Salut mes amis,
Bonne Année 2013! Happy 2013! This is my first post of 2013, and I'm happy to report that I'm still in Paris with Juliette, at least for a little while longer. The school semester has already started, but I put in a special request to take a leave of absence.
Last week, Juliette and I received more Christmas presents - from our very best friends, Sabina, Catalina, Violeta, Tatiana, and Zipporah Valdez! We each received a new Christmas stocking in our favorite color (Juliette's is pink; mine is blue), and each stocking was filled to the brim with presents.
We sat down on our bedroom floor and proceeded to open them:
The first present that we each found in our new stockings was a Nutcracker! Juliette found a Nutcracker with a blue coat, while mine had a red coat. Aren't they adorable? Juliette was particularly enthralled with hers, as The Nutcracker is one of her favorite ballets. She'd love to dance the part of Clara one day, and even I'd like the chance to be in the ballet (I'd be happy dancing the part of a Party Girl, however!):
Next we found kaleidoscopes - a sparkly
red one for Juliette and a sparkly blue one for me! We spent several
moments looking through these at the pretty beads inside:
The last item we found in our stockings was a little handheld arcade-style game:
In addition to the stockings, the quints also sent us a ton of postcards from Wisconsin and Michigan, the states they visited while on vacation last summer. Neither of us has been to either of those states, so we were especially excited to look at places undiscovered by us. Maybe someday we'll get to visit!
We each received a book of stickers - Juliette a book of ballerina stickers and me a book of butterfly stickers:
Our final presents were Color-By-Number coloring sheets, complete with a set of colored pencils for each of us. These were our favorite gifts by far because we love art and collecting art supplies! And wouldn't these be perfect for Saige Copeland, the new Girl of the Year for 2013?
Everything we received from the Valdez Quints! Thank you so much, Sabina, Violeta, Tatiana, Catalina, and Zipporah! We love everything! You are so kind to send us presents!
Before I sign off for today, here are a few bonus shots of Juliette and me in our matching Christmas sweaters; aren't they lovely? Juliette is on the left, while I'm on the right:
Have you ever received a special gift from a friend? What was it?
Ton amie,
Sophie
