Some things are worth the wait. Wow.
We had the kids over for post Christmas brunch and gift exchange this morning. We all swore to go easy on each other, and the gifts were spot on. The kids got train toys, books, puzzles, and the battery-operated toy tool sets from us. (Pretend power drill set for D, chain saw like grandpa for V.) The adults got things we both needed and wanted, plus several chances to lose at Powerball. It was delightful.
The big gift from grandpa to the whole family happened later in the day. The kids went to the mountains first, where they checked in to a hotel, and the babies were perfectly content to believe it was just to go swimming in the middle of winter. We stayed down in town long enough to get our animals fed and inside for the evening. Then we joined them in Georgetown. First we had dinner at one of the two restaurants still open on a Tuesday. Then we went to the real present.
Valerie has been asking to go back to the Georgetown Loop train since we went last summer. But until we were standing right next to it, she didn't recognize where we were. It was absolutely dripping in fairy lights, so maybe that was enough to confuse her.
The entire train ride was a sensory feast. Snow covered the whole mountain, and some of the millions of lights were under a thin coat of snow too. The interior of the car was draped in lighted garlands and holiday music played the whole time. We were in the top car going up, so we were treated to the first performance from Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present. About a third of the way up they turned off the interior lights and we just rocked in darkness, looking at all the sparkly lights outside. Dmitri watched as long as he could, until the perfection of the ride put him to sleep. Val was into it the whole way. At the end, I leaned over and said, "Thank you for sharing such a special night with me." She continued to look out over the snow and softly said, "You're welcome, Anne."
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