It might have been sunny and 80 when we left, but this weekend was all about dreams of a White Christmas. Since there was so much going on, and I felt more like sleeping and goofing off than writing on my vacation, I decided to put it all into one big Christmas post. So, in typical weekend intelligence fashion, here are the highlights!
She had the day off from work, but I still had to work a half day. I dropped Suzie off at the vet for boarding beforehand. Work was pretty slow on the day of Christmas Eve, so I was easily able to get out on time and make it back to the house to help D finish the last of the packing and preparations. All in all, we had 6 checked bags and 6 carry on items for the four of us, so it was a bit of a juggle getting all the luggage into curbside check-in. After that balancing act, we had to jump through the TSA hoops.
San Antonio Airport has a separate line for families with small children, for which we were only initially thankful. They were no more understanding or accomodating in that line than they would have been in the regular one. Clara ran back through security twice in the process of trying to get all the carry-ons set just right in the bins and taking off our shoes. And each time there was a security guard just watching her run off and snapping at us to move along. And the lady behind the X-ray machine barked at me that all laptops needed to be in their own bin, not on top of the bags like the last time I travelled. EXCUSE ME! I'm only stripping clothing while trying to accomodate all your ridiculous rules you change every 2 months and juggling a toddler. Moron.
The plane flight out into and out of Dallas, as well as the layover were pretty uneventful. Just a lot of people. The flight from Dallas to Omaha made a stop in St. Louis that wasn't on the itinerary. I guess they redid the flight plan to accomodate some cancellations. And it was a good thing, too. Clara had a serious 'blowout' in the plane and needed a new set of clothes. Luckily we found a St. Louis onesie in a terminal gift shop, and were able to stuff her soiled clothes in a few plastic bags. The flight out was delayed by about an hour to make sure everyone that was travelling on Christmas Eve was able to make it. I was annoyed at first, but as I thought about it, that must have been a hard call to make and was the right thing to do considering what night it was.
We landed in Omaha and were greeted to a draft of 6 degree air. Ahhhhh... Home. Grandma and grandpa were ready for us with all the warm coats, scarves, gloves and snowpants for the kids. They brought my big poofy trusty blue coat ( UNIBloo! :D ) that I had when I was in college. When we arrived at the rental car counter, there was some poor girl who looked like she lost a bet and had to work Christmas Eve, and rather unhappy to see a customer. The economy car we had reserved was gone, so we got a free upgrade to a midsize. There was a Camry and an Impala available. D wanted the Camry and I wanted the Impala, so we went to our main fallback for dispute resolutions: RPS. Best of 3. Impala it was, and by the time we were finished with our antics, the gal behind the counter was laughing and had an ear-to-ear smile. She admitted that it sucks to work Christmas Eve, but we made her night. A 2 hour car drive through the snowy countryside put us in Norfolk around 1:30am, where a nice warm bed with PJs and a drink were waiting. It was so good to be home.
The kids made out like bandits Christmas morning. Colin got all sorts of Star Wars gear: the original trilogy, DIY lightsaber set and Clone Wars DVD. He also got a set of classic books and a big
Rube Goldberg marble machine. Clara got all sorts of cute things: a fairy princess tea set, talking piggy bank, peg puzzles and books. The grandparents got us Wii for the family that they had snagged as a Thanksgiving special (not Black Friday, which I thought was odd). I got D a 9+mpxl Kodak, an 8gb iPod and the folks got her a digital photo frame: all the big things on her list. I got the boxed set of
The Red Green Show. The show is
apparently still on PBS in reruns, but now I got a whole bunch of them to whet my appetite. Later that afternoon, Grandma, Colin and I went out to Skyview for some sledding. We were only there about a half hour total, he went down the hill all of twice before getting too cold, but we had a great time nonetheless. While I wish I could have brought Clara for the sledding, she's too little yet for sledding. Still would have made for some great pictures of her in the snow. We ended the day with a great turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
We went out with the grandparents the day after Christmas to look for good deals and get gifts for the family white elephant gift exchange. The crowds didn't seem as crowded as I remembered them. Maybe its the economy, or maybe it is because I'm used to a lot more people. Either way, it was nice. I stopped into the local GameStop after lunch to see Matt, a good friend of mine, who is the assistant manager there, and we made arrangements to talk later. The agenda for the rest of the day really just involved sleeping, eating turkey hash and goofing off. We even got in a little gaming on the laptops we brought with us. Nothing heavy though.
