Christmas!!

December 28, 2009

Christmas!!

We are home!!

We had such a wonderful trip. It was so great to be able to see a good portion of the family (on both sides!) this year. Here is a short rundown of our trip. We left late Wed. afternoon, arriving in Corvallis around 8pm. The kids all took late naps in the car so they didn't go to bed until 11. Yikes! Thurs, the 24th we went to John's family's place in Scio. We intended to leave at 9am, but between my wanting to copy a DVD of my handbell concert, and John wanting to visit the triathlon store it was closer to 12 by the time we actually left. I think that's the latest we have ever been!

We had a really good time there. Little John was excited to see his cousins again, and Justin and his cousin Paul found some knight costumes and staged a battle. They were so cute to watch and played together sooooo well. After dinner we had a music program that Sarah put together, with some violin, piano and singing. It was lots of fun, sounded beautiful, and the kids actually all stayed put and quiet for the whole thing! After that everyone opened presents. We had brought a present for each of the kids. Justin received his Shark Bite Bay Trick tracks that he's been wanting, and they were instantly a huge hit with all the kids. (And 3 days after Christmas they still are!)Then it was time to go back to Corvallis.

Christmas morning, we ended up having to wake the kids up to see what Santa brought them so we wouldn't be late for breakfast. All the kids got a book in their stocking. Jackie: The Napping House; Justin: Planet Earth 4 pack ; John: Junie B. First Grader. Plus some little toys and candy. Then it was off to Shari's for breakfast. I have to say, I really love our tradition of going out to eat on Christmas morning. Everyone gets a delicious breakfast, and everyone gets exactly what they want. After eating it was back to Grandma's house to open more presents.

Sat. we tried to relax a little. I got to help on a root canal in the morning which I really enjoyed. It was almost the highlight of Christmas for me. Also I got to see my best friend Amy who was in town for a couple weeks. We went out to lunch and exchanged gifts. That night we celebrated Justin's birthday. I can't believe he is 5! He wanted a blue ice cream cake for his birthday, so that's what he got. Unfortunately the blue dye stained everyone's lips and teeth. (And we found out later does NOT get digested)

Sun we came home. We had a wonderful time. If you were to ask the kids what their favorite gift was, I'm sure they would all say their new Wii. We've already put some time limits on it, which I think are going to be easier to enforce on the kids than their Dad!

Here are some pictures of our trip.