Christmas began for me as it always does, drinking eggnog from a moose cup. This would be the first time for me to take off two solid weeks of PTO in eight years. After a major product launch, I was looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, Margot was lounging poolside a thousand miles south at her great grandfather’s house in Austin. We’ve been traveling to Austin for Christmas for the entire 36 years we’ve lived in Colorado, but for the one year Brit spent the Christmas of 1991 in the hospital with all the other holiday preemies.

Before any of us got to Austin, Eric, Brit and Margot found themselves sitting on Santa’s lap in our neighborhood. Margot dressed up for the occasion.

Something we will do again is visit the Lady Bird Wildflowers light show. It’s way south in Austin, but easy to get to just off Mopac.

There was no shortage of photo ops at the light show.

Even Karen and I got in some poses.

The photos suggest how warm it was. It would have been the same warm weather had we stayed in Colorado. Strange times.

On Christmas Eve, we attended services at St. John’s Methodist, where Karen and I married 38 years earlier.

Brit and I got in a run along Lady Bird Lake. I got in at least three 8 mile runs during my stay at Liz n Jame’s Casa del Sol in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood. Their house is just a mile from the trail.

Exchanging gifts is a massive event each year on Christmas Day. Everyone got what they wished for and my nephew Liam cuddled with Karen and me on the couch.

We woke up to snow once we returned home.

And I’m continuing my daily runs as part of week two of PTO.