Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

We got a fantastic Christmas gift from Grandma & Grandpa this year... a two night package for a nearby hotel! We had a family theme suite, and given the kids' obsession with wall*e, I wasn't surprised when they chose a space themed suite. Their themed room was basically a large closet with two bunk beds, a tv and playstation, and walls and ceiling painted in a space theme. They loved the room! It was hot and stuffy in that little room, and they slept very little.... but they were thrilled. I spent the first night in a bunk with M, who got in and out of it pretty much every hour through the night. The next night was a little better, but Ralph was the only one who really got a decent amount of sleep. G was thrilled to play a Cars game on the playstation, and all three of them had fun watching wall*e before bedtime (well, actually... it was after bedtime).














Some other highlights of our getaway included visiting a spectacular Christmas light display, finally getting our passports, and spending time in the pool. The slide was pretty intense, and none of the kids were too interested in going down it more than once. It was really dark, and super fast. They had fun swimming though. G insisted on "swimming" without his lifejacket, M ran back and forth between the "cold pool" and the "hot pool," and L paddled around the big pool in her life jacket a lot. It was great that we were there during the week, because on the second afternoon... we were the only ones in the pool for most of the afternoon! It was great for G to be able to swim without the incredible noise that usually accompanies pool experiences.

















Before returning home, we visited the Children's Museum. Something new this time was the Christmas Village display that I remember visiting as a child in a department store, the kids loved seeing the displays and hearing the fairy tales that each display was about. We also spent some time going through the museum, and the kids loved the same attractions they usually love... G loved the vaccuum tubes, sorting mail on the train, and climbing through the caves. L loved driving the train and getting her face painted. M had fun in the slide (but she was scared to go down), and generally running off.



It was really nice to get away for a few days and have a mini-holiday to break up the winter!

ho ho ho

Wow, it's almost a month after Christmas, and I still haven't blogged... sorry all you far away relatives! This was definitely the best Christmas yet! G had such a hard time falling asleep on Christmas Eve, squeezing his eyes shut, willing himself to sleep. He raced upstairs on Christmas morning around 7 a.m, ran into his baby sister's room and woke her up. He tried shouting downstairs to L, but she wasn't in any mood to get up yet... went to their room and told her to wake up (forgetting to mention that Santa had visited), and she yelled at him ("G, I just want to sleep more!"). Once he went back down and told her that Santa had come, she ran upstairs with him. As usual, G was thrilled by the letter from Santa, and so was L. They emptied their stockings first, and were especially excited by the wall*e and eve action figures they found inside. M was thrilled with her glitter glue. Then they opened their presents from Santa. Like the past few Christmases, G said "A wall*e Leapster game, JUST what I wanted!" He also got a mini air-hockey table from Santa. L was thrilled with her Sleeping Beauty horse and carriage, and her princess pony. M was thrilled with a Little People house.

G was excited to give us the gifts that he bought for us on a special shopping trip with Nita. He bought his daddy a great tie (aside from the zipper closure), me a beaded bracelet, L a Sleeping Beauty watch, and M a painting book. I was so impressed by the care that he took in choosing special gifts that he thought we would all like.

We spent the rest of the day playing. Grandma and Grandpa came over from brunch, and then we opened more presents. L was especially excited about her Sleeping Beauty bedding (are you sensing a theme yet?). We watched a movie, played some more, and made supper. It was the perfect day (except for missing all of you far away family!).