We usually don't travel around Christmas, but this year was the exception. David's sister Liz and her family flew in from Boston, and Grandpa Lanphear came in from Phoenix. Everyone else lives in Dallas, so we drove up there on the 27th. We stayed with David's brother Peter, and his wife Stephanie because they don't have any cats, and we certainly didn't want a repeat of what Christina went through over Thanksgiving. They very kindly gave us the master suite because their bathroom is spacious enough for the portable crib for Gabriel. Even David was grateful for our very comfortable quarters :-).We headed out Saturday morning and went to Grandma's house first, because she had Christmas presents for us. The kids could barely wait to have lunch before attacking the tree....but they survived. Loved what they got (Leapster games and books, a doll, and toy tool bench for Gabriel. I got a nice throw for the couch (which the kids will not be allowed to use!), and a new cake pan with a lid...SWEET! David received a leather-bound St. Ignatius bible...really beautiful.
After dinner, and then headed over to our "inn" for the night. Got the van unloaded and kids to bed. Of course, nobody went to sleep until nearly 10 except for John and Gabriel. Peter and Stephanie's kids are nearly the same age as ours, so they play well (and fight well!). The grownups stayed up late too...we played games every night we were there, "Ticket to Ride," "Guillotine," "Mexican Train Dominoes," and my favorite, "Ruckus." A few choice words were exchanged, and we made a good dent in the big tin of chocolate popcorn we brought up with us. It was great fun...I love hanging out with Peter and Stephanie.
The next day was spent getting ready for Nick and Joey's "Take-Apart" birthday party (they were both born in December). Peter had been collected a vast assortment of old, broken appliances, electronic equipment, computer gear, etc. for months. It was all laid out in the garage, along with a collection of screwdrivers, and they let the kids have at it. It was really fun to watch.







Christina was in the middle of a meltdown and nearly missed the action, but David was taking apart an old VHS player and she calmed down in time to help. That player was the best one; it had an old tape in it, and the kids pulled all the tape out of the cassette. Whee! That was a hit, let me tell you.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, we had a 20 pound turkey that had been roasting since 9AM and it STILL wasn't done! Grandma ended up doing surgery on it (carving it up in pieces and sticking it back in the oven so we could get it done more quickly). Once she gets in the kitchen, we girls don't get in her way, especially if she's wielding a big knife :-).
We also had rolls, hash brown casserole (made by yours truly), steamed broccoli, salad, dressing, chocolate peppermint birthday cake, apple pie, and ice cream. What a feast. I will seriously have to think about dusting off the treadmill when we get back home.
Monday, David and Joshua along with Andrew, Ben, Liz, Mike, Henry, George, Joey, Matt, and Grandpa went to the Boy Scout Museum in Irving, after going to mass first at St. Marks. Today's mass was in memory of Grandma Lanphear, but I stayed behind with Daniel, Christina, and Gabriel (who didn't get up until after 8AM). Mary and Rebecca went to mass also, and then Aunt Donelle took them over to her house to spent the day with Abby (otherwise known as the "all-girl" play date). Here are some pics David took at the Boy Scout Museum.



Stephanie and I enjoyed our relatively quiet day (since we only had 4 kids), and had some good conversation. We had more down time when the kids took naps after lunch. I even got in a nap on the couch around 3PM, while Daniel (the only one who didn't take a nap) watched a video and Stephanie got a few things done on the computer.
We went back to Grandma's house that night for dinner, ate our fill of fajitas, all the fixin's, and more Christmas cookies. Since all the grandkids were present, Grandma wanted a picture of all the kids together-- never an easy feat, but we got it!
Left to right back row: Joey, Mary, Joshua, Abby, George, and Nick. Left to right back row: Sofia, John, Rebecca, Gabriel, Daniel, Christina, Ben, and Andrew.
(Adam the oldest was the only one missing, he was on a Boy Scout trip).
There will be a quiz at the end of this post to see if you can remember everyones' names! Grandpa got one shot of the six of us too.
Rebecca and Mary went back to Abby's house for a sleepover, but Mom forgot to pack her bedtime lovies, a pink baby blanket and bunny. Oops...David drove over with them and saved the day (well..."night" is what I should be saying).
This morning we headed home. David and I had our usual spat over getting the car loaded up (I am really going to make it a point NOT to do that next time we take a trip), Rebecca lost a baggie of little "treasures," Mary had given her, (found it later under the bed), Gabriel got hold of my drink and spilled it all over himself, so I had to dig his suitcase back out of the trunk (of course it was on the VERY bottom!), and get him a change of clothes. Lordy Mercy!!!
There were no incidents on the drive home though, thank goodness. The kids have always been awesome in the car. It was a great trip, saw lots of family, consumed too many calories, but my diet doesn't officially start until Jan 2.
Hope your holidays were as fun as ours!