Saturday, December 31, 2011

Christmas Morning

Hooray, hooray! It's finally Christmas!
Santa came, and left fabulous presents!

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Luken got a remote-controlled helicopter!
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I didn't take pictures of the whole package-opening process, but here's the aftermath!
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We had a fun day of presents and playing.

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve morning, we had a special surprise for the kids! They had read their letter from Charlie, and knew we were going to run a special errand, but they didn't know what.

We sat them down on the couch and told them that we were about to go pick out....
Guinea Pigs!
They were so surprised and excited!
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I had set up an appointment with a rescue organization in advance, and the kids got to meet several potential pairs. They chose Sunny and Gerry.
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At home, we assembled their cage and introduced them to their new home.
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The kids gave them some carrots and had some lap time.
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We spent most of the day playing with them!

Later, we had a lovely dinner of Dungeoness Crab, and then the kids decorated cookies for Santa.
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Then, as is our annual tradition, they got to open one present each - new PJ's!
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Cuties in their snuggly PJ's!
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A little more piggie time:
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Then, setting out for Santa and his reindeer!
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Soon, the kiddies were nestled all snug in their beds! :)

Charlie

So, I mentioned in a couple of earlier posts that we had an elf this Christmas! He arrived at the beginning of December. There was a knock on the door, and we found a tin on the doorstep with a note on top!

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The kids agreed to name him Charlie.
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We found him in a new place each morning.
In a bowl of Clementines:
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Up above the kitchen cabinets:
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With the remote, a glass of milk, and a few pieces of candy:
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Reading a family photo book:
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Up in a wreath:
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With a bunch of marshmallows and a Sharpie:
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In Keeley's dollhouse with Olive, the Other Reindeer - having a spot of tea and a cupcake:
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In Luken's PJ drawer, wearing a sock as a sleeping bag:
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One morning, we found him in the CAR - he had gone to the store and brought back donuts for breakfast!!!
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He took a guitar ornament off the tree and performed a concert for several of the kids' toys:
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Trying to steal the coin left by the Tooth Fairy:
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Watching clips from the movie Elf on YouTube:
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Up at the top of the Christmas tree:
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Clipped to the Christmas card display:
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In Luken's backpack on the last day of school - he wanted to go to the school parties!
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In the pantry on top of the box of Pop Tarts I had bought for a treat:
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One night, the kids slept over next door while Todd and I went to his company's party. Charlie grabbed the binoculars and headed upstairs to see if he could see them out the window.
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Trying to steal Keeley's Tooth Fairy money:
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Hiding with the old iPhone we now use as an iPod Touch, playing ZoZo Bugs:
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Reading a book Keeley had checked out from the library:
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An important message!
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Another important message - sent directly from Santa!!
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On Christmas Eve, he was in Luken's stocking, with a letter for the kids:
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And that was the last we saw of Charlie! We enjoyed having him as our guest for most of December!