A Day Out with Grandma Tutu

Well I think the Thanksgiving leftovers are finally gone now. Well, all but the handful of turkey left for sandwiches and 2 slices of cheesecake. I am going to have to really start cooking again. And it is now time to start focusing on Christmas projects. I've finished wrapping most of the gifts already and just have a few more stragglers left that I am doing homemade gifts for.

This past weekend I got to enjoy a mini vacation with my hubby while Grandma Tutu (my mom) came up and watched the kids overnight for us. It was FANTASTIC! It was Dan's work Christmas party at the Holiday Inn where I got to get all dressed up in a formal! I just love parties like that. I love the excuse to make myself pretty. I did my hair, my nails, make-up and wore a formal that I wore the last time Dan took me to the opera. It was a lot of fun, but I think one of my favorite parts was the hotel hot tub. Nothing like hot water and jets to chase away mommy aches and pains.
At the party Dan and I even got our picture taken. I am hoping that it turned out better than the one we took at home. I need to get back into my zumba routine! The Thanksgiving lbs are showing.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun and reminded me of prom all over again except my date and I weren't nervous. Dan also commented that this time around his date was much hotter. Isn't he the sweetest?

When we got back the next day we decided to show my mom around town. When we got downtown we were surprised to find that it was the city's Christmas festival. There were free hayrides, a town nativity, victorian carolers, and Santa in the park! It was perfect timing! Also around this time of year the city puts up wooden snowmen at every store front and down the main street. It is really cute. My favorite is probably the bikini snow woman complete with water float.

 
In the middle of town Santa has his very own mailbox and so the kids also got to send their letters. They were so excited! They wouldn't stop drawing pictures to send and wanted to give Santa the best letter ever. I hope Santa likes feathers. So in the end we had to upgrade to the giant manilla folders. It is something I hope to make a tradition every year.

We also took Grandma Tutu to one of our favorite places to eat. It is one of those places you don't go to for the prices but you go for the atmosphere. It was a very busy day for them and one of their cooks was in the hospital so the wait was quite a bit longer than usual but we still had fun.

When it was time to head back home we stopped by the park where Santa was. They were in the middle of cleaning things up for the day but Santa still let the kids sit on his lap. It was great and Emma even got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time!

It was great to have my mom here for the weekend. I miss her already.