luminary.

thanksgiving is over. done. the leftovers are all gone already. the turkeys and pilgrims and their ship, the mayflower are all snuggled back in their storage bin. it's time to move on to christmas.

we headed out to the arboretum this pm for their annual luminary walk. i've always been partial to luminaries. their soft flicker. their simpleness. perhaps it's from my love of the southwest. but i think it came long before then. but i digress. the walk was chilly. well, it was cold. and it was raining/sleeting/snowing during our walk. but it was beautiful and added to the atmosphere.

the littles loved it. chasing down the path. holding hands.

adoring uncle john (sorry juju).

looking at the lights and the waterfalls and the trees. sitting on santa's (or christmas's) lap.

this time both requesting barbies. yes. barbies. but he only siad it because she did. drinking hot apple cider.

warming ourselves by the fires. listening to the dickens carolers. going out to dinner afterwards to warm up.

juju and i even managed to escape for a few minutes. took the scenic route as they wandered down the shortcut with the littles. listened to some indian flute music. i loved it. such a simple and beautiful way to start celebrating the holidays.