My mom visited a few days ahead of Christmas. We were glad to spend it with some family as the last 2 Christmases, it's just been the 4 of us. We had planned a few things during her visit, like 2 different light displays and a sightseeing tour boat on Lady Bird Lake, but mostly, we just spent time with the boys, ate good food and hung out at the house. Mom helped me finish some house projects and also babysat one night so Ed and I could have a nice date night. And then there was this little event called Christmas...
Her first day here, we grabbed lunch and hung out. After dinner, we went to the light display on 37th Street, which measured by previous years, was a sight to see. This year... not so much. Picture any street in a neighborhood and you'd probably see the same caliber. It was a real disappointment and we're really not sure what happened. Some homes didn't even participate. There were a few that were out of the ordinary, but nothing like the fire breathing dragon of years past. Sorry mom : (
The next day was rainy, so we mostly stayed inside and worked on house stuff. Then, Ed and I went out on a date. Sunday, the sun came out but it was certainly chilly as we toured Lady Bird Lake atop a riverboat. The sights were pretty and I learned a few things about the Austin skyline I hadn't known before. The boys got to see a train cross the train bridge from the vantage point of the lake, so that was their favorite part.
That night we headed to Wimberley for the festive lights on the grounds of the Emily Ann Theatre. We walked along the path throughout the different themed displays, drank hot cocoa, watched the ever-festive belly dancing to get us in the Christmas spirit, and the boys got to ride a lawn mower-pulled train. It was fun and definitely an improvement over 37th St (although the boys said they liked them the same : ). They fell asleep on the 40 minute drive home.
On Christmas Eve, the checked out the gingerbread house display in the lobby of the Four Seasons downtown. It had a Dr. Seuss theme this year and the boys enjoyed the train and looking at the different houses. They were pretty impressive but our gingerbread house was right up there with them : )
That night, Ed cooked a yummy dinner of prime rib and lobster tails. Siiri joined us and we even got in a friendly game of Catch Phrase. We also face timed Ed's family and opened some gifts with them.
The next morning, Morgan was the first one up and excitedly woke us up announcing that Santa had come! We told him to wake up Dean and Nana before opening any gifts and he obliged. We started with the stockings and worked our way to all the gifts under the tree. Morgan read the tags and passed them out while Dean exclaimed "Ooohh, I wanted that!" after almost every gift he opened, even those for which I know he'd never seen : ) Thanks to all the grandparents and family members for the gifts.
The boys spent the day playing with their new toys and that night, Ed outdid himself again and made a huge spread with honey baked ham, mashed potatoes, baked beans, rolls and more. After listening to music and having a dance party, Nana said goodbye to the boys as her flight was early the next morning. We were glad to have her here for the holiday and look forward to another visit in the spring!
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