Here I go...time to play catch up.
While hubby was recovering from his hip surgery in December (which he did quite nicely...much faster and better recovery than when he had the other hip done almost five years ago), I tried to keep the holiday season as normal as possible for the kiddies.
I took them to Temple Square to see the lights one evening. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the lights, watching/listening to the nativity display, and seeing the Christus statue.
As long as we were downtown, we went to Macy's and saw the holiday window displays - all made out of CANDY. Each giant ornament was different and it was amazing to see all the fine detail. I can't imagine putting one of those things together! After seeing the candy windows, we went and waited forever for a table at The Olive Garden. Dinner was tasty, though, and we all went home tired, full, and happy.
On two other nights, there were Christmas parties to attend. One was at church (which Hudson opted out of as he was concerned about leaving Max at home alone) and the other was our annual neighborhood progressive/rotating dinner party. Both kids came along on the latter and as always, we had a great time. Santa Claus made an appearance at both and Claire was a little apprehensive before the first party so we decided to clue her in that the Santa Claus that comes to the parties is a helper to the REAL Santa Claus and....she knows said helper. We told her who the special helper is and she was thrilled to be in on the big secret. She was in awe that this man that we know is actually a real Santa's helper. Holy smokes. No more Santa visit nerves for our girl. Hudson is a very good older brother and encourages his sister in her excitement and happily sits on Santa's lap, too. I think he still has fun with it (too smart for us...figured EVERYTHING about EVERYONE on his own out when he was 6 years old).
Christmas day itself was pretty quiet and very nice to spend together as a family. We had a yummy breakfast (homemade Danish Almond Puff, blueberry muffins, fruit, etc.) before heading into the living room to open presents. We've got two amazingly patient kids who are always good about waiting until it's officially time to go in. This year we tried to cut back on the gifts (we even stuck a couple of things out in the garage to save for another time). It wasn't that they didn't get plenty but the kids didn't notice the difference and were thrilled with what they received. I also love seeing how excited they are to give to others...it's one of those reward moments as a parent (at least for me). It felt great to tone it down and enjoy the holiday without such a huge emphasis on presents.
That evening it was just us again as we enjoyed a massive spread of prime rib roast and all the fixin's for Christmas dinner. My brother's family was going to join us but his wife became sick on Christmas Eve so they cancelled the morning of. We were sad that they couldn't join us but appreciated the gift they gave us by not bringing her "bug" to our house.
I always love the holidays and this year was no different. I'm just looking forward to this year when Max will join us for some of our outings!
Now watch out...another post coming tomorrow morning (not joking!).
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