First of 2013

So our first action of the new year was to sleep in!  Seriously, we woke up collectively at around 9:00 or so, at which time we realized we had to get ready quickly if we were going to make it over to Ye-Ye and Nana's house for the New Year's Day celebration.  

We made it just fine, so no worries there.  Once we arrived, we found a table filled with delicious breakfast items for all to eat:

This is a tradition for us, on and off each year.  We go over and watch the Rose Bowl Parade together, enjoy each other's company, and eat a nice breakfast.  Aunt Shain and Madison's cousins came as well, and we sat together, wishing each other a happy new year while watching the different parade floats and bands go by.  This year's Disney float was especially unique:  one dedicated to the movie "Cars."  It broke down in front of the grand stand, but no worries:  Mater was there to tow the thing along the rest of the parade route.

Another tradition we started this year was a really awful gift exchange.  There were plenty of terrifying gifts there, but this one took the cake:

It was this hideous ceramic clown, which produced gasps of horror and of course laughter.  Ye-Ye wound up with this one in the end, and I'm not entirely sure that's the last we'll see of it!  It was a pleasant morning, and the official end of the holiday season pretty much, which is always slightly depressing.

The rain was pouring in buckets all day and late into the night.  The rainfall was listed as 1.12 inches, just a constant drizzle all day long and into the night.  It was perfect for a nice afternoon nap, which Mommy indeed took advantage of.  Daddy tried, but Madison wasn't having any of that.  So we opted instead to try out some more Epic Mickey 2.  Things were still a bit confusing with that game, but we plodded along anyway, hoping to make sense out of certain things.  Madison certainly enjoyed it:  she likes being Oswald the Rabbit, and bonking Daddy on the head frequently.  

When Mommy woke up, we finally decided to take advantage of a free movie ticket we'd been holding on to.  Talk about favor there - we saw a free movie last week, and now we've got another free ticket.  We got it from Disney Movie Rewards, which has been good to us from time to time!

When we arrived at the theater, we also got a free drink, so the glad tidings continued.  As for the movie, well that's one everyone's seen before, right?

There's a prequel coming out later this year, but regardless, it's just nice to see an old Disney movie on the big screen, together as a family.  We got a big tub of popcorn again (that refillable one with the discount), and smuggled in a bunch of Christmas candy too.  After a mere 17 minutes of movie previews, we were ready to watch the flick - and it looked great in 3D.  Very nice!  Madison sat between us, and everyone enjoyed watching Mike and Sully's adventures at "Monsters, Inc."

We got home, and it was late yet again.  Daddy carried Madison upstairs once more, and we said our prayers for the new year, thanking God for a great 2012, and praying for a good 2013.