Christmas Break Roadtrip!!

**As you will note in the commentary below, I actually almost totally finished this blog post in January but never posted it, oops!  

It is hard to believe that the events of this road trip happened an entire month ago.  In so many ways I feel like I am just coming up for air after all the Christmas craziness, but as I see the date on the calendar I know that an entire month has passed.  Our January has been so filled with big church stuff and intense home stuff which has used up most of my good think time and left me with energy to do little more than watch cheesy movies after the kids are in bed.  I will blog about the craziness soon, but today I take a step back and get to relive our after Christmas road trip.  

Tuesday, December 26th (Day 1): 

Our steaming Lake!

Our morning started with very little chaos.  The kids knew we were leaving and for the most part held it together quite nicely.  Brandon took them to fill the van with gas and to check out the steaming lake.  The temps dropped quite a bit of Christmas Eve and were VERY VERY cold on the morning of the 26th. We were on the road rather early thanks to lots of packing the day before.  After such busy days at home there was a large exhale when we were leaving out of town knowing that we were headed to a time of relaxation and family.  

The kids traveled quite well.  We only needed to stop twice and we made it to Tom and Judy's in six hours!  We were surprised that it was still very cold in Missouri.  

Typically when we arrive at our destination we have some low-key chill time to unpack and eat and hug and play.  This year we changed things up and jumped right into crazy activity and it was wonderful! We went to Brandon's parents house first to unload and do a little unpacking.  Then we hopped back in the van and drove down the hill and next door to Brandon's sister's house.  We had our annual Christmas brunch at dinner time.  Judy's entire extended family was in attendance along with two significant others of cousins... who will probably be officially family soon :)  *My prediction was correct, one of the couples is now engaged.

There are admittedly a lot of photos from this event.  There were a lot of phones and a lot of cameras and many people to capture memories!

The whole crew ready to eat. 

After the meal the kids got to open presents from all of Brandon's aunts and uncles.  Everyone is so generous.  We are very thankful for their generous hearts and really just so thankful that we all get to be together.

T: Aunt B (T's great great Aunt) gave me $5!

M: Thanks Aunt B!

T: I got a new shirt from Daddy's cousin E!

M: I got to open LOTS of presents!

T: A snowman with my name on it.  Oh wait, you can't really see it!

My handsome hubby is watching the gift opening!

T: I guessed a ball would be in this, and I was right!

M: I love getting hugs from Jeanette.  We have matching curly hair!

Both girls got socks that they could decorate with special markers.  They were thrilled and got busy quickly!

T: I could make whatever designs I wanted, or wear them without coloring and they are still super fun. 

After presents there was lots of playing!

M: I like holding A's pet Drogan.  

T: I love playing in A's room!

Cousin A got a bar and balance beam for Christmas.  T was quite impressed!

T: It just feels so good to be upside down!

They were actually doing the same thing at the same time!

T: I had to keep one hand up or my dress would fall down!

This year A and A also got hover board things for Christmas.  They were popular with the kids and the adults.  Brandon became quite good at it, but it requires strong core muscles so I decided not to even try haha.

M: I needed Aunt Adrienne's help when I was learning!

Brandon said it was harder than it looked. 

M: It was hard at first!

M: Then I started to love it!

M: I even managed to play a little bit of a video game before it got turned off!

A and A's house is large and allows for many things to be happening at once.  There were some games going in the kitchen and chats in the living room and fun in the basement too.  It was so nice to have space to spread out.

T LOVES Brandon's cousin T.  She is so incredibly smitten with him.  I simply couldn't choose which photo to include because they tell such a sweet story.

T: I love how focused T is... sigh...

T: He put his arm around me!!

T: I am in his lap!

T: I could stay here all night!

Eventually T got bored and M got a chance with T as well!

M: I like T too!

M: I think he was kissing my head for luck!

We had many fun conversations in the living room.  Judy was already sitting in a cozy chair and invited me to sit with her.  I couldn't quite get my hip to fit, but I was pretty comfortable.  As I was attempting to squish into this chair I was struck by how normal it felt for me to attempt to squish into a chair with my mother in law.  I am so thankful for Judy and for our 14 years of friendship and for being comfortable enough with her to squish in a chair with her.

