Christmas Day

Christmas morning started with a bang.  No, seriously.  A real bang when the transformer outside my parent's house blew out, and fell off the power pole. The kids completely slept through it, but the adults enjoyed a good ol' fashioned Christmas morning in the dark.  My dad got in his truck and drove around looking for signs of power and determined it was just the three or four houses on their side of the street in their block that were affected.  My parents have a gas heater, but the thermostat and the motor are both electric, so it got a bit chilly.  They also have a gas range and stove, but the starter is electric.  So we had to use an actual lighter to start the flame to boil some water for tea.  I'm telling you.  We were living Christmas morning like the pioneers.

It took about two hours for the tech from Tucson Electric Power to get there.  He fixed it temporarily just to get electricity flowing again, and then put in a work order for a more permanent fix. We rewarded him with a bunch of cookies.

Back up and running with the electricity!

Santa came!

Yay Santa!

Winston was there with a gift of hot chocolate. 

My mom made non-boozy eggnog (because I told her she would ruin Christmas if she didn't) and we ate breakfast first. 

We were glad we didn't have to cook the sausage and eggs on the outdoor gas grill. 

Finally! Time for presents!

We gave the kids a lot more "experiences" than things.  I made them fancy certificates though, so they could have something to open. 

It wasn't all certificates though.  They did get a few "things".  Oh how the gifts have changed since they were babies and toddlers. 

We broke down and got echos for the house. 

I got my mom this little nativity block. I thought it was sweet. 

Christmas afternoon was spent at my uncle's house.  We took our family picture in his front yard. 

There was a lovely sunset as we were leaving. 

And then Elisa and her husband came over and spent a few hours with us that night over a bottle of wine.  It was a great visit and the perfect end to Christmas.