Christmas Recap

It was a wonderful, joyous, family-filled day of surprises, togetherness, love and food. The kids had a blast opening and playing with their gifts, and they (miraculously) played well together the rest of the day without fighting. The adults enjoyed mimosas, helped the kids unwrap their toys, played games, assembled Legos (lots of Legos), munched on treats, and relaxed. Everyone stayed in their pajamas all day. Lovely!

Sweet Pea had barely finished opening her presents when she announced that she wanted to write Santa a thank-you note. She asked me to write it down for her so she could copy it. What a kind heart she has! I just melted.

After the rush of the morning had subsided, MJ and I gave the kids their gift from us: a scavenger hunt. They had to read and solve clues around the house to find puzzle pieces, then put the pieces together.

"Really?!!" asked CC. Yes! We leave in a few months, so there's plenty of time to get passports for the kids, plan our activities, and make all our reservations. I'm sure their excitement level will go up as we get closer to our sail date.

After dinner, we celebrated Pepere's birthday. The kids had helped me decorate the cake earlier, and were happy to help him blow out the candles. His gift from us is a book made from the blog he kept during his hike. The book isn't done yet -- it's a long-term project -- but I'm excited to put it together for him.