The Lee Family: Merry Thanksmas!!

We woke up still feeling a little full from such a great meal the day before so it was perfect that we didn't eat breakfast until meeting my friend Carl and his mom Ginny at the Plaza Cafe. We arrived a little early, so the girls and I visited the tourist shop right next to the Plaza Cafe and they surprisingly found something they each wanted. Sofia found a really cool trilobite fossil and Olivia fell in love with a light pink stone heart. The girls also found a trivet for Uncle Steve. We celebrate what we have called "Thanksmas"the evening after Thanksgiving so that we can exchange presents with Aunt and Uncle and open them all together. Although it can be a little stressful to get ready for Christmas for them so early, it's also nice to get them out of the way early and be together. Also, we generally walk around the town square and are able to pick up stocking stuffer gifts and other goodies for each other, so I was glad we had a little time to look around.

Carl and him mom arrived and we enjoyed lunch at the Plaza Cafe, as expected. Their breakfast tacos are my favorite and the girls ate every bite of their pancakes and bacon! CK always gets the eggs and bacon breakfast. It was great visiting with Carl and his mom and I love being able to see them when we visit Santa Fe. His mom retired and moved about an hour from Santa Fe and absolutely loves living in New Mexico and being able to ride her horses all over near where she lives. After filling up on breakfast, we all walked around together and visited Overland, CK's very favorite leather goods store. CK and Carl tried on different expensive and beautiful leather and fur jackets. Most looked awesome on them, but a few were definitely a style that wasn't great. CK fell in love with one of the jackets and it really did look fantastic on him. He decided to think about it. Meanwhile, I found a pair of fabulous forest green suede boots that I fell in love with! CK told me to act surprised for Christmas and bought them for me. I can't wait to unwrap them! Carl also found some great boots that he could use while visiting his Mom, since he likely wouldn't need them much in San Francisco. They looked really cozy. After our purchases, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Aunt and Uncle's house. We planned to go for a hike in the mountains, which we've done every year. This year that was several inches of snow in the mountains, although it had all melted in sunny areas.

Once back at the hacienda, we discussed different hiking options. Sofia couldn't wait to hike and play in the snow while Aunt Shirl wanted to stay below the snow line. Aunt Shirl relented and we drove up toward our usual hiking area, but ended up stopping before arriving at the parking area. We pulled off into a parking spot and Sofia was in the snow in no time! Someone had built a snowman in the shade above the parking area and the girls loved checking him out. Uncle Steve pulled out the plastic trunk mat from the back of his car and used it to slide down the small snow-covered hill with the girls! Sofia couldn't wait, but Olivia wasn't quite so sure. After both girls had gone down with Uncle Steve, Olivia was happy to go down the snowy hill. Of course, Sofia couldn't get enough and they rode down it together and also with CK, Uncle Steve, or me. They had a ball!

After their sledding adventure we decided to drive down the hill a bit where we wouldn't need to hike through snow. We parked in a popular hiking area on the mountain and we started off. Sofia was so excited to go for a hike. Olivia was fine with it but not nearly as excited as Sofia. Sofia hiked with Uncle Steve and Olivia hung back with Aunt Shirl while CK and I hiked in the middle. We hiked into the ravine for a while and it was a beautiful and peaceful hike with a few fellow hikers coming down the mountain as well as a dog and her owner. I seemed to not be able to warm up and we finally ended up turning back for our car. Sofia was so bummed that we went for such a "short walk" and wanted to continue on the trail and take it all the way around the ridge and back to our car, as one of the hikers said it did. Olivia was hungry and ready to get back to the hacienda to eat. I was frozen solid so I looked forward to the car's heater. We made it back to the car and headed back toward town. We headed to the Plaza and I picked up a casserole dish for a present for Aunt and Uncle since I felt like we needed something special for them. The Plaza was fairly crowded already and we were lucky to find a parking spot. After our purchase, we headed back to the hacienda, where I took the hottest shower possible. I finally was warmed up and was happy when I found out that the group had decided to forgo the usual visit to Santa and Mrs. Claus and the tree lighting on the Plaza to have our very own tree lighting.

CK and Uncle Steve added Christmas lights to their backyard pine tree and lit the fire pit. It was still in the mid-30s and chilly but the fire from the fire pit really helped keep one side of us warm. We had a count down for the tree lighting and the tree looked great with it's lights! Plus, we were able to go inside once we were too cold. We enjoyed turkey soup and turkey sandwiches for dinner. I'm not sure if the Thanksgiving meal or turkey sandwiches are better.

After enjoying the very last of the apple pie and pumpkin tart, it was time for presents! Aunt and Uncle got Sofia and Olivia some creative and perfect gifts for our dinosaur-loving girls. The huge favorites were the dinosaur erasers, dinosaur hand puppets, and the "Fliposaurus" book which allows a new dinosaur to be made out of different kinds of dinosaurs. Sofia loved it. Olivia got a Titanic shoulder bag and a little jewelry bag with a flower ring inside. Olivia also got a "Make Your Own Mermaid" set. Olivia absolutely loves bags, boxes or containers in which she can carry and store her favorite things. She really loved her Titanic bag and fit all of her dinosaur erasers and toys in the bag. She barely took it off to go to bed! One of the best gifts of the night was the dinosaur (for Sofia) and unicorn (for Olivia) ball popper and target. Sofia was great at shooting her ball out of the dinosaur's mouth and hitting the target, while Olivia's went maybe an inch before falling to the ground. It was fantastic! We laughed so hard and it was so sweet! Both girls loved it.

We finally got the girls to bed at 10pm after a very full day together and some fantastic gifts!

Hanging out with Papa at the Plaza Cafe