Last Minute Preparations

I was off work on Monday, and Em really wanted to stay home with me, so I decided we could have a fun day together getting ready for our trip.  Buckeyes are one of my traditions that I almost always make at Christmas, and Em was really excited to help with them.  She did a great job dipping in the chocolate, 

of course, I'm sure her motivation was knowing she'd be testing them when we finished!

And she did :).

Later that day, we went for pedicures together, which was a lot of fun.  Even the lady who did her nails took a picture of her!

This was before she got little snowflakes painted on her big toes--she was very excited, to say the least.

We were leaving for Brunswick on Christmas Eve, so Elfie brought Em an early present before he headed back to the North Pole to help Santa load his sleigh.  He wrote her a note about what a nice girl she was and how much he liked being her elf.  In the box was lots of goodies for her to enjoy on our road trip--snacks, books, a new movie, some Christmas PJs, and a cozy bathrobe.

I'm not sure if Santa will be able to outdo this--she was pretty thrilled with Elfie's surprise.