We're Back Home Again!

Where do I begin? There's so much to tell about our 2 weeks away! Here goes . . .

Dec. 22nd: We left bright and early, dropped Daisy at the dog kennel, and limited ourselves to just one stop on the way in hopes of arriving to Nana & Papa's before the sun was predicted to set at 4:45pm! Why did we want to arrive before sundown? Because there was some serious snow on it's way and I didn't really want to navigate through "Papa's Woods" in the dark! I think we pulled into their driveway at 4:30pm! That put us at 8.5 hours door-to-door. Nana & Papa welcomed us into their cozy mountain cottage -- we were so glad to be there!

Dec. 23rd: Jillian and I spent the day at Uncle Barry and Auntie Stacy's house with all the cousins making Christmas cut-out cookies. That was right up Jillian's alley! She got to knead the dough, roll it out, and press the cookie cutters. While the cookies baked and Keira made frosting, the kids ate some chicken soup and homemade turtle bread . . . yummy! Then, we rounded them up all up to frost and decorate the cookies with sprinkles and red hots. After about a half hour of decorating, Jillian rolled over into my lap and informed me that she needed to lay down. She then proceeded to take a 2 hour nap in Keira's bed. Nothing like making yourself at home! We always feel so welcome at the cousins' house!

After she woke up, Keira and Brittany took her out in the snow for some sledding and snow ball fights! Later that evening, we packed all the kids up and met Nana & Papa and Daddy at Red Robin for dinner and then some light-looking! The downtown mall had a huge display of lights and an enormous tree on display with a small train running around the courtyard. The kids all piled into the train and I thought Jillian was going to explode she was SO excited!

It seemed like that would be the highlight of the evening (and possibly the highlight of the season) until we followed Uncle Barry to the last light-looking spot. As we pulled into the cul-de-sac, we could see a home at the top of the circle with an adjoining barn that was just completely covered in lights and Christmas displays. Then, as we slowed down in the line of cars to turn around at the end, we saw him . . . SANTA! He was standing there handing out candy canes! Finally, Jillian would get her candy cane from Santa Claus! I rolled down her window and Santa said, "Ho Ho Ho! Just one little girl back here, right?" Then, he reached his big, red, Santa arm in the window and handed her a candy cane. I watched her in the rearview mirror and I was pretty sure her eyes were as big as they get. We thanked Santa, rolled up the window, and as we drove away we could hear her whispering in amazement, "There he is. It's really him."

Dec. 24th: SNOW. SNOW. And more SNOW. By the time we decided we could make it to church and back, Chris scraped a good 8 inches of snow off of the car that day! So although we weren't sure if we'd make it, we did attend the children's Christmas service at church that evening. I always enjoy seeing how big my old students have gotten! Then, we had dinner at Casa Ramos, and drove out to GGPa's to spend Christmas Eve with the rest of the Parkers. Jillian was just sure she had discovered a new treasure . . . Grandpa's back room full of toys! We tried to tell her that it had been there so long that Daddy played there when he was little, but it was all new to her! On the way back to Nana & Papa's that evening, we talked to her in the car about how this is the night when Santa comes to fill our stockings. And how if she did a really good job going to bed and falling asleep that Santa might even come tuck her in when he got there and leave a candy cane on her pillow. She really liked that idea!

Dec. 25th: Sure enough, there was a candy on each of our pillows when we woke up that morning. We must all be on the nice list! For Jillian, that could have been the beginning and end of her Christmas. We had to remind her that there was a stocking waiting for her near the hearth. She took her time looking at each thing and even though she woke up with a bad cold that morning, she didn't seem to mind. We had a lot of fun watching her discover what Santa had delivered.

Later in the day, Uncle Scott & Auntie Leslie, Erin, Nicole, Uncle Barry & Auntie Stacy, Brittany, Keira, Alex, Dominic, Yari, Ian, and Milan all came over to celebrate. After our delicious turkey dinner, we popped our Christmas crackers and gave thanks for the previous year by hammering the peppermint pig. So much to remember to be thankful for!

Dec. 26th: We were invited to the cousins' house for a Guitar Hero Rock Band marathon! Jillian rocked the drums (with Brittany's help) and I ripped on the bass. Yup. We rocked. That game is so addicting!

Dec. 27th: Uncle Barry & Auntie Stacy brought the cousins over to hang out and have dinner. We grown-ups spent A LOT of time playing Mexican Train Dominoes -- another addicting game!

Dec. 28th: We went back down the hill to church that morning. Then, I sent Jillian back up the hill with Daddy, Nana, & Papa. I snuck away for my day with Nicole. We shopped at Target, caught a matinee showing of Seven Pounds (SO GOOD), and then ate at Casa Ramos (SO YUMMY).

Dec. 29th: Stacy and I met with all the kids at the movie theater to see The Tale of Despereaux (SO STRANGE). The kids had a good time. Jillian, as always, opted to ride with Auntie Stacy and the cousins, so I took Milan with me on a couple of errands. Later that evening, we were invited over to the cousins' house for a pizza party.

Dec. 30th: We mostly layed low at Nana & Papa's house. Auntie Stacy brought Milan and Ian over that afternoon to play. Later than evening, Sandy, Stacy, and I met Denise at the pizza parlor for a ladies night. We won't mention the Little Red Riding Hood incident. That could be embarrassing!

Dec. 31st: We met Auntie Stacy and Keira for a burger lunch and then Chris, Jillian, and I stopped by GGPa's house to visit with him once more. That night we were back over at the cousins' house for a New Year's Eve party! Woo hoo! We pooped out around 10pm and took sleepy Jillian back to Nana & Papa's. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow!

Jan. 1st: Happy New Year! Barry and Stacy hosted again! Thank you Barry and Stacy!!! There was a big crowd there to enjoy Scott's cioppino and Nana & Papa's crabcakes. Of course, there was more Mexican Train Dominoes and Guitar Hero, too! We were so sad to say goodbye that night.

Jan. 2nd: We packed it up and followed Nana & Papa to GGma and George's house in Lincoln. We had a lot of fun that afternoon visiting and catching up with Uncle Duane and Aunt Mel, too. Jillian seemed to enjoy all of the attention being the only kiddo in the group! She entertained us by dressing up as Cinderella and inviting us all to her Christmas party at the table. Too bad she didn't feel at home there -- ha ha! A big thank you to GGma and George for having us over that night!

Jan. 3rd: We packed it up again, stopped over at the Hall's house to say hello, and hit the road by 12:30pm. Jillian slept for a couple of hours and woke up talking about cats. Cats??? Thanks a lot, Nana! : ) She did a great job riding tough the rest of the way down the valley. We picked up Daisy and made it home around 5:30pm.

We are happy to be home, but sad and missing everyone already. Thanks again Nana & Papa for letting us stay for so long. We had a wonderful Christmas! XOXOXO