Christmas

This year, we had Christmas in four parts...

Part I, Early Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa
Two weekends before Christmas, Mom and Dad came down for a quick visit. They arrived on Friday, we had "Christmas" on Friday night, and then basically spent the rest of the weekend in hockey rinks. It was a lovely Christmas with very nice and very generous gifts. The boys really liked the toques brought to them from Alaska. They have worn them almost non-stop ever since. Hubby and I have worn our scarves brought from Scotland. Hubby's is black watch plaid, and mine is some plaid that has both the red of my coat and some orange (my favorite color) in it. Love it!

I'm not sure who was more excited about Keeper Boy getting Risk... Keeper Boy or Hubby! And J-Mav got Parcheesi, a favorite from my childhood. Keeper Boy got a new hockey bag -- one made specifically for goalie equipment. ALL of his equipment fits in the bag (as does J-Mav as we found out).

There were lots of awesome gifts... Star Wars Legos for J-Mav, a USB turntable for Hubby, a purse and some plates for my Christmas set for me, the bag for Keeper Boy. And Mom and Dad seemed to really like their gifts, too. I keep hearing that the train puzzle we gave my dad is giving him fits (but that as of this morning he is about 2/3 done with it). Mom loves her Mukluks and the hockey Santa we gave her.

A very good start to our Christmas celebration!

Part II, Christmas with BFF and kids
The night before we left for Ohio, we got together with BFF and her kids N. and V. The kids opened their gifts at BFF's house and we had pizza, and then we all piled into the truck and headed across the river to National Harbor and ICE! It was really cool... tons of ice sculptures, all in the theme of the Grinch!

Highlights of this part of Christmas included a 5-foot goalie fathead for Keeper Boy and a new set of knee hockey nets for J-Mav.

Part III, Christmas Day
Christmas morning was chaotic. With nine people, it took more than two hours to open gifts. We were in Ohio at Gma G's house. Also there (from Hawaii!) were Uncle Hooter (Hubby's brother), Jenrie, and the kids -- J. and P. It was the first time we'd met P. and she was ADORABLE. She wasn't shy around us at all, even though she's almost a year old and had never met us.

Highlights included learning a new game (Blockus), that the kids had learned over the summer when they visited Gma G. And Keeper Boy got the game for Christmas, so we can play here, too. Other highlights were a Kindle for Keeper Boy, an iTouch for J-Mav, and plane tickets for our family to travel to Hawaii this summer to visit Uncle Hooter, Jenrie, and the kids. Can't wait!!

We also celebrated P.'s baptism and 1st birthday (a month early) the day after Christmas. Hubby and I are honored to be her Godparents. :) The following day, we celebrated Gma G's birthday. The guys took the kids sledding one afternoon. And one afternoon Gma G took the boys to see Gulliver's Travels while Hubby and Uncle Hooter saw The Fighter and Jenrie, P., and I went shopping. (No Kohl's on Oahu, so we spent some time there.)

The night before we came home, we all went to Dayton and stayed in a hotel as Uncle Hooter and family had an early flight out of Dayton to go home to Hawaii. Their flight ended up being cancelled. :-( So we all went to brunch and then they went to Cincinnati, where they were able to get a flight out the following day, and we headed home. A long trip home for everyone, but everyone got home safely.

Part IV, Santa
J-Mav had sent Santa a note early in December asking him to leave his and Keeper Boy's gifts at our house rather than delivering them to Ohio. This was because J. and P. wouldn't have room to take their stuff home on the plane and J-Mav didn't think it was fair for he and Keeper Boy to get their gifts and not their cousins. Very empathetic on J-Mav's part. :)

By the time we got home from Dayton, it was after 10pm, so the boys opened their Santa gifts the following morning. They were very excited... Keeper Boy got a new Caps jersey (Neuvirth); J-Mav got a new Cowboys throw-back jersey (Romo), a Star Wars action figure set, and a couple games for his DS. Excitement all around. :)

So I think Christmas is officially over. As I type, we are watching the Winter Classic and the Caps are up 2-1. Hopefully that lead will hold and we will be a happy family tonight! Luckily, the kids don't have school tomorrow, so we are letting them stay up. I guess tomorrow I'll start taking the Christmas decorations down. Today the kids asked if we could just leave the tree up all year. I'd love to!! But I fear that would be a little weird.

In conclusion... Happy New Year!! And remember: only 358 shopping days left until Christmas!!