Christmas Eve we were all excited for Mike to have a day off work and be able to spend the day together! We decided to go to downtown Naples and check out what there was to see. We had quite an adventure and it was an adventure we went about on foot and we knew we were going to push the kids to their tourist limit but all day I kept thinking how fun it was to have kids who were getting older and aren't babies anymore that we actually could go for adventures like this.
We walked about 1/2 mile to the airport and caught the bus into downtown. Our little chicklets were pretty excited to ride the bus. Mike had tried to warn me about how crazy traffic in downtown was and I thought maybe I could grasp what he was saying....but I couldn't. It was sheer insanity. All traffic signs and laws are merely suggestions! The day was kind of rainy and a little bit yucky but we didn't let it get our Christmas spirit down. I just LOVED walking around this old town and seeing all the old buildings and cobblestone streets and scary scooter drivers. We made our way to Christmas alley and checked out all the amazing Nativity scenes and other little vendors. I wish we had found something we couldn't live without but we didn't. Most of the Nativity scenes were a little gothic for me. By the time we were all done with our jaunt we had probably walked 2 miles and our kids feet were dragging when we hit the bus for our ride home.
We also made Santa's cookies, ate our Christmas Eve pizza and sang songs around the tree. I called my parents on Christmas Eve to check on my Dad since he had an angioplasty proceedure earlier in the week and to say Merry Christmas. I was so thankful to be able to be so far away and still able to call and tell my parents I love them. I was so very grateful my kids weren't spending their only moments with their Dad on the phone. The whole day had me so full of love for my little family. The kids said they loved "Town Down Naples." And, the name stuck.
Setting up Christmas for our kids must be one of the greatest joys of parenthood. I was also so full of love and appreciation for my husband for working so hard so our kids can have so many wonderful gifts and so that I can be with them all the time like I want to be.
Mike carries this little stuffed friend with him- his name is Geo. Emma and Andrew have little animals too- though Mike's is the cutest. So, this was Geo's first trip to town down Naples as well and we look forward to seeing where else Mike takes him before he comes home.
No comments:
Post a Comment