Christmas 2010 in Pictures

I was ready to blog away while we were in Maryland.  I was sure that I packed my USB cord, but alas, I did not.  Once we returned, it was missing for weeks.  (It's funny how things go missing here.  I can't find my cell phone right now, so know you know I haven't been avoiding you if you've been trying to call.)  I finally found the cord in a laundry basket...  So, that is why you are getting the late and very condensed version of how we spent the holidays.

There we multiple train rides and attempts to chat with Santa at the mall.  (Although, Grant was down with giving the big guy five, Luke ruined any possibility of a picture by being very excited and then melting into mush five feet from the man who could make all his dreams come true.)

We added a few new traditions to our celebration this year.  We all made lists of nice things that the other family members could do for us and then worked to do something nice for each person in the family every day.  (I think this would have worked a little better if we added to a paper chain or used stickers to mark each act of service.  We will try again next year.)  Something that I LOVE and read about somewhere online was to choose a Christmas card from the mail each night.  We looked at the card together during dinner and  talked about our friends.  Then we included them in our prayer.  I love that this takes the focus off of the me, me, me mentality that the season can sometimes bring AND that we get to tell stories to our kids about people we might not have talked with them about.

After school let out, we packed up and headed to Maryland.  The ride wasn't quite as bad as I had imagined.  We had to have the kids sit three in a row in order to have enough room for our luggage, which made me oh, so nervous about the fighting and my own sanity.  However, Jackson was quite helpful during the whole trip and Grant did about 500 times better than he has in the past.

Our first night in Maryland we went with Grandma Nancy to Brookside Gardens and walked through a lighted paradise. 

There were trains, too.

And even a campfire, and s'mores!

I got to go out with my girls (Miriam and Denise) one night and (Emily, Kelly and Tammy) another night.  YAY!

My sister, Stephanie, and her husband came in for a few short days from Arizona.  The boys had SO much fun playing with them.  Uncle Cliff taught them how to play Mario Bros. on the Wii.  Unfortunately, Stephanie spent 1/2 of her visit quarantined because she got sick.  I am kicking myself because I have no pictures of them!

We got to go with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jim to their church on Christmas Eve (always my favorite part of Christmastime) and then to their house for dinner.  

Christmas morning was mad chaos and just as Grandma was trying to coerce Luke into coming down to see what Santa had left, cousin Anna, Kimmy and Drew Mudgett walked in all the way from England!

  MUCH fun was had by the cousins.  There was a lot of jumping on beds going on for the rest of the trip.

Mom planned a get together with our dear friends the Howells.  (Janet used to babysit me when I was under a year old.)  Boy, have the six children multiplied!  It was mad and crazy in that house with ten kids under 7.

This is Jenny...(she goes by Jennifer now).  We hung out as babies together.  I have known her longer than I have known my sisters.  (Apparently, we still are peas in a pod because we obviously need to invest in black bras.)

And, then the Christmas festivities were over and we were able to relax a bit.  There was a drive out to Watkins Park to see the lights, something we love to do every year.  I used to work at this park, so it is fun to go back. On the way there is a house that has been over-decorating for years.  We got a super close look this year.  I even took video because there is music and all sorts of sound effects.  The boys were pretty impressed.  This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Luke and I went swimming with the Mudgetts (who bolted before I was able to take illegal photos)  and Jackson's BFF Izzy.

(I don't know who that boy is with Jackson, but his grandmother thought Izzy (in the goggles) was my daughter and it felt nice to pretend to have a girl for a minute.)

There was cookie making with Grandma.

And a final day of fun with Jackson's long lost buddy, Junior, who we used to live next door too.

There was the traditional early "countdown to midnight" on New Years Eve complete with sparkling cider and fruit with dipping chocolate (since I was too lazy to get the chocolate fountain down this year).  According to Jackson, this tradition is "lame".  So, I guess he has outgrown it.

There was an actual date!  Barrington and I went out on New Years Eve for the first time in YEARS.  His buddy from high school invited us to go hang out at their friends restaurant and I was able to invite my adorable friend Julia.  It was so fun to catch up with her.  

There was corruption of a cousin...

 

My sister, Kim, took me out so that I could pick out my gift from her.  We were able to have lunch together and I had such a great time having her to myself for a little bit.

We also got to spend some time with Barrington's grandmother, which is always lovely.

The problem with the whole trip was that there just isn't enough time to see everyone.  Wanting to run all over and see friends and family combined with yearly holiday fun just seemed like it was too much this year.  I was exhausted.  I'm not sure how to remedy that problem.  I just feel so blessed to have so many people wanting to spend time with us.  We are so grateful for all of our peeps and miss them tremendously.