Day 1 - Winter Break

The day didn't bring much excitement. Layla and Zackery merely enjoyed staying in their pjs for a majority of the day, playing inside and outside with their toys. I was simply pleased that they were entertained without relying on the television and wii.

I was busy cleaning the kitchen and organizing the mountain of mail that awaited me. I'm happy to report kitchen is 80% completed.

Then the afternoon brought a tiny car ride to a colleague's home to pick up our order of egg rolls. The kids were happy to take the ride.

The best part of the trip came on the way home when a storm of laughter erupted from the backseat of the car from the two of them. I looked in my rearview mirror to find them sharing the Itouch and watching an episode of Hannah Montana. Their laughter came from the bellows of their bellies. BIG HARDY LAUGHS that put a huge smile on my face. My heart beamed a 1000s times over and I made a conscious decision to lock this memory into my brain. Forever the image of the two of them conversing and laughing as brothers and sisters do.

As for our evening plans, we drove across the city to Chandler to enjoy the Christmas Lights extravanganza at another colleague's house. We made small diversions thru the streets to see other light displays to hear the "ooohs and aaahs" from Layla and Zackery. When we turned the corner to Dr. Idso's house, the squeals of delights were louder and Layla exclaimed, "Oh My God, this is crazy!!! You weren't kidding?! This is just so crazy!"

It took a few momentsf or her to catch her breath as she squealed in delight over the huge display. She was more blown away when we got out of the car to see the display up close and personal and were met by the man, Dr. Idso, himself carrying a huge bowl of candy canes.

His firepit was already blazing and chairs surrounded his car port. He had a table of goodies set up with hot cocoa, marshmallows of various sizes, graham crackers, chocolate, hot dogs--all good for roasting over the pit.

What a night of fun enjoying the treats and chatting with co-workers on Winter Break. Layla and Zack enjoyed time with the other "teacher kids" eating the sweets and investigating the lights more closely.

It is definitely a sight to see and I'm so happy to make this a Christmas tradition for our family!