It's Saturday, January 3rd. My parents left this morning to return to Ohio, and my husband is taking my brother and his family to the airport for their flight to New Mexico. I am taking a break from undecking the halls to write about the final part of our Christmas week.

On the 30th, my brother and his family came to our house to open gifts and visit. My nephew and niece are 2 and 1, and they are adorable (my opinion is completely unbiased). My kids enjoyed being the big cousins for a change. My niece was a little reticent around the unfamiliar faces, but my Favorite Boy could get a smile from her; and as long as my nephew had a car in his hand, he was a happy boy.

We ate lunch and opened presents. Grammy was nice enough to let her grandkids help her. One of her gifts was a box of books. I admit that I immediately borrowed the newest Nicholas Sparks book to read before she left. My Favorite Boy received some new Xbox games, so he gave his uncle a video game tutorial.

It was a beautiful day, so Papa took the kids outside for some play time. My Best Girl loves her new scooter from Grammy and Papa; my nephew loved being driven around in the pink convertible.

On Friday evening, we took my Favorite Boy, Best Girl, and my nephew to see the lights at the Opryland Hotel. Taking pictures of them was kind of like herding cats, but they enjoyed the evening.

Christmas 2008 has come to a close. We had a wonderful time with family and friends. We now return to our regularly scheduled life!