Merry Christmas everyone! What’s that you say? Christmas is old news? Well, not if you are keeping up with the Ruplingers! Three month old postings are our specialty.
We expected things to be a little different having Christmas over here. No snow, 70 degree weather, and only one Toy store within 90 minutes of travel time! Jared barely made it through that first item, we all reveled in the second, and made due as best we could on the third. We did miss seeing family over the Holiday season, but at the same time it was really nice to spend time enjoying ourselves as a family without all of the other distractions. It made for a very intimate and memorable Christmas experience.
It was interesting ordering our Christmas Tree sight-unseen at the local community church around the middle of November. All of the trees were shipped over during the 2nd week of December when, on an appropriately chilly Saturday morning, the entire town saddled up their golf carts and headed out to Descanso Beach to pick them up. We were relieved to discover that we could pick and choose a little bit and eventually decided to upgrade to a slightly larger model.
All of our Christmas decorations were still in our storage unit in Salt Lake so we weren’t quite sure what to do. However, as we are the luckiest people on earth, the Neff Gang had us for Christmas gifts on the Holt side of the family this year. We received a huge box in the mail from them stocked full of the most wonderful Christmas decorations a person could hope for! The result is one of our best trees ever. Thanks guys!
As I mentioned about Halloween, one of the really neat things about living here is the small-town feel to the holidays. There is a lot going on, and everyone is involved. From Jacob’s school Christmas concert (Which was broadcast on the local cable channel) to the tree lighting ceremony down at the harbor (With Santa arriving on the back of a fire truck) to the open house at the old Wrigley Mansion on Mt. Ada, it seemed as if the entire community together was a part of things. It is also pretty neat when the exact same Santa is at every function throughout the season and knows most of the children by name already. It makes the experience much more real and believable for the kids. By the time Christmas got here, Jacob was on high-five friendship status with the “Real” Santa Claus.
We also had the excitement of getting to see our first ever school performance featuring one of our children! You wouldn’t believe how giddy we were when Jacob’s Pre-School class had their Christmas Music Concert at the City Hall. It was lot of fun and the kids did a surprisingly good job! Jacob sang as loud as everyone and always had a proud smile whenever he caught out eyes. (If you want a copy of the DVD, let me know!)
Before we knew it, Chrismas Eve had come. We feasted on a plate full of fresh from the ocean California Lobster that a friend had caught for us, yummy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and the best Creamed Beans known to the human race, topped off with fresh fruit and a few melt-in-your-mouth Cheese Biscuits. My mouth still waters thinking about it!
After dinner, we sang carols and opened a few family gifts, then settled down for our long winter’s nap.
Jacob usually comes in to our room around 6:00 to make sure we are awake but on Christmas morning he surprised us and slept in a bit. Lucky for Mom & Dad! Eventually, went downstairs to open stockings and see what Santa had brought. Jacob’s Christmas wishes came true when he found his very own skateboard under the tree, complete with helmet and pads.
Because both Sue and I are closely tied to Catalina’s tourism industry and a cruise ship was scheduled to be in port, we would have to finish up presents quickly and go in to work from 10 to 2. But as luck would have it, around 9:00 we got the call that the cruise ship would be postponing its visit until the 26th! Loud cheers were heard across the island as people returned home to spend the day with their families. As soon as all the presents had been opened and our Pop-up Pancakes eaten, Jacob informed us that we needed to head out to the Skate Park to try out his new skateboard. So off we went. We capped off the day with yummy street tacos at Pete’s Cafe and the requisite round of mini-golf. Merry Christmas!
Finally, some news and pictures. Love it.
Very fun Christmas!! Jacob is getting sooo big I can’t believe it! Thanks for posting pictures!!
Yeah!!! I’d given up checking this site. Only because Sue said you updated did I check. Keep up the posts. It’s great to see and hear what’s going on. And the tree looked FABULOUS! Love you guys.
oh - it is so fun to see your family! I miss you guys so much - here is SLC. We love your family so much - such cuties. We will for sure come see you this spring or summer. Love you guys. Thanks for posting the updates. Now we need to see pregnant pictures.
Amy, Scott and kids