Merry Christmas!

This is going to be a quiet Christmas for me. I don't get to spend it with the M&Ms (my nieces & nephew - Morgan Marie, Madison Michelle, & Maxwell Michael - hence the M&Ms). It makes me sad but I guess I do have to share them with their dad's family. I'll miss making & decorating cookies for Santa with them, putting out food for the reindeer, and seeing their faces on Christmas morning when they come downstairs. Sigh.

So, it will just be me, my mom, my grandpa, and Rocky (my grandpa's crazy Jack Russell) on Christmas. But we're going to have tamales & enchiladas! Mmmm...tamales! Quiet, but good.

I'm spending Christmas Eve at my mom's so I can do my Christmas run in La Verne. My grandma, my parents, and I all grew up in La Verne and it was a pretty cool town to grow up in. Lot of Hometown America memories there. Christmas is fun because Santa and the Fire Department visit every street in town on Christmas morning and they hand out bags with candy, peanuts, and fruit to all the kids. I have pictures from when I was little w/Santa on Christmas morning. As soon as we heard the sirens getting closer, we'd grab our jackets, put on our slippers and run outside to wait. This is a photo from when the M&Ms were little as they waited for Santa to come by my mom's.

I love all the different expressions in this photo. The happy smiles of my mom & sister, the excitement/anticipation of little Maddie, Morgan's skepticism (why, oh why do they have to grow up and stop believing!), and little Max's wary, "I'm not sure about this" one. Just so you know, Max was thrilled to see Santa when he arrived, even more so because he was on old Engine #1 - that kid loves cars/trucks/etc. :)

So running on Christmas morning is awesome because families are out in droves, most still in their PJs, kids with new toys or bikes and everyone is waving and saying Merry Christmas. It's a sense of community that you don't often get these days with everyone always in a hurry to get somewhere. I just follow the sound of the sirens until I find him. Huh, I guess you could say I'm stalking him! But dang it, I've been good this year and I want him to bring me 50 miles (at least) for my 12 HR! Cross your fingers! ;)

I'm looking forward to a nice long weekend, Christmas, my run and spending time with my family. I just have to buy Rocky his present (he loves getting presents!) and I'll be ready!