Christmas 2017

Christmas morning arrived with not too many presents beneath the tree, but a big inflatable palm tree and the sounds of Mele Kalikimaka...

After the kids woke and dutifully began caroling on the stairs...

... until the Baby Jesus arrived in the manger on the landing, watched over by Domino.

The race downstairs began!

The kids thought the leis were for a trip with neighbors to Coco Key, which was one of their gifts... but there were more surprises to come. :)

Lorelei got some nighttime curlers, a salon appointment to dye strands of her hair purple and pink, some pajamas, wheely-shoes and some books.

Gryffy got some wheely-shoes, nerf guns...

... and a leather jacket, which he's been begging for for ages. (I think he saw one on Stranger Things.)

And then came the PowerPoint Presentation outlining our philosophy about spending money on experiences--time together that weaves fond memories into the fabric of "us"--rather than material things... and a few BIG surprises to boot!

The kids were pretty excited as the presentation built...

The kids were more excited about Spring Break with the neighbors than anything else. The Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay was our first big family vacation, when we fell in love with spending time unplugged together. We didn't think we could pull it off this Spring Break and had gotten cold feet when our neighbors were ready to book, but later found a deal that was too good to refuse!

Mark and I opted to bundle up our Christmas, 15th anniversary and birthday presents into these 2018 trips to Mexico, Hawaii, China, Cambodia & Thailand (whew!)... but I did get him a much-needed suitcase. :)

Merry Christmas, 2017! And God bless us with health, love and many grand adventures, everyone!