Christmas 2023 has passed, and I must say this year Christmas was much more enjoyable than last year because our son and his family got to come for a visit. It was so great to have them all to ourselves for 8 days!
AZ comes to NY
We didn’t do a whole lot, mostly just spent time together, playing games and doing a little local exploring.
I was happy it wasn’t too cold while they were here (although my daughter-in-law and grandson would probably disagree about the cold) since I would like for them to come visit again sometime.
Dickens’ Christmas Carol
The village we live in does a big Dickens event from Thanksgiving through December 24, complete with Charles Dickens and the characters from A Christmas Carol, including Scrooge and the ghosts. It’s entertaining to stroll the streets on the weekends and interact with the characters. Zack and CC met up with a transformed Scrooge and Marley on Christmas eve, which made for a cute photo.
10 Years – REALLY!?
Over the last 10 years that Robert and I have visited this village, we have always taken a photo at the same place by the lake. If someone told me 10 years ago we would be living here someday, I would have called them crazy. It was REALLY cold that first year we visited! Here we are then and now.
Of course, my favorite photo is this one of the whole family. Seeing us all together in this “special” spot fills my heart and makes me smile.
We had our traditional gumbo for dinner on Christmas eve, plus a scrumptious banana cream pie CC whipped up – man, that girl can cook! We spent a quiet evening watching a silly old holiday movie and I was thrilled that the grand decided to ditch his video games to hang with us for the evening.
Wrapping up the Visit
We put them on a plane Christmas morning, which made me sad, but still happy to have had the time with them.
After dropping the kiddos at the airport, Robert and I did a little exploring around Lake Ontario before heading home. We spent the afternoon tidying the house, noshing on leftovers, doing crosswords, and planning our upcoming weekend in Ottawa.
Happy New Year!
And as it is almost 2024, my thoughts have turned to updating new calendars, planning intentions and goals for the year, and researching cool places to go in England, as that is my next destination abroad.
I hope you all have a safe, happy New Year’s celebration. See you in 2024!