Dreaming of Sentinels

We (those of us who are parents) had a nice slow start to the day (the girls got up at about 5 and opened their stockings) but then they went back to their rooms and did quiet things for a while. Most of the adults were in the kitchen/living room by about 8 am, but I suspect that the girls had been playing with Uncle J for a while before that.

Eventually, urged on by impatient girls, we started opening gifts, and not long after that we set off to my son in law's mother's (grammy's) place to spend the afternoon. The main course of lunch was at about 1:30 pm followed by dessert at about 4 pm, with gift opening in between. I received a small water colour painting set from my eldest daughter and two jigsaw puzzles from my youngest daughter. My middle daughter normally sends something that arrives after Christmas.

Because there were 8 of us with the two extras, we took two cars. My daughter and I went in my car and everybody else went in the 7-seater minivan. When we were half way home I suddenly realised I had left my small backpack behind (stashed in an out of the way corner) so we had to go back. Luckily grammy only lives about twelve miles away, so going back didn't take too long.

Now we're home and everything is remarkably quiet. Aria is here in the basement with me playing with a spinning "chair" she was given by her Uncle P (her father's brother). It's a sort of fish-shaped low dish which spins on its base and she is lying on the floor next to it, spinning it, having already spent a lot of time sitting or lying on it and spinning. Violet and Eden are, I think, upstairs with Uncle J. My son in law has taken L to catch her train back to New York because she has to go to work tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're going to my son in law's sister's place which is three times as far away as grammy's, so I will make extra sure I don't forget my backpack when we're leaving there.