We kicked off the holiday season right this year. For Thanksgiving we were in Janesville for our 'Norman Rockwell" Thanksgiving with John's family. We had a grand time. Friday was the kids' traditional visit to Santa Claus at the mall. Anne Peyton's initial hesitance was quickly overpowered by 6-year-old cousin Sarah's enthusiasm. Will post the picture once we can get it scanned in.

John and I even got a night off on Saturday, leaving the kids with Grandma & Grandpa and heading over to Madison for the night with Fuzzy & Monica!

On the way home Tuesday, we had our worst plane travel ever with the kids. Well, with Tommy. Whew! He was a handful. Was either crying or screaming or chirping loudly with happiness and waking up passengers. Or hitting us in the face and laughing hysterically when we put our "mean" faces on and scolded him. Of course we told ourselves we would not be flying with him again for 2 more years or so. AP was an angel, contentedly watching Elmo on daddy's laptop. But, that initial conviction is fading already. We have to see everybody, after all!

Wednesday, November 28 - Becky treated us to "member's night" at the Denver Botanic Gardens holiday light display. It was bitter cold but the kids were bundled up pretty well. What was delightful was Anne Peyton's enthusiasm for it all. She was literally bursting at the seams with excitement about each and every Christmas light. When Sue & Claud loaned their 3-D glasses (which made each light look like a snowman or a snowflake) to her, the smile plastered on her face underneath those silly glasses was just irresistable. Typically she does not like to listen to songs she has never heard before, but in listening to Christmas carols in the car, she took a shining to several of them the first time: Little Drummer Boy, Frosty The Snowman, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells. After each she'd say "Mommy, I want to hear that song again!", or "I wike dat song!". On the way home she politely asked "Daddy, may I have some more Rum Pum Pum Pum, pease?". At one point I suggested to John and Becky about making figgy pudding this Christmas, and AP chimed right in with her great idea:"MOMMY! We can make some pudding for da snowman and da reindeer!!!" (she was referring to the people dressed up as Rudolph & Frosty at the Botanic Gardens. As she puts it, she was "a wittle bit scared" of Rudolph.)

Sorry to gush, but it was really joyful to hear her excitement, and quite contagious. It is restoring some of that childhood magic of Christmas for all of us.