Christmas '10

It was a very merry Christmas. We spent our Christmas here at the ranch. On Christmas eve Michael and dad ran up to Austin to fetch Michael's vespa while Mom, Lilliana, Davis, Sam and I all rode bikes, played outside and went caroling up at my grandparent's house. Later that evening mom and dad hosted their annual Christmas eve party at Casa Pacifica. The house was gorgeous as usual and full of bright, sparkly Christmas. We had tamales and chili and tons of beautiful baked goods made by my sister. Cheris and Rob and the kids, Rebecca and Bill and their kids and Fabian and Brad all came and enjoyed the party with us. The San Marcos Davis family was all there and my sister's family and in-laws and friends and my grandparents, Stacy and Lilliana and mom and dad of course. Earl Poole Ball played the piano and we sang Christmas carols and drank white martinis and the kids opened presents and went crazy. It was wonderful and perfect.
We were home by 8PM in order to put out pumpkin pie and carrots for Santa and his deer and to tuck the children into their beds. It was hilarious- at one point all the kids at the party were crowded around the computer watching NORAD to see where Santa was in the world. The minute it looked like Santa was headed to Texas, the kids all ran to find their grown-ups and demand that we take the home and put them to bed.
Christmas morning was cold and early but full of Christmas cheer. Santa brought Davis roller skates, a morphibian remote control car and a science kit. He brought Sam roller skates, a morphibian remote control car and two ice age movies. The children were very pleased. They opened their stockings and were thrilled over the coconuts that Santa left them. We ate breakfast and played with our toys and then packed up all the presents and drove back over to Casa Pacifica to spend Christmas day.
We all play a stocking game where we lay our stocking out around the big dining table and then everyone present slips different stocking gifts into each stocking anonymously. It is so fun and I got some really great gifts in my stocking this year.
After we opened our stockings Lilliana and Stacy arrived and we refreshed our mimosa/bloody mary/vodka and orange juice/coffee and met up in the big living room to open presents. We go in order from youngest to oldest and it is so enjoyable to watch each person receive their presents. The kids actually did well with this as it gave them time to play with the toy they had just opened a bit before they opened the next one. The presents were all so thoughtful and generous and the room was full of appreciation and love.
After presents I leapt up and put some bread in the oven and heated up some soup I had made the day before for our Christmas lunch. We ate that and left overs and then spent the afternoon playing with all our Christmas toys. In the evening we moved everyone up to my Grandparents' house for Christmas dinner. Everyone contributed a dish and it made for a beautiful buffet. I admired all the food and desserts and then put the three things I could actually eat on my plate. We had a lovely dinner and then immediately hauled our over-tired and over-sugared children home and into bed.
The next morning I was lay leader at our Unitarian Church. The crowd was minimal and the church was FREEZING because the heater went out in the sanctuary. Even so it was nice because the sermon was really great and my parents and my sister both attended! I was so happy to have my family come and check out my role in our new spiritual community. After church we had lunch with the rest of the family at my parent's house and the spent the afternoon at our Stacey and Chris' house where we sang along to their new Beatle's wii game and the kids played outside. It was a great afternoon.
Yesterday we did home improvement projects all day and removed all traces of Christmas decor. It was a little sad, but so much less cluttered. I think it's nice to start a new year with a clean, organized house. In the afternoon our friends Elizabeth and Zach and their kids came over and we danced to my new wii game, Just Dance 2 and ate chili and laughed a lot.
So far, I'm thinking this Christmas break is rocking. We also got family season passes to Sea World for Christmas so watch for a Sea World post in the next few days. XO! And Merry Christmas from the Walter Family!