Christmas cheer in Boston...and at home

Happy Last Day of 2014! Funny, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that. Most of us have been knocked out by some upper respiratory thing so I haven't had a chance to write about our Christmas trip to Boston or our happenings at home.

I put this photo on instagram last weekend - the tree at Faneuil Hall was so, so gorgeous! And TALL!

Love these cobblestone streets through the marketplace. 

Oh look! It's Mama and Isabelle...and Isabelle.  =)

Guess who's holding Baby Isabelle walking through Boston while this one cradles her own hot cocoa? See the guys over there on the left? Love that!

It had been snowing off and on all afternoon, which made everything seem even more magical. And then suddenly it just got dark. There were twinkling lights everywhere.

Walking through Boston Common and checking out the ice skating rink. There was a man playing the saxophone so beautifully on a nearby bench but I didn't have a cent on me to give him. I made up my mind that I will always carry a few dollars on me from now on and not just rely on plastic.

Selfie with Jonah right outside Quincy Market. You can see how big and bright that tree is behind us!

I still can't believe the size of this tree, especially considering where it is. The streets are very narrow and this tree towered above all the buildings.

We went upstairs for a better view of the light show set to Boston Pops' music. It wasn't quite as thrilling as I'd imagined, but the excitement and cheerfulness of the city more than made up for that. The harbor was directly in back of us from here, and it was spectacular.

We were definitely feeling the chill by this point of the evening, but nobody minded too much. Here we were heading over to see Boston Harbor all lit up.

Most of my pictures of this were super blurry but this one is pretty good. Christopher Columbus Park - in the summer there are flowering vines covering this arbor. I loved the blue lights for winter. Shortly after this we headed back home. The kids were really hungry so we grabbed them some burgers once we crossed the NH border. The grown-ups enjoyed some Chinese food later on for a quaint little date. ;)

My gorgeous crew right there...

You can read this post to see the rest of our home all decked out for Christmas.

The next day we headed to my parent's house for our annual cookie decorating day. We've been doing this since before Caleb was born, so...about 12 years! Someone thought he'd be so hilarious to shove a meatball up his nose for pictures. Hardy ha. Off topic, but I've noticed the pictures from the iphone getting blurrier and grainier- anyone else dealing with this? I don't know if it's just the combination of movement and weird light or what.

Don't even ask, I couldn't tell you. When Grampy is near, all silliness and activity breaks out.

Bah-humbug. Doesn't he look so grumpy here? He wasn't - he was rubbing on me and purring the whole time. Silly Sneakers.

And then suddenly it was Christmas Eve night. We had just been at my aunt's house for our annual family pot luck, and then we went to my parent's church for a change. My brother's wife lost her mother earlier this year and she was sitting in front of us, crying incessantly the entire service. I felt so bad for her, the first Christmas without her Mom. I can't even imagine.

Thankfully, nobody's hair caught fire. And the church is still standing.  =)

And then Christmas morning! All the excitement and joy and hope of Christmas morning...a Savior was born into our dark world to set it right, to free the captives of sin, to declare victory over evil! Happy Birthday, Jesus! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your friends and families.

This is what our days look like recently. Yuck!

99% of our Christmas decorations are down and put away- any spurts of energy were spent on this task, ha. Then I got the brilliant idea of completely redoing our office area and my sewing nook. Brill-iant.

Have a fabulous day! Chat with you in 2015!