Saturday, July 19, 2009 - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!! Huh? Well, for quite a long time now our family has celebrated a second Christmas in July. My parents now live in Florida and only come up for part of the summer so they started this tradition of celebrating Christmas while they were here so they could see the kids opening their presents.

At first they bought the presents and had them all wrapped up for them on "Christmas" day. Then they decided it was more fun to take them shopping for their Christmas presents but then to KEEP those gifts until the right day. That tradition has continued though it doesn't always involve much shopping any more. For example, Motocross Boy wanted golf lessons which he will get. His only shopping involved looking for a pair of golf shoes. Equestrian Girl, on the other hand, LOVES to shop and especially when it's stuff for her. She had my mom and me all over the mall and back six times and still hadn't spent any money. My sister's daughter is in this old picture and gets to join in this fun tradition too.

This picture was taken at our local library with one of the best visiting Santa's ever. This one seems to be a bit blurry but I love how the pictures here turn out with the tree and books in the background. Our library is a hidden gem and one of the best places around. I grew up in a town that was growing like crazy and had money to build a fancy new modern library when I was a kid. I think back on it now and it was actually a very intimidating building with something akin to a mote around it. Sort of a modern concrete castle. Many years later I move to this small lakeside village and being an avid reader, look for the library. I was stunned to find it was simply an old house. The entire place could have fit in the lobby of the one I grew up with! I was sure it would be totally inadequate for my needs...and then I spent some time there. Wow. They pretty much had everything I could possible need or want and the people - oh the people!! You could TALK in this library and conversations were encouraged between patrons. Everyone was greeted by name as they walked in and get this, no overdue fines!! Weren't overdue fines like a state law or something? Years went by and when my kids were barely old enough to walk, they started going to the library too where they had fabulous programs for children all year long.

The first time I met the librarian at our tiny little library I thought I was being duped. This guy had a big round belly, long blond hair in a braid down his back, rudy red face and was wearing jeans with rainbow suspenders and a t-shirt with a logo of some sort on it. It didn't take me all that long though to figure out he was one of the smartest people I'd ever met. Even if he did moonlight as a clown and Santa.