Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas week always has odd effects on time and space. On one hand, it roars by, packed with activities and stress. It seems like you blink and you’ve gone from December 19 to the 26th in a flash. On the other, when I think back to picking folks up at the airport just over a week ago, it seems like a month ago with everything we’ve done in-between.

So much to catch up on. This will not be chronological, so my apologies for the jumps.

First, the important stuff. Our girls had good Christmases. M., who infamously struggled with her list, got a fuzzy, folding, papa san-style chair that she loves, a Snap Circuits electronic kit, and a Minecraft stop motion movie kit. She was wanting some Minecraft Legos, so she keeps calling the movie kit a Lego set, even though it is not. C. got an iPod Nano (engraved with her name on the back), a “Bag of Science” set, and one of those fake talking birds (Chirpakeet? I really should know the name of her gifts, right?). And L. got a drum set, a Cling Creator, and a remote control helicopter. All seemed happy with their hauls and have spent most of their time since Christmas morning playing with them. They also got Barnes and Noble gift cards that they cashed in yesterday.

Before Christmas, their cousins from Denver were staying with us. The five of them had a great time. There was almost no downtime every day. Which was a bit of a surprise because the weather kept them inside ever day. They went to see the new Chipmunks movie as well.

There was a wrinkle to our Christmas Eve plans. Normally we hit an early evening Mass as a family then gather for dinner. A stomach bug had hit a few people, though, and we decided Mass might be a little tricky.[1] So we skipped church and just had the family gathering. Everyone survived, no new people got sick, and it was a fun night.

Each year I kind of blank out how busy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are when you’re hosting events. Then, about the 22nd, I remember how insane those 36 hours are going to be. We cooked and cleaned pretty much all day on the 24th. More cooking once the presents were opened on the 25th. So, with nothing to do on Saturday, both S. and I slept well past 10:00. I can’t recall the last time I slept that late without being sick. And I’ve slept past 9:00 the past two mornings. This dreary weather doesn’t make you,want to get out of bed any sooner than you have to.

Unrelated to Christmas but still fun, we bought L. her first pair of basketball shoes yesterday. She won’t practice for another week, but yesterday just after the Colts game ended seemed like the perfect time to go shopping. We dug through boxes at Dick’s, found a pair that fit in roughly the colors of the high school that is running her league, and she was set. She wore them all last night and already had them on when I got up this morning. I think she’s ready to get started!

There are haircuts on the agenda for the two younger girls today. And I’m going to see The Force Awakens this afternoon.

Still a full week of break left, so plenty more time to do fun stuff in the hours the girls are normally at school.