Christmas Eve

Our full day Christmas eve started with Santa pancakes for breakfast and a phone call with an old friend. ;)

"The girls" had a lovely time skiing until I almost passed out on the last run. Yikes! Thank goodness we live in a small town and everyone made sure I was okay.

Listen to the song Elise sang as we passed other skiers on the bunny hill. :)

After a warm bath and hot tea, I was ready for more Christmas fun.

Fabulous fondue with the Larsons for dinner!

Cookies, anticipation of Santa, and candy canes with more friends.

Caroling, Christmas lights, and traditional luminarias out to the Eidenbenz house made it a special night.

When we got home ~9:30pm, Elise climbed into bed and Gus was asleep. But Maddie was on a mission -- getting things ready for Santa. Cookies and milk, 9 carrots for the reindeer, a sheet of paper for Santa to leave a message, and her nice letter below:

There were arrows from the fireplace to the couch with a spots labeled for Maddie, Elise, and Gus.

She even left him a gift, an extra book.

As she went to sleep at 10pm, she said, "Mom, make sure that the camera is on the counter. Dad, wake me up if you hear anything. Hey, can you get some rope, so I can tie him up for a minute to get his picture. Mom, if you see him, will you take a picture? Hey, if Santa is just your parents it would be such drama..."
She was so excited. But as I returned to check on the kids at 10:34, she was passed out like a log. Poor girl! She missed it all! It is amazing to see how those little minds change in how they view Santa...so much to figure out when you are 7 years old.

Of all the gifts under the tree, we are most thankful for our family and our love.

Merry Christmas everyone!