We made arrangements to visit Matt and his girlfriend on Saturday. They had twins earlier this year, and we got to see them. He was appologetic for the state of the house and I could only think to myself "Wow, this is the loft on a good day..." They had a boy and a girl, and the little guy had lung collapse when he was born and has since seen some work, but he's doing just fine now. He sat on my lap for a while and studied my face before giving me a big cheesy grin. Saturday was also grandma and grandpa's 28th wedding anniversary, so they took us all out to eat to celebrate at the 'best margarita spot in town.' That's them up there: 40oz margaritas. Jordon and DeAnn finished theirs, but my stomach acted up before I could completely down mine. When D asked them what their secret was for staying together for 28 years, grandma jokingly replied that they hadn't seen each other for most of it - being apart really helped. The idea of a 30-year bash was thrown around: a nice vacation destination or maybe a cruise in the Carribean. At any rate, mom said no one was allowed to have kids or get married then. :P Gives me two years to earn some vacation time and save up. They said that about their 20 and 25 year anniversaries - I'm gonna hold them to this one! LOL
Sunday was the extended family party in South Dakota, a little over two hours north of Norfolk. It's a white elephant exchange party that they do almost every year, however it's been increasingly hard for everyone to make it anymore. Most of the 'kids' are grown up and in college and having kids of their own, but I was rather impressed at the turnout. There were about 25 people all told. And they all thought Clara was the cutest thing. It was good to see my grandma, too. We got a 4-generation photo with grandma, my mom, me and Clara. When it came time to for the exchange, I got a purse (-.-;) which was traded out for a bath robe, and D swapped out someone's gift card, but then got it stolen from her for a set of saws. (-.-;) So we didn't fare so well, at least for useful things that would fit in a checked bag, but it was a good time nonetheless. The drive back gave us a gorgeous sunset and many farm houses decked out in holiday lights and covered in snow.
Monday was our last day out there. We drove back to Omaha and got through security two and a half hours early, with no major issues. Security there was much friendlier there than in San Antonio. Imagine that. -.- Both the flights into and out of Chicago were jam packed, and Clara was incredibly wound up the whole time, refusing to nap and getting fussier by the minute. Combine a cranky toddler with a very heavy load of carry on luggage and the holiday flying circus, and you have a very worn out pair of parents. I kid you not, she screamed and yelled nearly the entire time we were in the air. At one point she stopped and did something cute, and the couple in front of D noticed. The woman turned to the guy with "those eyes" and asked him if he didn't find that absolutely adorable. "Doesn't it make you want one?" His eyes said it all: she'd been working on him for a while. He looked helplessly over at me and it was all I could do to shake my head at him and mouth "NO!" before she saw and shot me a glare. Poor man. Poor, poor man. Fight the good fight, brother.
We finally landed in San Antonio just shy of 11:30pm, over half an hour later than expected. They, again, waited for everyone that was supposed to make the connecting flight, and that meant that if their flight was running an hour late, so was ours. >.<; I can understand on Christmas Eve, but that was just silly. After we claimed our bags (they all arrived in relatively good condition), we caught the shuttle out to the parking lot, got the Vue and got home. We dragged all the stuff in, resolved to put it away at a later date and called it a night around 1am.
Overall, I had a blast. I've needed a snowy Christmas for years and I've been homesick for so long. I miss the way things make more sense. It's hard to describe, but sometimes things just don't make any sense here in Texas. Things move a little slower there, and there are simply less people. Grandma and Grandpa absolutely doted on my children - they loved every minute of getting to see them and spoiling them rotten. Dad insisted that Clara sleep in their room after the first full night. Apparently she got up at 2am and started singing. I was about to profusely apologize for the lost sleep, but he said it was the most precious thing he'd heard in a long time, and told me that the only one in the room that minded the addition was Roxy. She was a little jealous that there was another little thing in the house getting all the attention. :P
This trip was very good for my soul.
As the year 2008 draws to a close, I realize that I have been blogging for exactly one full year. O.O One year, folks. On a New Year's resolution, no less. That's saying something for me. I don't stick with much of much when it comes to hobbies and I'm not usually one to do the whole New Year's resolution thing. If it's something you've wanted to do, you'd have started doing it by now. But this one stuck, and I'm glad it did. It's kinda cool to look back and read my year as a husband, a father, a working professional and a gamer. So as I finish this chapter, I decided to pick out the stories and posts that stand out the most in each of those categories, as well as some that stand out while not cleanly fitting into any category. A year in review for "Of Life and Diversion," if you will:
