Christmas 07

Wow, where have the past few days gone? Time has just flown by since my last post.

We had a lovely Christmas, which started on Christmas Eve with our family tradition of eating fish & chips for dinner at the beach.

After dinner, we got the boys into their PJs and headed to church for the Christmas Eve service, followed by a delicious supper. Since it was getting dark after that, we decided to drive around Panorama Court and Vista Motu to look at the Christmas lights before heading home. Ethan couldn’t believe that the people who lived in the houses were standing outside, handing out lollies and chocolates. He said “It’s so kind of those people to give us lollies, isn’t it?” and I said he was right. I’m so glad that he notices and appreciates small acts of kindness like that.
When we got home, we put out a glass of milk, a beer and cookies for Santa. And a carrot for the reindeer. The boys finally went to bed around 9.30pm, much later than their usual 7pm bedtime!

Next morning, they woke at 7am (a pretty dignified time, really). We heard Ethan going to the toilet before heading upstairs. Tyler hadn’t made any noise, so we thought he was still asleep. All of a sudden, we heard a little voice coming from his bedroom, saying “Ho! Ho! Ho!” … too cute!

The boys were SO excited to see if Santa had been. Ethan kept saying “Tyler, if the cookies are gone, it means Santa has been!” and they were SO amazed when they saw the empty glass & bottle, and the cookie crumbs! They loved everything in their Christmas stockings. We don’t spend much on our kids at Christmas time, because we don’t believe in spoiling them, and we want them to be grateful for what they get. They really loved their presents. Ethan was thrilled to get a SpongeBob DVD and a small bouncy ball – both were on his list. They also enjoyed giving presents to each other. Tyler got Ethan an ABC colouring book, and Ethan got Tyler some Mr Potato Head accessories.

We had lunch at my sister’s place with Mum, Dad and Grandma. It was a pretty relaxed BBQ lunch, which was really nice. The boys got new Moon Hoppers from Nana & Grandad so they played outside on those before the rain set in.

About 2.30pm, we packed up and set off for Whangarei.
We arrived at my MIL’s place around 4.30pm. TONS of presents awaited the boys, who got totally spoiled (as usual). We enjoyed a HUGE Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. It was so neat to have all 3 of Rob’s siblings there, with their spouses and children. And it was fun for Ethan & Tyler to have all their cousins around them. We attempted a photo of the cousins, and here’s the result:

(Eli, Brock, Georgia, Jet, Tyler, Ethan, Zoe and Amy)

On Boxing Day, we drove up to Teal Bay where Rob’s Dad and his partner Jenni were staying with her family in a holiday house. The kids swam at the beach and I got sunburnt – ouch! It was a gorgeous day.

All in all, we had a lovely Christmas. This year, the kids got fewer “toys” and more educational books & games instead (which I am happy about). We are having lots of fun learning how to play the new games together. Tyler also got a cricket set which they played with at Gran’s place on Christmas Day.

I was quite spoiled this year and got a nice stash of goodies! Satin PJs, jewellery, slippers, a new top, 3 Scrapbooking mags, scrapbooking papers, acrylic stamps, a book, chocolates, moisturiser … AND … a ticket to the Matchbox Twenty concert in April!! Thanks, sis!! I am really looking forward to going with you!