Christmas Day

This morning started really early for the kids (of course!), who came in around 6 something to ask if they were allowed to go downstairs and check if Santa had come (so great that they still ask permission!). Moments later, we heard whoops and shouts and cheers that I hope will stay lodged in my memory bank for the rest of my life.

Rhiannon especially was SO happy and shouted "WOO HOO!! Thank you Santa!!  Yeaaaaahh!" at the mere sight of a big package with her name on it. As they opened up their stockings and found the smaller treasures that Santa had given them -- Tryfan got a book he has been wanting plus some Top Trumps cards about dinosaurs, Rhiannon got a watch she has been wanting plus some Top Trumps cards about horses, they both got quite a bit of chocolate -- their excitement kept boiling over and they simply had to run upstairs to tell us (as we were dozing snuggly in bed) about their discoveries one by one. They also noticed that the Elves didn't eat the yellow sweets again (same thing happened last year), there was a trail of fairy dust from the fireplace to the tree, one chewed end of a carrot plus some stray peanuts must have fallen back down the chimney after the reindeer had been eating them because they were covered in ash at the edge of the fireplace. It was just the absolute best and warmest feeling to be still upstairs snuggly in bed and listening to the kids celebrate Santa's successful visit.

We eventually opened presents (slowly, one person opening at a time) and these morphsuits from Uncle Will and Aunt Rebecca were fast favorites, although they got a lot of nice stuff all around!

T in his Ninja morphsuit and R in her Jaguar morphsuit

In the early afternoon, we went for a walk up and down the road. Rhiannon had gotten her dream present from Santa: a twin baby set for her 2 baby dolls which included a bunk bed, a bouncy chair, and a double stroller. She wanted to take this new stroller out with us on the walk, but in the end opted to just squish both babies into her old stroller because she didn't want the wheels on the new one to get wet and dirty (isn't she sensible!).

While we were on our short walk up and down the road, we called in to say Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to our friend Danni (whose birthday is today) and then we saw our other friends/neighbors who were also out for a walk, and they invited us round tomorrow for an afternoon drink. So eventful! We do love living here on this road - its a very sociable place.

Rhiannon with her "old" stroller which will soon be given away

It was mostly rainy this morning but sort of cleared this afternoon. After our walk, Rhodri and I started cooking a traditional dinner of roast turkey, veg, potatoes, etc and sat down to eat around 4pm. We skyped with our family in Santa Barbara, which was great fun, and then later we had the Coldbreath family (3 doors down from us, with kids Mark and Toby) come over to hang out. We ended up doing a bit of karaoke which was hilarious and fun, and then in for a reasonable bedtime. What a fantastic day!