Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Spirit of the Season

(I still have catch up posts to write, but if I don't start back in with some current chronicling I'll be writing about Christmas in March.)

Our kids are in their Holiday prime.  Easily delighted.  Old enough to understand and appreciate what's going on, but not skeptical enough to question much.  And perfectly willing to go along with whatever crazy plans their dad and I hatch.  Like going out into the woods to cut a Christmas Tree.  Or transforming the van into the Polar Express for a night and looking at Christmas lights in our pajamas.  It's just nonsensical how nostalgic I already am for these days, like I could cry for them while we're in them.


Last night (with a hint from my cute neighbor Katie) we took our kids on a Polar Express themed Christmas light tour.  After dinner we told them to get into their jammies and watch out their bedroom window.  Nate pulled around in the van and honked the horn several times.  When the kids went out he was standing by the door like the conductor on the movie and asked where their tickets were.  They looked back at me a little confused and I handed them some tickets that I had printed here. (Thanks crafty bloggers!)  I had slipped my little hole punch in Nate's pocket, so he punched their tickets before they got in :) And we had some songs from the PolEx soundtrack playing on the CD player in the car.  It was pretty magical and they were so excited to climb on board!




We made a quick hot chocolate stop in case our passengers were in need of a little refreshment (our passengers are always up for refreshments ;)  We picked my mom up (the kids were so excited to give her a ticket) and we cruised around town to take in some of the extra special light displays.  (We had hoped to pick up a few other passengers, but Nana & Grandma Nan were both busy with prior commitments.  boo.)



We had such a fun night!  Really simple, but really memorable.

When we got home Nate had some work to do, but I hadn't had my fill of the kids, so I pulled them into bed with me and we read The Night Before Christmas (the one illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa is so charming - it's one of my very favorite books in our Holiday library).  It took a while for the excitement of the night to distill.  The kids wanted to talk about their Christmas lists and the funny parts on Max & Ruby's Christmas and what we should do this weekend and...

I finally had to insist that we turn our voices off and close our eyes.  They had both snuggled themselves right into me, we were a mess of sticky limbs and staticky pajamas.  I savored the closeness for a few minutes, then extracted myself, moved to the foot of the bed and fell asleep.  


4 comments:

  1. loving all the posts! keep them coming! cute polar express idea. and your kitchen looks great!

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  2. Oh my goodness! Emily I LOVE reading your writings! I smile, laugh, tear up and even down right cry sometimes! You are so cute and your family is adorable! I want to visit you and your new place! Call me!
    Debbi Warren (your OLD anatomy teacher)
    God bless you and your family!

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  3. What a fun idea! I love what you did with the kitchen, and your cute decoration over the sink. :)

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  4. Absolutely darling! I totally want to copy. And the part about being nostalgic right now--loved it. Pretty much sums up my life right now. Beautiful Em.

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