christmas is over. it came and went rather quickly. we both worked up until the 23rd. i finished christmas shopping the morning of christmas eve. nothing like waiting until the last minute..honestly, there wasn't enough time left over before then so i didn't have much of a choice. for christmas, we were home, just the four of us. it was relaxing, quiet and nice.
building up to christmas, the boys were excited to see where our elf clyde appeared on a daily basis after leaving for to the north pole every night to report back to santa. even more fun was to see what clyde left in the advent calendar. a treat or a coin? clyde left a note behind one day to let the boys know that he noticed them not listening very well and arguing with each other. he asked them to do better and didn't leave them a treat. another day he brought back letters from santa! each letter was very personal and it was great to hear max read them out loud. it made the boys even more excited about christmas! when christmas morning finally came, max and finn woke up just before 7. santa had been there! our stockings were filled, the milk and cookies left out for santa almost completely gone and so were the carrots and apple left for the reindeers. max received a fishing pole, beyblade toys and an invention set. finn also got a fishing pole, a tennis racket and a light saber that changes color from blue to red and back. very cool. we emptied our stockings and opened all the other presents under the tree from friends and family. everyone was happy and the kids played with their new toys.
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| reading "elf on the shelf" one last time. the next morning our elf clyde had left to go back to the north pole. hope to see him again in a year. |
we spent some time at the park in the afternoon in 70 degree weather and sunshine to try out the new soccer and basket ball, new planes and bow and arrow sets.
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| playing and running at the park |
the following day, we drove to cooper garrod farm in saratoga nearby and the boys went pony riding. it was sunny and gorgeous outside again and a perfect day for some horseback riding. max rode spirit and finn was on simba. they had such a great time. the following day we spent time at the park again to work some of the energy out, took max to the doctor to check out his cough (thankfully nothing more than a cough for now..) and got the car washed.
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| finn on simba |
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| simba |
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| max on spirit |
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| lunch at opa |
on saturday morning, we visited the bank and finally opened separate accounts for max and finn. we have been talking about it for so long but it just hasn't happened until now. we took down christmas and got everything packed up. only the exterior lights on the house remain and need to come down. we had dinner out with todd and shauna.
now we are looking forward to celebrating new year's eve with friends. excited to see what 2014 has in store.
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| max at the bank opening his account |
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| finn's ginger bread house |
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| baking fun! |
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| moving leaves at the park |