We fit!

Shortly after the squish T joined us and warmed our laps and made the scene look less awkward.  No biology connects the three generations (pictured below), but we blessed with more love for each other than many a biological family!

T: Two of my favorite ladies!

During the chatting and in between games the kids and the big kids decided to do some sledding.  There was a bit of snow, but the temps were barely above zero and it was windy!  Adrienne had enough extra clothes so that M could sled as well!  Such fun! 

M: They have really big hills around here!

Before we parted ways we decided to take a family photo.  One of the significant others took the pictures.  I am so thankful that she took a photo while we were trying to organize everyone!

Getting everyone a spot isn't easy!

Sometimes the boys don't do what they are told!

And sometimes everyone is looking and it turns out well!

We stayed there really late!  The kids were having so much fun and we were too.  Family is just so special.  Several of them were leaving early the next morning so it was fun to linger and soak up the together time.

Wednesday, December 27th (Day 2):

Even though we had a late night, the kids were up pretty early.  Adrienne and Chris had to work, so A and A came up to Tom and Judy's for the day.

M: Grandma Judy had a really cool paper airplane book. 

M: Can we do this one? 

The little girls just love playing games with Brandon.  It is fun to see how comfortable A is with Brandon!

T: Tickle us Daddy!

The girls spent lots of time on projects.  They both love making things for people and completely reject the idea of a paperless society!

T: It is so much fun to do projects with A!

OK, the next section shows LOTS of photos from the girls getting fancy with Grandma Judy's make-up and T's hair chalk.  This occupied them for a long time and they had so much fun.  What treasured memories.  I just couldn't decide which photos to include so you are getting a lot of them!  I think I need to look at these pictures on the tough days.

T: How does the side pony look? 

T: Sometimes I make funny faces when I am putting on make-up. 

T's smile here and A's cheeks can make anyone's day!!!!

Such focus!

T: Time for our stripes!

T: I finished up with A's hair and held a mirror so she could see the progress!!!

While the girls were putting on a lot of make-up the boys were having lots of fun with Brandon's cousins T and T!

M: I wish they could stay all week!

That afternoon while all the kids were playing with each other Brandon's mom and her sister Mel decided to play one of Mel's favorite childhood games together.  It was too precious not to take a picture.  They played one round with lots of forgotten rules and the next one by the actual rules!

Children's games are also enjoyed by adults!

After the full amount of possible make-up was put on the girls needed some more time with Brandon!

Cuddling and reading!

M: Please don't leave!!

Uncle Curt got a new puppy.  She is named Elsa and is super cute and fluffy.  We went out to the farm to meet the Elsa and the other dogs but somehow only managed one photo of a blurry T with the dog running away.   We were there for a while.  The kids played with the dogs and the adults chatted then we headed back to Tom and Judy's to celebrate family Christmas. 

*This is how far I made it into the post when I was blogging in January.   I have a feeling I will have much less detail in this section than the section above.  We will have to see how great my memory is of events from 4 months ago... 

After the time at the farm the kids played some "Monopoly Empire" while we prepared for the dinner.   This is a great game because it doesn't take too long to play and is fun for all ages. 

T: This is a really fun game!

More tickles!

After dinner the kids went on a scavenger hunt for their new PJ's.  The got clues around the house and took turns reading them, so precious.

They worked as a team!

T and A:  Do you like our new PJ's??

The new readers are so sweet together!

The presents are all passed out and ready to be opened!

M: I got my DRONE!!!!!! 

T: I made presents for everyone and read them what I wrote!

M picked out the drone while he was there in August and waited patiently until Christmas to open it.  Since Christmas he has continued to wait patently for good drone flying weather.  It might just happen in the next month!

M: I finally got to open it!

T: A and I got matching make-up holders!  I needed to fill mine right away!

T: Grandpa Tom likes getting help with his presents!

