Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Aunt Madison and Grandma yesterday. It was so wonderful to see them and have them visit!

We decided a few weeks ago that we should have a Christmas in July. 1) Christmas is a nice thing to look forward to in the winter months in the Northern hemisphere and it’s a bit weird not to have anything to get excited about when it’s cold. 2) While we celebrated Christmas with family in December before we left, we did very little in the way of gift giving for each other because we knew we wouldn’t be able to pack it.

When we told the kids, they got pretty excited and started making Christmas decorations. One sign was misspelled -mas and -miss and thus, our celebration became known as “the Chris-we-missed” celebration. We went out with the kids a few weeks ago and they picked out a few things for one another.

Initially we had planned on cinnamon rolls and our traditional spread of tasty treats, but after Grandma’s recent visit, every kid voted to wait on cinnamon rolls and have some fruit and veggies.

So this morning we had some fruit and smoothie drinks as we unveiled gifts (they were just covered in throw blankets). Fun was had by all.

Quinn found the Christmas section of the op shop (thrift store).

The beautiful piwakawaka (NZ fantail) that Chris and the kids got me

Quinn went to the op shop (thrift store) with me this morning to pick out this beautiful plant (she asked for one for Christmas). It’s like a bonsai succulent.