Merry Christmas!

Well, it's finally come and gone, but the vacation is still to be enjoyed. We had a wonderful Christmas with our family - lots of food (too much food possibly) and lots of fun gifts for everyone.

I spent the week prior to Christmas battling the crowds to buy the last of my Christmas gifts and groceries. It was a relief on Saturday afternoon when I no longer had to shop.

Christmas Day was done in the traditional Stanners' style which requires a full day as each gift is lovingly unwrapped one at a time and passed around for all to admire before the next person can continue. It is a pleasant way to pass a day (even more so for those who fortify themselves with the classic orange juice and champagne beverage).

We managed to fit in some geocaching on boxing day, only to find that Andrew had recently been to the same caches. Patches chased down a porcupine on Nose Hill while we were caching but was smart enough (or lucky enough) not to end up filled with quills.

Today the last of family left (it has been a busy month for visitors, but we were glad we got to see everyone) and now we have a full 5 days left to relax before we return to work. We've got another puzzle on the go and lots of new toys to try out so it should be an enjoyable end to the holidays.