Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve started with a trip to the theater.  I took Carolyn and her friend Sevilla to see "Babes in Toyland" at the Children's Theater.

When we got home, Steve had prepared a delicious beef stew and lemon tart.  RJ was our guest for dinner.

Later that evening, we opened plenty of gifts and have a lot to be thankful.

To the Altman's -- Carolyn loved the unicorn drawing and dress-up dolls (Thanks, Rachel).  Steve is excited to take me out to one of our favorite restaurants (Great Choice, Bill).  I am looking forward to a spa day (Thanks, Jen).  And, Elizabeth looks adorable in her polka dot jammies and hat (From Hayley).  Harry and Carol, the girls' bank account have been padded, and we will of course enjoy our visits to the zoo with the membership we bought with her generous funds.   We also love to have your dolls on our shelfs.

To my mom and dad--  there were so many big and small packages to keep us busy.  Carolyn's favorites included the puppet theater, tickets to Disney on Ice in March, the Boogie Board, and the ice cream spoons.  Elizabeth enjoys hearing "rudolf the red nosed reindeer" read by you.  My favorite gift was the "winter" scarf, the suitcase scale, and the opportunity to look for bargains for some new work clothes.  Steve's favorite is his new fleece, which he has worn practically every day since Christmas.  The swimming shark was definitely cool, but it struggles a bit at our higher altitude.

To RJ - both girls look adorable in their new clothes.  And Carolyn loves the new books and the tic-tac-toe games.  Steve and I will now have unwrinkled clothes, thanks to the steamer!

To Kristin K -- we are patiently awaiting the strawberry plant to sprout.

To Mary Anne and Howie -- Carolyn enjoyed making the crowns, and has already picked out several recipes to make.  Elizabeth has her new soft-sided book in the crib.

And to everyone else -- Thanks for the homemade jams, cookies, jewelry, and soap.  Thanks for the cards and mementos sent through the mail.  Thanks for stopping by and for inviting us over. 

We are so thankful for all of our friends and family. We may not have been able to be with all of you this holiday season, but we thought of you a lot.

And, then there was Christmas morning.  Carolyn and Elizabeth both woke up around 9am.  Santa came to visit, and brough the two special gifts that Carolyn asked for .... a ruby red slipper door stopper for Carolyn and a new chew toy for Elizabeth. 

Can you believe that we had some tears on Christmas morning?  Carolyn was so sad when all the gifts had been unwrapped.  She was overwhelmed by everything.

Thankfully, the tears did not last long.  We enjoyed a breakfast together and started playing with our new toys.  Steve went skiing for a few hours, and then we hosted a party with plenty of cocktails, pizzas, and friends.  Although I got a new camera from Steve for Christmas, I did not take a single picture of the fun we had that evening.  

Merry Christmas!