Santa Claus, he came to our town!

Grace and Hattie and I started out the Christmas 2-day-event by taking around the neighbor gifts. This is a foreign concept to people in New England. No one really does it, (except our neighbors across the street do participate with just us) but being a Utah native where this thing is required, I just can't shake the task. I actually love doing it here because I have nothing to live up to, no one else to compare myself to (you know what I mean - when you get the unbelievable neighbor gift that no one will top and you are suddenly embarrassed by your tiny plate of cookies!) Plus, my neighbors here are totally appreciative of the gesture. It's not just the 14th plate of mystery cookies they've gotten this month. It is also one of the few times a year we actually speak to some of our neighbors and it's great to get to know them a little more each year.

So, I was trying to figure out how to take 2 kids and 8 plates of goodies at the same time. Surely Hattie would ask to be picked up somewhere along the way too. The wagon won't go in the snow. Wait! We have a big sled! ("Over the river and through the woods" brings new meaning after you've lived here!) Both kids and all the trimmings went right in the sled and I pulled them around our snowy neighborhood. Dirt roads do come in handy ONCE in a while. I think this was one of the most fun things we have done for a long time. Grace just kept saying what a great time she was having. I feel like I must have kept these guys cooped up for way too long lately!After delivering our goods, we came home to clean up a bit. Our neighbor, "grandma Jeanne" did stop by with presents for the girls since she wasn't home when we dropped off her gift with Roger. This is as close to visiting a Grandma at Christmas as we get. She is such a dear. We just LOVE her and her family.

Then, we went on our merry way to the Bahe's Christmas Eve party. We have a standing invitation at their house, so we always have something to look forward to and never have to dread being left without plans and home alone. Their family is unique and funny and a total blast to celebrate with. Their traditions are becoming ours (what will we do when we can't ring their chimes or have their vegetarian dinner or participate in their nativity with all of Shawn's crazy clothes?!)(Hattie played Mary in the nativity with a baby Jesus bear)

Grace and Aydan tracked Santa during the night on NORAD. He did get quite close before we headed home. I think he was on Prince Edward Island as we drove away.Quick, home, have a bath, put on clean jammies, wait!, we forgot to frost some cookies for Santa, ok, everything done, in bed at 10:30??? Holy cow. Glad we did so much in advance to prepare! Have to remember to lock the dogs in our bedroom so that they don't get an advance advantage to go through the stockings full of treats before we get up...

Christmas morning. I wake up to Grace poking me in the shoulder. It's about 7:30. We slink down the stairs to see what is waiting for us under the tree. Hattie is DELIGHTED to find (and hasn't stopped talking about it) that Santa ate the cookies and drank the apple juice she left for him!

Hattie opens the first present - A MOON BOUNCE!!! Something she's been wanting all year. As we cycle through the turns, Grace keeps trying to figure out which box holds the ipod she's asked for and had in mind all year and told everyone that she might get. She finally chooses the right box. Yay! A blue ipod - just as she wanted.

(Grace giving Daddy the present she bought in SLC in October. She's kept it a secret all this time!)

Where's Red, our elf? Oh, Santa picked him up last night. He isn't here anymore. This is the saddest part of Christmas. Saying good-bye to our cheerful friend. Grace did say at the end of it all that she was so thankful that Santa came to our house. She was quite worried he wouldn't after how naughty we have all been lately. (glad she at least knows that we haven't been on best behavior lately!)

We hate being so far from family on these days, but one good thing about it is that we don't have to go anywhere or entertain anyone. We stay in jammies all day, sit in our mess, play with our toys, and eat our food in no particular order. We did cook a pretty Christmas dinner, just for us. I love making a candle-light dinner in the dining room. The girls love it too.We do think of everyone we miss and we are so mindful of our friends who are suffering hardships and losses this year. We are truly grateful for all that was sent our way from presents and treats to cards and e-mails. We feel so lucky. We hope we've been able to spread our Christmas cheer as far reaching as it was felt coming, but we're quite sure that we have had more to be grateful for than we have given.