Post Christmas recovery & relaxation

The tree is still up. The outside lights are still hanging. All of the Christmas decorations are still found throughout the house, but finally......... oh finally, almost everything has found a new home and there is once again a sense of organization to our house. As much as I love to relish in the Christmas spirit afterwards, I like order. And my family does well with routine & organization too so it just made sense for us to take all of yesterday morning and sort through old toys, find a place for new toys and do some reorganizing of everything. As far as the tree, lights & decorations go though - my rule is they have to be down and packed away by the time I return to school (this coming Monday).

Other than all of the post Christmas recovery, we have had a rare opportunity to spend an enormous amount of family time together and it has been oh so nice. Mornings spent playing in 'jammies, playing outside (once it warmed up) and just relaxing together. Some days we escaped to do some light shopping or even take advantage of playgrounds & endulging ourselves with lunch out at a restaurant. It has been especially nice given the fact that next week we return to the "grind" with work, commuting, and starting my next M.Ed class... oh the joys of reality. It has been so nice since it has lasted and trust me when I say we will be soaking it all in for the last few days of our winter vacation as a family.

Just a few pictures from the last few days being lazy together:

Abbigail LOVES her some oranges!

Today we headed out to the Commons for some outdoor fun at the playground and to ride the Christmas train. Here we are stopped for a quick snack break.

Not sure why I only have one good picture from the playground today, but at least its a cute one of the two of them playing together. I love the fact that this park (and several others we have visited) have semi-soft climbing figures that make it fun for both toddlers, preschoolers and even slightly older kids to all enjoy!