These are great days!

This has been a great time for us.

The weather was perfect yesterday, except for a lot of wind. Sunshine started our day but got pretty cold by the afternoon.

But with this kind of weather, it is so nice to be able to come in and out without coats. The sunshine also seemed to raise everyone's spirits.

Yesterday I was being pretty lazy after so much leading up to Christmas.

Annabel went with the dogs in the backyard, but then yelled, "Ollie/Nina"!!!

The call was pretty frantic and Grace and I knew what it meant.

The dogs were loose!!

Annabel can run really fast and had caught Nina before I could find shoes, but Ollie really wants to explore the neighborhood and had taken off! We made it around the block before he finally came with his tail between his legs like it was a lot of fun!!!

We were cleaning out some things, especially boxes from Amazon. Thank goodness for Amazon otherwise Santa would never have made it.

But they waste so much in packing and shipping.

Dad loaded up his car with boxes to take for recycling. But one box would not fit.

I nominated Grace and Annabel to carry it to the recycling bin, which is only a block and a half away. It was too funny seeing them dragging this box down the street and chasing the paper that kept blowing out.

The girls got to play their games, Clue, Life, and Monopoly with their own set of rules. I had planned to help clean up their bedrooms, but they were laughing and playing so well together, I did not want to interrupt it. Grace did a great job of helping Annabel understand the games well enough to play.

The one thing they still wanted to do was have me play with them.

So after showers and beds made again, we started playing Monopoly. It was pretty hysterical to play and try to explain the idea of Monopoly!

Grace kept commenting that Annabel didn't even understand and was doing the best.

When it was 10:00 we had to call it quits with Annabel having a huge wad of cash and Grace and I close to bankruptcy.

Grace couldn't believe that in real life that you would get a bill for taxes that would be the exact same amount of the money you just got from passing go! I don't think I had played it since it really became so REAL!!

Today we spent time trying to do our usual chores and clean up some neglected areas, but all we really wanted to know was what time Lisa, Gillian, and Darcey would be here.

Since we would be opening the last of the presents, I knew I needed to get the rest of mine wrapped.

I bought a plasmacar for each of the girls, only one won't be here until next week. Dad put the other three together and when we got to the last detail, the bolt was missing.

Mom and I dug through my whole recycling bin trying to find it.

Dad took one of the cars apart and took the bolt to Home Depot to find a match.

I could not do this crazy things if I did not have Dad right next door to help me out. When I went out to ask for help, there sat Mom and Dad on their steps with a tablecloth for cover and my mother scooting as close as she could to Dad to get warm. Sweet picture!

When Lisa and the girls finally arrived, presents were tops in everyone's mind. They were very excited about some great gift cards and ready to go shopping again!

Lisa totally surprised me with a BEAUTIFUL necklace from Tiffany's! I have ALWAYS wanted something from Tiffany's. It has two little hearts to represent my two girls.

It has been very difficult to be on the receiving end only this week, without reciprocating. Everyone understands that $ was just not there and surprised me with such wonderful gifts.

The girls got to try out their plasmacars. I can't really explain them and will just have to get a picture.

Then we ended the day with a delicious traditional Christmas dinner. Mom and I have laughed about what we ate on Christmas. For us it was leftovers and them it was a can of soup! But tonight we had the whole meal with all the trimmings. Delicious!!

The girls are so good together and everyone is surprised at how much Annabel has learned in just one month! Annabel calls Darcey "sweet little Darcey". I'm so glad they have each other too.