Holiday Happenings

The most magical time of year is upon us and we've been soaking up every bit of it. The blog has been a little quiet lately, but that's mostly because we've been so busy. Joe's mom and her husband were in town for about a week for Thanksgiving, and we went straight from all things turkey to all things Christmas overnight. I did a bit of online shopping for Black Friday, but mostly we just spent the day with family playing Uno and Mario Kart, and getting out of the house to check out the tree lighting at our local Christmas in the Park. 

Not only is there a giant tree, but there are also hundreds of normal-sized trees decorated for Christmas. We didn't realize it at the time, but they also happened to have a tiny parade with a marching band and Santa in a giant sleigh being pulled along by a train. Lucky for us we happened to be in a prime viewing spot and Ez and Declan were momentarily impressed, until a plane flew overhead and then that took priority. Of course. My favorite part is all the little trees but Ez and Declan were much more impressed by the small train choo chooing its way around a tiny track. Since it was opening night the place was packed so we didn't stay long, but you can bet we'll be back soon.

Later that week we went to a local outdoor mall for dinner and to check out their tree, which was huge and impressive...except that most of the lights didn't work. At least the star was lit up, and that's the most important part. We also came across a giant Declan-sized chess set. Needless to say, he loved it. He was running around like crazy pushing all the pieces over like the little bully he is. Since it's almost Christmas we went into Joe's favorite shop: the Tesla store. He's obsessed. And I'm pretty sure Ez and Declan are too now that they know there's a mini convertible in there just for them. Don't be fooled by their faces in the photos below, they were much more excited than they let on. 

This past weekend we headed up to San Francisco to take in all the Christmasy city magic. Union square at Christmas time is a long standing tradition from my childhood and I love sharing it with Ez and Declan now. Back then I used to go with my mom to do all our Christmas shopping together. Now Joe and I just run full speed in opposite directions trying to wrangle these two crazy boys. Slightly different experience, but still magical and fun ;) We also made a visit to Santa...but I'll save that for a different post. 

And last but not least we went to greet the holiday train for the second year in a row. Last year Declan was a tiny baby strapped to my chest so we went early and got a pretty good viewing spot. This year Declan is a whirlwind of energy that wants to climb anything remotely climbable, jump off every curb he comes across, and generally run a hundred miles an hour away from us just for the sake of being mischievous. So we got there right before the train arrived and didn't get the best viewing spot to see Santa and all the other North Pole characters. Nor did we get many pictures because our hands were full. The best part was seeing the train depart, and since pictures can't do it justice we took video instead. Ez and Declan stop whatever they're doing and come running whenever they hear this video and then stand there watching as rapt as they did that night on the train platform. Then they ask to watch it over and over again. 

Hope you are yours are enjoying a festive, magical season so far!