Merry Christmas...and Happy New Year!

After weeks of preparation, Christmas came and went quickly, but we had several get-togethers with family all the way through the new year that made it seem to last longer than one day! We went to church on Christmas Eve, where we had the honor of lighting the advent wreath. When we went home, Emma gave her elf Holly a send-off letter and put out the usual milk and cookies for Santa before sprinkling reindeer food on the lawn. On Christmas Day, in spite of her excitement, Emma slept in until almost 11:00! Later in the day, my Mom and Dad, Jason and Kristen came down for a gift exchange before the rest of the Mansfield gang joined us for dinner. Two days later, we were off to Toledo to enjoy Christmas with Todd's family. We went to Children's Wonderland with Norm and Sheila, "Big" David and Little David (who's now almost 4), where the kids enjoyed riding the train and ringing the bell, as well as the displays and activities. On Sunday, we went to Fifth Third Field (the Mud Hens' baseball park), where the Toledo Walleye Hockey Team was hosting Winterfest, complete with a full-sized ice rink on the ball field! We even got to experience an open skating session, although Emma was a little intimidated by the hockey skates. We also enjoyed dinner and a gift exchange at Norm and Sheila's. On Monday we did a little shopping before going back to the Toledo Zoo to see the lights again, as we had done at Thanksgiving. This time, however, we were able to try the new ice slide, which was a bit like snow tubing. Later that same night, we went back to Winterfest, where we got a photo taken with the Stanley Cup. We went back home on Tuesday after a nice visit with Grandma Karen, who is getting around much better these days. We celebrated New Year's Eve at home with games and the ball drop (our night owl had no trouble staying up). On New Year's Day, Emma and I went to Mom and Dad's, where we enjoyed playing games and watching the Sugar Bowl with Mom and Dad, Jason and Kristen. Now, if only the rest of the winter could be so entertaining...