We had such a fun Christmas. It is my favorite time of year, and having kids makes it even more special. We had a little friend join our house hold this year to help "motivate" Finn to be a good boy in time to earn his Christmas goods. The Elf on the Shelf is an elf figurine that you can put around your house to watch your kids during the day. At night the elf travels to report back to Santa whether the child has been naughty or nice. Finn named his elf "Sharkfin" and would be sure to be on his best behavior whenever he knew he was watching.
I had two weeks off to spend with my babies, and it wasn't nearly long enough. I had so much fun getting to stay home with them. We visited Santa at the mall (which brought lots of tears from Sloane), looked at Christmas lights, and made Christmas cookies.
Erin came in town on Christmas Eve and helped us make cookies for Santa. We watched "Its' a Wonderful Life", which Finn actually enjoyed.
On Christmas morning, Rick's family came over to watch Finn get his big present. When Finn woke up, he came downstairs to his new puppy. It was his one wish from Santa, and Santa delivered- under the guidance of Sharkfin, of course! It took a minute for everything to process for him,but he was so excited once he started to wakeup. Finn had originally planned on naming any puppy he might get Pillow Pet. Needless to say, this was not our preferred name. We suggested that he think of some more fitting names. He decided to name his little bulldog Tugboat. It's pretty fitting. Sloane is still getting used to Tugboat. he likes to nibble on hands, and she is having none of that. I'm sure she will grow to love him.
We spent the rest of the day eating, opening presents, and playing games with Rick's family, Erin, my mom, and Will. It was a great time.
The next day we left to meet up with my dad in Flagstaff. Tugboat stayed at home with B'Kay. I was really nervous about flying with Sloane, but she actually slept most of the time. We met up with my dad and went to my Aunt Margo and Uncle Mark's house in Flagstaff. We got to eat dinner with my four cousins, who we don't get to see very often. The next day my dad took myself, Finn, Sloane, Erin, Leslie, and Patrick to a sledding park. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly, not too cold. Finn had a blast going down the hills with Patrick. Sloane even went down a small hill with me. Rick was skiing with Conor and Patrick on the Snowbowl Mountain.
Later that night, everybody went to downtown Flagstaff to shop, play pool, and eat at a cool little burger joint. It was a very short trip,but it was great seeing everyone and getting to have a White Christmas. Finn is definitely a cold weather boy, and loved every minute of it.