When you are a 36 year old mom who happens to be both practical and frugal, Christmas comes with very few surprises.  This year I was surprised more than once!  First, with the beautiful and significant bench my dad made.  Then I got a second big surprise.  Back in September, our church had our big adoption silent auction.  I really wanted a practical and fun purse for travel and mommy-ing.  It seriously looks like it was made for me. Well, I watched the price go higher and higher and then suddenly the table closed and I didn't get the purse.  Furthermore, two of my good friends bid on the purse and didn't get it either.  It was sort of a mystery to us... who did end up with the purse?!? Well, Brandon's parents are a lot sneakier than I would have guessed.  They were outbidding me and ended up winning it for a Christmas gift for me.  I squealed with delight when I opened it.  I might have even shed a tear.  To be truly surprised by a gift at Christmas is such a fun and special thing!  Thank you so much Tom and Judy!  I took the purse with me to Mexico in March and it worked so well for all my different travel needs!

What a beautiful surprise!

M was thrilled to get his own Monopoly Empire game for Christmas and the cousins all played it with Uncle Chris that night.  It was another late night, but the kids were enjoying each other so much that my heart didn't mind the lack of schedule.  Perhaps I am relaxing in my old age!

T: Uncle Chris was making me laugh!

M: It was fun to play together!  T: I was a little tired. 

T: I was getting pretty tired by the end!

Thursday, December 27th (Day 3): 

Adrienne had to work again on Thursday so A and A came to join in our fun for the day.  A and A play so well with our kids that more kids truly is less work!  

The girls were so dirty after their hair chalk and make up that one more round before a bath wasn't going to hurt them!

T: We did our nails and added a bit more make up!

M: A is more into this stuff than me, but some of it was pretty cool!  

The kids did lots of playing and other low-key stuff that I can't remember throughout the day.  The girls took a very long bath together in  preparation for their "princess party" later that day.  

In the late afternoon Judy and I took the girls to a princess party with two of the local princesses.  The kids wore their PJ's and did some coloring and read some stories.  It was a sweet little idea.  I think T liked being around the girls with the crowns!  T and A were matching as much as they possibly could be.

T:  Are you really a princess? 

T: I loved that book!

T: I got to meet some new girls!

The whole group!

The princesses with our princesses!

T: We were proud of our tiaras!

That night we had another family dinner.  M's intense food limitations made the meals pretty tricky, but we managed to eat quite well and did some improvising and we made it!

Friday, December 28th (Day 4): 

Our final full day in MO was spent doing some rather unique things.  We all had dentist appointments.  Typically the kids just have theirs at the house as Tom can check their teeth and do fluoride anywhere.  This time we all decided to go into the office.  They did great and we were all cavity free!

T: I thought it was fun!

We forgot to get a pic of M during the appointment so he hopped back into the chair before we left!

M: It was a lot better than I thought it would be. 

After our dentist visits we drove to a different town to check out Uncle Chris' new store.  He runs a UPS store and gave us a tour.  The kids got to help him do some printing on a shirt.  There were many steps to the process!

M: First I think we had to heat it and treat it. 

M: This machine put the design on the shirt. 

M: Then it had to go in a very hot press. 

We did it!!!!!

That night we had another family dinner and the kids put together their group Christmas present.  They all got part of a puzzle.  The puzzle was really all one puzzle.  They enjoyed it for a while, but it was a bit tricky for just the kids.  The pictures so the progression of adult help that was needed for the harder parts.

First they started out alone. 

Then everyone got a buddy but M. 

Eventually M allowed me to help/got fed up and left/a combination of the two. 

A was very good at getting the little puzzles to connect and form one puzzle.!!!

Saturday, December 29th (Day 5): 

Adrienne and A and A came over again while we packed.  The kids got in one last play session.  They truly do enjoy playing together!

One last game of Monopoly!

One last Christmas craft!

I *think* the trip home was pretty uneventful.  If something huge would have happened I would remember it almost 4 months later, right?  It must not have.  I remember coming home to a cold house and the chaos of unpacking and dinner and bedtime, but it was all manageable.  

We sure were blessed with a wonderful post Christmas road trip.  It was very fun for me to look back on it after these months!  Hopefully you will all enjoy our Christmas highlights as well!