Christmas Eve. 

 It is so nice to have the house full of kids again.  It seems like that is how it always was and then suddenly they grew up and were gone.  Of course Christmas is always nice, but that spark was lacking.  But now, they have returned with their arms full of kids!!  It is fun to shop for toys again, even though the toys are different from the ones my kids had when they were growing up.  Sometimes, I have no idea what it is that I am looking for when they tell me something they want.  

We started out the evening with a steak and salmon dinner. Afterwards, Josiah and Arianna passed out the gifts to everyone from them.  Then Joshua and Emily passed out what they brought.  It is really amazing to have your grandkids hand them something they have just for you.  

Then it was time for the grandkids to open what we gave them.  Those crazy little ones had to be talked into setting aside what they had just opened in order to get on with the unwrapping of the other gifts that were there for them.  They loved everything!  Little Lina didn't get what all the fuss was about.  

This coming year is a special birthday for Emily, her Sweet 16.   We have been asking her for a long time where her dream place would be to travel to.  She said Hawaii.  So this year for Christmas we announced to them that we will be taking both of them.  In order to get their gift, they had to open up the gifts that led to it...starting with a bucket and shovel, sunscreen, flipflops, beach towell, beach ball, a lei, and a tiki glass...by the time they got to the final paper, they had pretty much figured out they were going somewhere beachy.  But they were pretty shocked to find out it was Hawaii.  It is going to be so much fun, probably more fun for me than them.