FOUND: THE SANTA HOLE

Last year it was the "Easter Bunny Hole", in which Kristen tried to explain the existence of the boys' Easter baskets in our basement storage area. This year I determined a never ever used closet in the basement bedroom would suffice for Christmas present storage. What was I thinking?

As Kristen and I were preparing for my Office Holiday Party, the boys were playing in an unseasonably calm manner in the basement. Against my better judgement, I went to investigate. Let's just say, you don't poke a sleeping bear - similarly, you don't go checking on kids who are playing quietly. Well, the first thing I found was that the bedroom door was open, as was the closet door inside...

I locked the door to the room and began asking some questions.
I asked Tobin what he'd found, "All kinds of fun stuff daddy!"
At this point he tried the door, so he could show me all the 'fun stuff'. Finding it locked, he went to work getting it back open again. I watched the process unfold with fascination:
Finding the door locked, Tobin unplugged the small space heater nearby - the closest object to him. He dragged the object toward the door, using the cord, plug-end facing forward. When he got to the door, he used the prongs of the plug to unlock the door lock. Yeah. Have I mentioned before that we're in trouble??

I asked Blane what fun stuff he'd found for me, "Mmm, nothing much."
Blane's answer was better, as it meant he hadn't looking in more than one of the bags.
Thankfully, they hadn't gotten into the majority of the gifts, and no real explanation was necessary. No "Santa Hole" story needed to be fabricated.

I proceeded to relocate the gifts to a place that I'm slightly more confident in, but with these kids, who can really be sure?