Happy Christmas!

It had to be done - all the boys are at home and family and friends around the world appreciate a family photo at Christmas time. This was one of the most stressful photo shoots I have ever done - out of 20 photos only one worked, as invariably someone was pulling a face or being silly. It took a few attempts to get Thomas to wear something other than tracksuit pants and a tank top, and then he went from the ridiculous to the sublime and got all dressed up. It was meant to be Christmas jumpers but we never got that quite right - and of course the Christmas hat was forced on his head to hide that awful haircut he had yesterday. By the time we got to this shot, everyone had lost patience and had better things to do, including me, so this is it!

It has been a busy day as we leave very early tomorrow morning to go to Switzerland for Christmas and New Year, and I have been washing bedding, towels, all Luke's stuff he brought back from university, clearing out the fridge and then packing. There is snow on the top of the mountains but nothing in the village, so I am not sure what the skiing will be like. I don't mind, I am happy to relax and go walking.