Wow. What a day Christmas was. High octane, loads of fun, and an enormous mess!! And I’m not sure when was the last time we were so well fed!
We’d had big plans for Boxing Day… we were going to drive into London and go to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Dan and Elaine says that there’s a circus, Christmas market, rides and games, and a Ferris Wheel (and we all know how much Liam loves ferris wheels!!)
Unfortunately, Liam was still suffering from his fever and head cold, and George the dog had taken ill, and we all felt a bit more comfortable staying closer to home. It would have been a lovely experience, but all the kids needed was each other to have a wonderful day.
So instead we took the kids (and George) out for a bit of a walk in the woods across the way. Scarlett rode her bike there, Isobel on her scooter, and Liam borrowed a push-trike which, judging by the enormous smile on his face, he enjoyed greatly. We passed some charming homes along the way, and almost every garden had holly trees or bushes! You don’t see that in the south of France!
The walk was lovely. Liam got to use his new dinosaur wellies (a gift from Auntie Nicole), and Isobel taught Liam a new game… “I fell down”. Which resulted in Liam pretending to fall down for the next 10 minutes. Hilarious the first few times… but we got tired of it pretty quickly as he was holding everybody up. But he didn’t tire of it… oh no! He just refused to get up, and everytime one of us helped him to his feet, he’d plonk down on his bum again, crying ‘I fell down!’. We tried to light a fire under him by telling him we were leaving, and walked further up the path, but he wasn’t buying it. We could see him, and his tiny red jacket, just sitting in the leaves. Not at all worried that we were leaving without him. We could hear his soft little voice carry through the forest… “I fell down.” In the end, he won. Mummy went back (and he pretended not to notice, turned his head away and watched out of the corner of his eye), and he was carried up to the rest of us. Where does he get this stuff??
Dinner was a divine roast pork with crackling. So full!!!!! Liam still wouldn’t eat a bite, but requested cereal and a smoothie after his bath. Better than nothing, but he’s missed out on some fine meals!!
We got the kids off to bed early (Liam was still quite poorly and not breathing well), and the grown ups hung out and chatted a bit longer, knowing that we’d be off to the airport by 09:30 the next morning and this was our last chance for a while!
We’ve got so many great photos and videos of the Ferguson Family Christmas… but there was one photo that we didn’t get, and wish we did. The image of the four UK Ferguson’s, pressed against the glass of the bay window, waving us off and blowing kisses as we backed out of the drive. We may not have been able to capture it with the camera, but we’ll never forget it. Already looking forward to the next time we can all get together!
Now it’s 29th December and we’re back home and settled. Food is in the fridge, and the christmas tree has been taken down. Liam has enjoyed Christmas number two, as some of his gifts were too big to bring to London. He’s loving his crane truck and easel from Granny and Grandpa Woolley, and he’s even given his big boy balance bike a spin around the apartment a few times. The postman came today with several boxes, including gifts from Granny and Granddad Simmons in NZ, and from Uncle Keith in Canada.
We’re coasting into the new year. Liam is still sick… mummy and daddy are coming down with the same, and I think we all need a bit of rest. No plans for new year’s eve, which is just fine by us!
I hope you all had a great holidays. We sure did. Dan and Elaine, if you’re reading this, then please know that you were extraordinary hosts, and we hope to be able to do the same for you when you next come to our neck of the woods. Liam is still talking about you all, and it was an amazing Christmas.
