And the clean up continues

Christmas is finally over! *sigh of relief* It continues to amaze me how much build up and planning goes into one day. It didn't have it's usual anti-climactic ending this time, though. Plus, we had many days of celebration to spread it all out. Growing up, it was a marathon of houses to visit, food to eat, presents opened, sometimes adding up to exhaustion rather than a feeling of celebration after visiting 4 or 5 houses...or more sometimes...
This year, it was spread out, rather than happening all in one day, and with so much of my family living on in the four corners of the globe, we didn't have to go as many places. If my family moves back to the area, we will be the real life version of the movie 4 Christmases only it will be like 6...
We started on the Tuesday before with Corey's dad. A 'little' rain didn't slow us down. Then, it was our turn to have Christmas Eve with Riley, which also means we had Christmas morning(it's complicated, for now), which we were very excited about, after last years bad chinese food Riley and a barely there Christmas. We had brunch at a friend's house and enjoyed the sunny, warm morning that only a Southern California Christmas can offer. Christmas Eve night with Corey's Mom was fun and it was my first time being able to join(I worked last year). Cooper was oblivious to the whole thing. I think he got a little restless being held the whole time, since his new mobility on the floor gives him chance to explore. Christmas morning didn't come as early as Christmas Eve did. 6 am Christmas Eve, Riley had woken up, saying,'Can we open presents?' with all the excitement that comes on a regular Christmas morning. So, Christmas morning, I actually thought I would have to wake her up, because I hadn't slept well myself in anticipation of our family Christmas morning.
Riley insisted on going last each round of present opening and turn taking. She was almost as excited to see us get our presents as she was to open her own, it was so very sweet. Again, Cooper was more interested in the ribbons, than what was inside the packages.
Then, we ate breakfast, relaxed, and inspected the gifts we'd given. It was an amazing morning. I didn't want to let her go at noon.
The day continued without the usual rush, and we made the rounds to two more family homes, enjoying each. It was a very merry Christmas.
Now, I almost have all the ribbons,boxes and bags put away for re-use on the next holiday, and the ornaments and decorations are next. My birthday is tomorrow, and we're hosting a birthday party for Kelly(who's birthday is the 31st) and Spencer(who shares my exact birthday), along with myself, I guess. It will be nice to have all the holiday decorations put away, so we can concentrate on the new celebration.