Let the Festivities Begin

When we returned home from the first official t-ball game, it was time for the annual Executive Paradise Christmas festivities to begin. If you remember, last year Justin was out of town for this celebration, so this was his first time to take part in the day long events our housing complex puts together. Although much of what was done was the same as last year, it was new to Justin and always exciting to the kids so we had a fun time.

Not long after we returned home from t-ball, the boys were visited by not 1 but 2 santas bearing gifts and his entourage of camera toting elves. The triplets eagerly scurried outside to see our jolly visitors and their helpers. This year there was little hestitation among the older boys to go right up to santa, shake his hand and receive their gift. Jack on the other hand did not have quite the same reaction. Eager to go outside, I carried him to the garage door. Upon breeching the doorway, Jack caught his first glimpse of the santas and screamed. Needless to say, he wasn't as excited about their visit as his brothers. But the good news is that eventually he warmed up to them enough to get near enough to them to receive his gift and take a picture.

Next up...the dalman ride. I am happy to report that the horse pulling this cart this year appeared to have more meat on his bones than the poor little horse from last year. As Justin and the boys piled in the cart, I felt better about the ability of the horse to pull them around without collapsing from exhaustion. They all enjoyed their short ride around the complex.

The day ended with the Christmas party at the clubhouse. The complex went all out this year, transforming the 2 covered tennis courts in our complex into a winter wonderland of sorts. As they were setting the place up the weeks prior to the event, I was relieved to know that even if it rained like last year, there would be more cover from the downpour and we wouldn't be suffering from claustrophobia like before. I had high hopes for this event. There stull ended up being more people at the event than the space could really comfortably hold and it was a little hot that night, but a fun time was had by all.

There were 2 bouncing castles to entertain the kids, tons of food and a stage set up where they organized various kinds of entertainment, from pet tricks to ballet dances to performances with traditional Indonesian instruments. We could only handle a couple hours of this excitement before it was time to return home for a good night's sleep.