Another Christmas come and gone...

Christmas was really nice this year! George's Union got permission to exchange having President's Day off for having Christmas Eve day off, so we're enjoying a 4 day weekend!. On Christmas Eve day we took the kids down to the zoo. It was cold but fun. Two news stations were at the Elk exhibit interviewing one of the zoo's researchers on his "research" into "flying reindeer" (it was a holiday thing of course, I doubt they're spending zoo money on that ). Kids got to ask questions, and then they were taken down to one of the side fences of the exhibit (normally off-limits to patrons) and each kid was allowed to feed the elk a carrot. Raia LOVED being able to feed the elk, but Errol was scared and didn't do it. It was a very big elk, so I don't blame him.

There was hardly anyone else at the zoo, and it made for a really intimate atmosphere. We kept bumping into the same people throughout the zoo, and Raia and Errol made some friends. It made the zoo feel more like a play park that you casually wandered through and played with the people you encountered (or chatted with them if you were an adult ), rather than being something that you observed as you went along, keeping mostly to yourself because of the large crowds.

We went straight home from the zoo, and George went out to pick up some "odds and ends" for Christmas (i.e. my stocking stuffers ). When he got back we got the kids into their Christmas PJ's and drove around town to see some of the Christmas light displays. The kids had a snack before bedtime, and then were tucked in.

We were invited to a friend's home for Christmas breakfast, so after the kids were in bed I started working on a casserole to take with us. At about 7:35 I realized I was missing a key ingredient, and George realized one of Raia's gifts required batteries that we did not have. The only store still open at that time was WalMart, and they closed at 8pm. I was on the road by 7:40, pulling into WalMart by 7:45, and in the check-out line with both batteries and green chilies by the time they made the announcement that the store was about to close in 10 minutes. I got home by 8. All without speeding!

We got the gifts wrapped and under the tree, and I stuffed the kids' stockings. Then we vegged infront of the TV and watched some Christmas movies. Mr. Kreuger's Christmas, Joy to the World, and a Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance.

The kids were up first, and walked into a dark livingroom. When I came out into the livingroom I turned on the lights of the Christmas tree first, and they both went "Oooooooh!" to see all the presents and stuffed stockings. We sent them back into their rooms while we got dressed, and stuffed eachother's stockings, and turned on some Christmas music. The kids got *spoiled* this year. If George and I hadn't bought them anything they still would have had 3-4 gifts each under the tree. Errol got an electric train set from my parents, and we had it set up and running when they came out. Patrick was fascinated by it, but was otherwise disinterested in the whole "Christmas" thing. I actually had a hard time getting cute Christmas pictures of him, because he almost always had a "what the heck is all of this?" look on his face.

George got me some peridot earrings. I love wearing jewelry of my children's birthstones, and I already have a necklace for Raia, but the chain is super fragile, so I never wear it. Patrick could break it with one yank. I love getting bling for Christmas.

One of Raia's presents from my IL's was a dress-up chest full of Disney Princess outfits. I wish so much I could have gotten a video of her opening it! When she had pulled back a part of the wrapping paper and seen a picture of a princess her pace immediately picked up, and at lightening speed she was ripping off the paper and yelling "Princess! Princess! Princess! Princess!"

In the middle of our present opening we got a call from my parents, who had just arrived in Salt Lake City to visit my brother and SIL, who was due to have a baby girl on January 3rd. She'd been diagnosed with Pre-E and was on bedrest, but they decided on Christmas Eve that the bedrest wasn't doing enough to help, so they were inducing her! My parents weren't sure if they'd be there in time for the birth, as they were still an hour away. What a great day to become a new mom and dad though!

After everything was unwrapped and cleaned up we headed over to my friend Jen's house for breakfast. The kids had fun playing with her kids, and with our friend Angee's kids. The missionaries were there also. (Jen actually had had them over for opening up their presents, and she'd had Santa deliver some of their presents to their house, which her kids thought was awesome. He brought them both ties. LOL ) The food was delicious and plentiful, and the kids had a great time. When we got home we got a call from my mom saying that little Camilla Renae had made a safe entry into the world.

The rest of the day was spent looking at the pictures of Camilla my parents posted on Facebook, and enjoying our presents. Raia put on several puppet shows with the puppet theater George and I got her, and the puppets my IL's got her. Errol played with his train, and Patrick chewed on any overlooked pieces of wrapping paper (I think I got it all from him before he had a chance to swallow any). We ate junk through out the day and had a turkey dinner in the evening.

Today I hit some after-Christmas sales. I got some wrapping paper for next year for .47 cents a roll, a new tree skirt (got tired of our old one), a new tree topper ditto), as well as a storage container for it all, and a rubbermaid "dresser" to store the kids' educational stuff. We have several phonics books, easy-reader science books, history storybooks, a children's atlas, dictionary, and star map, and a whole lotta workbooks and flashcards. They've been taking up room on the kids' bookshelf, so it's nice now to have them in their own place, tucked away in the kids' closet (which they still go into a bunch anyway, so it's not likely to become an "out of sight, out of mind" thing). It feels good to have it all organized and in it's own place. I can't stand clutter. The dresser is on wheels too, so I can pull it easily if necessary.

All in all it's been a nice and relaxing holiday.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!