Now that we have put away most of the wrapping paper and bows, here's how Miss Scarlett spent her Christmas...
We finished the last of our shopping on Sunday, amidst an incredible rain storm that caused flooding and chaos everywhere we went. However, Scarlett was a trooper through both Costco and the grocery store, and kept herself entertained with whatever she could reach from the cart.
Playing Christmas Jedis with grandma. |
On Christmas Eve, we decided to take advantage of smaller crowds and visit a museum exhibit we have wanted to see (we bought the tickets months ago and only had another week left!). We headed to The Tech in San Jose, where they have a special Mythbusters exhibit, with props from the show and recreations of some of their most memorable experiments...including their giant Jaws shark.
That night, we had a big group over to eat way too much delicious food, do a White Elephant gift exchange and go to church. My job was dessert, and I made this awesome, easy cake that I found on Pinterest. It's Betty Crocker's Pumpkin Prailine Cake, and it was quite a success!
Christmas morning, we opened presents. Scarlett was not too sure what was going on, but once she was able to dig into a few new toys, she was all to happy to rip up the next one.
Her favorite gift from Santa was a new scooter bike, which she wants to ride as soon as she wakes up in the morning, and any time she sees it. |
New magnets!! |
Her stocking had Crayola Color Bath Drops that make the bathwater a little more fun. She is just transitioning to baths in the tub from the kitchen sink. |
As usual, she was showered with wonderful gifts, including some new clothes and books. She's a very lucky girl to be loved by so many people.
Mommy and daddy didn't do so bad, either; I got a new camera that I am very excited to learn to use (and you, my dear readers, will benefit from my better pictures!) and Chris, who asked Santa for an "interesting experience," was treated to dinner at Opaque in San Francisco, where diners eat in complete and total darkness. All the servers are blind or visually impaired, and lead guests through the dark restaurant, where you have to rely on your other senses to enjoy your meal. We saw it on the Travel Channel many years ago, and wanted to try it out, especially now that we have a child who has some visual impairment. The food was great (Chris ordered all "mystery options," so he had to figure out what he had as he ate it), and we were happy to leave without having spilled our drinks at all.
It was a great holiday, and it's not over yet: we leave early tomorrow morning to visit Chris' mom near Lake Shasta. When we get back, we will have a quiet New Year's Eve at home, and then start preparing to get back to our real lives...Scarlett has doctor's appointments and MRI next week in preparation for her first chemo on Jan. 11.
The best gift: a box full of packing peanuts. |
6 comments:
That sounds wonderful! Her smiles seem to keep getting brighter. :)
I saw that same Travel Channel episode and always thought that eating at Opaque would be so cool! Glad you guys enjoyed it.
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas time! That cake looks totally amazing, I will have to give it a try. :)
Lake Shasta is such a beautiful place. I have driven by it many times in hope of hiking the mountain but each time we just ran out of time. ;P
Lake Shasta is not far from Redding CA and home of Bethel church. This church, if you don't already know, has had many people from all over the world go there and be healed from cancer. If you are able it would be amazing if you could stop by there and receive prayer. I went there 5 years ago and my healing from Rheumatoid Arthritis was started there from prayer in the healing rooms. I am not in remission and my doctor is amazed. Here is the link http://www.ibethel.org put your mouse over the ministry link and move down to the healing rooms link and click to be directed to the times. They also do skype calls.
Praying for you all.
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I noticed a mistake I made it should be IN remission.
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Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. I was wondering where you got the ABC magnets with the pictures that go with the letters. I think our daughters are about the same age and I know mine would love those.
@Leah - These are Melissa and Doug brand, and I found them at ToysRUs. They're very good in my kindergarten teacher opinion!
Brandi - thank you and happy new year!
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