My sister’s in-laws happen to live in Santa Cruz practically around the corner from us, so they’ve been inviting us to their holiday celebrations for years. As always, the kids loved seeing their cousins….
Cameron still adores Jason. In this picture, she’s roaring at him.
He roared back!
She thought he was hilarious!
The kids, of course, had gifts to open (all of us grown-ups drew names for a gift exchange) and both Tyler and Dylan got this classic “drinking bird” gift. Pretty neat to watch!
We brought a risotto that Tom made as well as some vegan cookies I baked (Mexican wedding cookies, an old standby; as well as pecan pie truffles and almond toffee bars which I had made for a mommy-hosted cookie exchange party the week before…).
The ride back home from Candice’s house was extremely short, but it was so late, the kids pretty much sacked out on the way home!
It was a good thing, too….After putting the kids into bed, Tom and I got to Christmas morning prep–setting out a plate of cookies for Santa, wrapping our presents for the kids, and prepping the food for Christmas brunch and dinner with my side of the family.
Tom was heroic. We got a heads-up that there would be cinnamon rolls for brunch, so Tom prepped vegan cinnamon rolls as well as our regular tofu scramble and mashed potatoes while I prepped the brussels sprouts.
Tom and I only got to bed around 2 or 3 in the morning, but it was definitely worth all of the prep and exhaustion…the kids were so excited about the holidays and, throughout, they’ve enjoyed every aspect of preparation and celebration. They were definitely looking forward to Christmas Day….
