveboat!!

Here is my nephew's band - Legacy Lightning Marching Band from Broomfield, CO.  They looked and sounded great!

It was a fun parade, and the floats were amazing.  There was an opportunity for us to get tickets to see the floats up close, but we opted not to.  I think the kids were a little fried by the end of the parade.  Anyway, it was a great family experience. :)