Christmas!

...is still here! Today is the third day of Christmas and everyone gets 3 French hens. Epiphany comes soon.

Christmas day was a lot of fun. Everyone got really nice gifts--and a lot of them. Some of my favorites include a new Pocket Dragon, Thai silks, and pearls. I also got a new toy bear, make up, chocolate, etc. Kyle got some cool books and a really handy lap desk. I also got a book about how to knit different patterns that doesn't have the pattern written out. Instead, there are pictures you can see. This is very helpful to me because I don't understand written patterns at all. If I can see the project, I can do it.

We all went shoe shopping yesterday. Well, all the girls did. I got a couple pairs of shoes that are really nice and comfortable thanks to my mom.

Unfortunately, Kyle fell ill so our shopping trip was cut short. He has the flu and has been in bed for about 20 hours.

We might go out shopping again today and buy some things to make tamales. If we do make tamales, it will be tomorrow. Costa Rican tamales are different than Mexican ones: they use banana leaves instead of corn husks, they are not spicy (Mexican ones aren't always spicy), and there is a lot more in the filling. The filling usually has a type of meat, potato, rice, green pepper, and basically whatever else you want. Some people put olives or raisins, but I think that's nasty.