Last Sunday morning, the kids headed out to the store with the Hubs to get bottles of water and snacks for the trip out. I supposedly was going to turn off all the toilets and to double-check that we'd turned everything off. But I was running around like crazy grabbing presents and putting them under the tree. I was a maniac! I worked from the back of the tree to the front. And under the front of the tree was a little package along with a note.
Dear Santa,
Since we're leaving today I wasn't allowed to leave you cookies, so here is a bag of peppermints. I hope they make you feel extra sweet.
Love...Princess
I couldn't help but STOP and write a note back to her.
Dear Princess,
Thank you for the peppermints. It was a nice change from cookies. I'm going to eat one now and save the rest for later on tonight. I do feel extra sweet.
Love,
SantaP.S. I was so glad to hear that you received high marks on your report card. Keep up the good work.
I put the note on one of the lower branches of the tree. I also unwrapped one of the peppermints and put the wrapper on top of the note.
The drive out to my folks was uneventful. The car was packed to the gills. The Hubs put the kids in the very back and ended up having to place packages on top of the middle seats, which were folded down. The kids were comfy but I didn't like the fact that there was stuff blocking me from them. We headed out around 10am and got there about 4:30pm, so a good 6 1/2 hour drive. And yes, we did stop about midway to grab some lunch and stretch out. It was COLD in Yuma. It was a little breezy so it felt like the cold air was cutting through us. We were in light sweatpants/leggings and short-sleeve t-shirts.
The kids didn't sleep one iota on the drive out. They just watched 3 movies and chatted and got on each others nerves. Neither of them wanted anything from their activity backpack. Makes me wonder why I even pack that thing for trips. Of course, if I didn't pack it and bring it along? They would probably be wanting something from it. The Hubs stayed busy just driving and listening to his iPod. I did my duty as DVD movie changer and ringmaster. I also stayed amused with a find book -- kind of like "Where's Waldo". So it was a nice drive out.
When we got to my sister's house, the kids went off with their cousins. It was like the Hubs and I didn't exist. But that's the way it is. And I'm glad it happens. The kids and their cousins pick up right where they left off. It's like no time has passed since they saw each other last. It's great to watch them all together. It was a nice relaxing evening. The Princess, my nephew, and my niece decorated a gingerbread house too!
The next morning was Christmas Eve. None of us had to buy any other gifts, so we kept close to home. BigSis and I decided to gather the kids and walk down to the park (2 1/2 blocks away). My BIL's sister lives half a block away up on a hill, so as we walked to the park we saw my BIL's sister's son sitting on the fence of his backyard. We yelled up to him and he waved. Soon enough, he and his brother were down at the park with us (their Dad walked them down). The kids ran around, went down the slides, and rode the swings. We sent the girls to collect pinecones off the ground. After an hour or so, we headed back up to the house. We didn't have enough snacks or drinks with us.
We had a simple lunch and then got the pinecones out for a craft. We decided to make pinecone trees! We gathered the supplies and set the kids to work. Only took them an hour to finish, but we ended up with additional decorations. The kids headed into the backyard and ran around more. We all ended up in the backyard throwing the balls around. It was SO fun just being outside with the kids on a beautiful day. LilSis and Shorty showed up a little while later. My folks were going to come out after a late service at their church.
Did I mention that BigSis was hosting my entire family for Christmas? My clan was in my youngest nephew's room. LilSis and Shorty in my niece's room. My folks in my oldest nephew's room. BigSis, Jello, and their 3 kids were going to sleep in the master and the den next door (which had 2 large couches). So it was a FULL house!
We all woke up late Christmas morning. The kids played together while we made breakfast. There was no whining or anything. They knew we'd get to the gifts as soon as everyone was awake and had a chance to eat. We gathered into the livingroom and....took photos! Of course, we each (LilSis, BigSis and I) had to take photos. We're not all together often so we took advantage of the situation. As soon as we'd "captured the moment", we handed out gifts and let the kids loose. It was an open free-for-all. I ended up just watching everyone open their gifts. It was so fun just watching.
Then my BIL's side of the family started showing up. My BIL's older sister and her son. My BIL's younger sister, her husband, and her two boys (who played at the park with us). Then we had our Christmas lunch. We all contributed food to it. And what a lunch it was. It was a beautiful buffet of food. Deep fried turkey. Gravy. Baked green beans with onions on top. Homemade cranberry sauce. Yams and marshmallows. Salad. Cheesecake. Chocolate Cake. Chocolate cookies. Chocolate fondue with cherries, strawberries, apples for dipping. YUM! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies and catching up.
Before it got too late we headed out to my folks house. BigSis and Jello had plans for their kids the rest of the week -- I think snowboarding? But what sucked is that my Mom had to work Wed/Thu/Fri. So she only got to see the kids at the end of the day. And we didn't hang out at the house either. But I think I'll leave that info for my next post....
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