Our Christmas was pretty mellow. We had shipped gifts home and we were excited that we were able to surprise our families with a little something. It had been fun shopping for them, but we were really glad to be away from all the crazy holiday chaos that seems to hit right after Thanksgiving at home. I was excited to Skype in to my family’s holiday gatherings, and we hoped to catch most if not all of Noah’s family on their cells or home phones at some point during the day on Christmas. As we are a day ahead, we carefully plotted when to try to get online.
Our Christmas eve and day were relaxed. It was pretty stormy, in part due to the upcoming full moon, and that made it perfect for lounging and reading and planning our time online. We took some Christmas photos together so I could try to make a Christmas card (which didn’t work) and we had our own little Christmas together Christmas morning. We made a make-shift Christmas tree, and there was even a little gift under it when I woke up Christmas morning. 🙂 It was different to be away from home, and we both got a little homesick, but having Christmas at the beach on our little holiday island was pretty awesome.
I called my family via Skype, and we had a video chat and I got to talk to and see everyone. My brother and his fiance were up from Boston, and my sister Jess was at my parent’s house as well. My youngest sister Rebekah (or “Gert” as I call her), Mom and David were all finishing up our Christmas Eve traditions and I got the update on all the happenings. It made me feel SO good to “be there” and be a part of it all. I hung up and promised to call again on their Christmas morning, which I did, and Noah and I were able to watch them as they opened their gifts. The connection was crappy, and it was a little frustrating, but still great to feel connected to family during the holiday. Noah also called his family members and left messages or chatted with them, and we got to Skype with Jacqueline, Noah’s mom, which is always so nice. Again, having that connection with our families over the holiday really made our being away from them a bit easier.
We finished our holiday celebration by walking into town and eating at a fabulous pizza place called Mona Lisa’s. Their special pizza is pretty delicious, with a white cream sauce and sausage, yum! They also have yummy desserts, and we liked the tiramisu a lot. It was a great way to wrap up our holiday.
We hope everyone had a lovely holiday, and we send our love and best wishes for a wonderful start to the New Year!
-Amanda
One-2-Ten 
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