Days with the Dorans

It was a Christmas Miracle! It looked a little different but we were able to do our annual trip to Santa's Cabin and for a little while everything was right in the world! Thank you, Nana and Papa!

 I love this place!! I actually took videos and need to splice everything together to send Mr. and Mrs. C. as I know they've liked my stuff in the past and linked it to their site. It was another great trip and going there feels like seeing old friends! Everyone had fun and we enjoyed catching up. Santa of course knew all about the kids (and we got a kick when he asked Joey about his new girlfriend, Abby). I did get that on tape... I'll edit that and post it here someday I hope. There were lots of new additions to the cabin including this Santa (that the real Santa was telling us about) and Sean found a cool Penguin to hang with during his time there. Here are some pics of the kids and families. And I had to add a little throw-back! After our visit, we headed to the Lodge (which is a tradition) for wine with a side of dinner! It was a great day! I love my family!!!

 We had so much fun at our annual visit to Santa's Cabin to see he and Mrs. Clause! As always, Santa knew just what the Doran and Drapal crew was up to! Here are some pictures of our kids with the big guy! The kids didn't really go in this order to see Santa but here are the pictures of the Drapals too! It's always so nice to catch up with Santa and the Missus and it's amazing how much time has gone by. I remember when Sean and TZ were just babies on their visit! Now they're old pros! It feels like we're just visiting old friends each year- albeit magical ones! After Santa's Cabin we went out to eat at Johnny Carrino's for some yummy grub and it was also conveniently located near Costco so I could pick up my Christmas cards (that would take me another couple weeks to mail... sigh- good intentions). Thanks Nana and Papa for spoiling your kids!

We LOVE our tradition of seeing Santa and Mrs. C. at their cabin. They were excited to see us too and asked us all about the Lion King Jr and other things that have been going on in our lives. Z was the first Doran to have a chat with the big man! He asked for a chromebook. Zach told me he was doing me a favor since he'll need one for school next year (good point). Sean was up next and he asked for... a ROBOT! What cracks me up about this is I really can't remember a Christmas where the kid DIDN'T ask for a robot and I wouldn't say he's particularly into robots. Usually he asks for a certain color of robot. This year he added a "Lego" before robot so we'll see what Santa can do. He's come through with the various color robots Sean has asked for over the year so I'm sure he'll come through again! Ali enjoyed her time with Santa and shared with him a list of things she's asking for. She'll be a teenager soon so I'm sur...

 We were excited that Joe could join us in the flesh this year for our visit to Santa (last year we took a picture of his head on a stick since he was busy doing the musical). He was awesome with Santa as were all the kids. We've come to Santa's Cabin so long now we talk like old friends and I love hearing the stories of his family, his other visitors and just spending time in the cabin! Of course the Littles played while the Bigs were talking to Santa, which was cool. Nana and Papa always take us to see Santa and Mrs. Claus which has become such a fun tradition. I know a lot of people want to visit him, but it's hard to get in to see him with his busy schedule. I love that Mrs. Claus calls to make an appointment to make sure we can see them! After our visit, we headed to the Lodge for a fun family dinner! This was a great way to start out the holiday season. Hopefully Santa will visit our house on Christmas Eve and the kids will get the presen...