Merry Christmas Eve!

Whew! I'm super tired. I still have a few presents to wrap but I've got The Christmas Story on 24 hour loop and I'm pretty sure I'm mostly ready.

This has been a really fun holiday season because the boys are at such great ages. Big Kid 100% believes in, and enjoys, the magic and little kid is all about socializing and singing and clapping and shiny things. I'm really excited about tomorrow and a little sad the season is coming to an end already.

Tonight we went to a candlelit church service on the beach. It was pretty awesome to be laying there during sunset, wearing capris and a t-shirt, listening to the church choir sing One Love by Bob Marley, watching the palm trees silhouetted against the orange sky. Big Kid was wowed by the candlelight portion of the service, as I always am, and it was neat to see his sweet happy face, lit by candlelight, swaying to Christmas carols being played with a steel drum, while little kid alternated between sitting and clapping or racing down the aisles of chairs in order to socialize with neighbors.

Then we pigged out at Buca DiBeppo and afterwards drove around a local neighborhood that is famous for their outlandish decorations. Wouldn't you know that we lucked out and saw Santa? We threw the car in reverse, rolled down the window, chatted him up for a minute, and are now officially able to cross him off our to do list. I'm not such a bad mom after all.

Now Mr. Ashley and I are setting the stage for tomorrow morning's magic. I'm so excited to see their faces! However, I'm also super tired and a little drunk and a little over wrapping. I'm also a little over the the raging party my neighbors are having. It sounds like a rave, only in Spanish. They're lucky I'm in a Feliz Navidad kind of mood, because I usually have a very low tolerance for music so loud it shakes my windows.

I'd better get back to it, or the kids will wake up to find me passed out amongst piles of wrapping paper and unwrapped gifts. If I don't "talk" to you tomorrow, have a very Merry Christmas!!