twas the night before christmas

As we were packing our ridiculously full and overly stuffed cases to go to England Rosie ran to the bookcase and exclaiming we had to have our traditional Christmas stories. I said, only one child. only one, we cannot drag books across the Atlantic. So one it was, The Night Before Christmas.

Christmas Eve the girls and I spent walking around the little town and taking in the cold and the thrill of of being "there". It was magical. My seester came over and things were perfect. That evening my Auntie and Uncle came over after dinner and we had a really great night. Annie had just been to visit her mum and dad and had left gifts for us with them and Anne and Brian thought it would a great idea to have the girls open them on Christmas Eve, she was right. One of Lily's gifts was a Jelly Belly Jelly Bean game. All sorts of jelly beans matched by colors, but one was a yummy flavour the other a yucky one. The idea is you spin the spinner and whatever colour it lands on you have to eat the bean. We ALL played, even daddy. We laughed so hard but we aren't brave we had a little bowl for rejects cos baby wipes, rotten egg, vomit, to name a few are just not palatable. I must say though that Auntie Ann was the bravest she chalks it up to being a nurse ...I think I have made a mistake.

This is what happens when the bean is dog food and NOT chocolate.

Ann, Lily, Nannie, Rosie who is eating a nasty one

Once everyone left Nanny exclaimed oh, I have to get the, Night Before Christmas, you can't go to bed without it. We laughed as Ro ran to her bedroom and got her own copy.
And with that they went to bed.

and awoke LATE the next day to find that Father Christmas had been

Christmas at HOME

Father CHristmas ate his minced pies and drank his milk, the grands thought it shocking that Ro should offer him milk and not  something a wee bit stronger LOL. Rudoplh ate an apple off of Nannys tree cos Grandpa forgot to dig up some carrots.

Great excitement to see all this. They didn't think he would know where to find them .

And after waiting 32 years to spend Christmas with MY family that is where it ended for me. I got the migraine from hell. It was more than just a migraine and I think it was some sort of virus and spent the next 2 days as sick as a dog. I am saying no more about it. I am thankful that the girls had Nanny, Grandpa and my seester and uncle Andy, their cousins and had a ball.