There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Merry Christmas

It was so nice to be home this year; our home. We still sometimes call Salt Lake "home," but this time we really stayed put. It was wonderful to see all the winter storm warnings scrolling beneath "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on the TV and not worry. A huge contrast to last year.

So here is a summary of our Christmas adventures:

December 23:
Went to the Oshkosh City Light Showcase. The lights were cool, not Temple Square cool, but good enough. It's a drive-through show (hey - this is Wisconsin, after all) and we were glad to be in the car on such a cold, windy night.

After the show, we stopped at the North Pole. Now I have been joking with the girls that we live fairly close to the Arctic, sometimes telling them that "this wind came straight from the North Pole." So it isn't a far stretch of the imagination to think that we may have driven to Santa's home.

Real reindeer. They were huddled together, lying down, trying to keep warm. Seriously, it is COLD here.
Fortunately for us, Santa was home when we arrived.
But after we left, Lizzie said, "Mom, that definitely was NOT the real Santa." Anna said, "Yeah, he smelled like beef and cheese." He did look a little shady and Anna kept eying him suspiciously. His last words to my girls were something about coming to our house tomorrow night. I told them that if that man came to our house tomorrow night, I'd call the police.

I really want to know:
Who is Elve and why does he have to hide out? We didn't stop for this one. Too many questions.

We finished the night with Mexican food, because nothing puts you in the holiday mood like nachos and quesadillas.
The baby is loving her new teeth. Her culinary options are exponentially expanded.
December 24:
We went to see "The Princess and the Frog." Our family review: It Was Good.

After the movie, we made gyoza for dinner and ate in our pajamas.
Giving rice to a baby is not a good idea. By the end of dinner, she looked like a human sushi roll, completely covered in rice. We had to change her pajamas and bathe her.
Every year, Mrs. Santa brings us each a book on Christmas Eve. Growing up, this was a tradition I relished and I still look forward to it every year. Is there a better present than a thoughtfully chosen book? New books are truly delicious.
We also opened ornaments from Grandma, which the girls promptly hung on the tree.
Once destructo-baby was in bed (she is capable of destroying more in less time than any of the other girls EVER could), we played games. It was finally time to pull the grown-up games from the top of the closet. We played Rumikub and Scattergories until Daisy's eyes were so heavy that she couldn't see the paper in front of her.
The kids were asleep before we finished reading the first book. I had visions of reading Luke 2 to them, but we wouldn't have even gotten out of Judea. Maybe next year.

The last thing the girls heard was that they were not to come out of their rooms until 7 o'clock the next morning. It was so lovely to be obeyed. I know that the anticipation nearly killed them; Lizzie said that she was up every half hour from 4:30 on, just checking the clock.

December 25:
I feel badly that we don't have many good pictures of Christmas morning. Kelly was wielding the video camera and I was monitoring gift opening. Here are a few highlights, though.
Lucy completely loved her Rodey and has been bouncing on it every chance she gets.
For Anna, it was the year of the Game. She got Operation, Checkers/Chess/Backgammon, and Double Shutter (shh, it's a math game). Lizzie was thrilled with her Zhu Zhu Pet (thanks for the advice, friends), especially since she didn't think Santa would be able to get one. It was a huge surprise.
We had so much fun opening gifts and playing with everything. Kelly set a family record by staying in his pajamas until 2:30.

Christmas night was spent with friends who are also away from family. We had four families over and between the great company, Jen's cheesecake, and Michelle's mint ball, we couldn't imagine a better night.
The kids devoured a beautiful gingerbread house. I was glad that they did it because I couldn't bear to destroy it myself, but the family that made it told us that it was meant to be eaten. Sort of like the guy who sculpted Abraham Lincoln out of cheese. I believe it, but I don't want to be the one to take the first bite.

I hope your Christmas was wonderful, too!