Finishing up our Christmas report here.
Christmas morning started at 5:30 a.m. with a wake-up call from our cousins who live in the Eastern time zone. Mind you, that's 3:30 a.m. for us Pacific time zone dwellers and it felt like it.
Still, the fire was warm, the tree looked beautiful, and the kids were adorable. They loved their presents and had so much fun playing with them all morning long. Even better for the kids, a light, lovely snow fell on Christmas morning and left the world sparkly and white. Heaven.
The snow was charming until we got in the car to drive to Grandma and Grandpa K's house. The roads were a little icy, but we drove slowly and avoided the overpasses. We opened presents and relaxed together that afternoon.
Gwen got a Sleeping Beauty dress from Gram and Pops and she wore it all day.
The following day, Scott's sister and her husband and four sons flew into Lubbock for a visit. Their boys are so fun and our kids enjoy hanging out with their Nashville cousins. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that first day, thinking that we would have a couple more opportunities to take photos. I should have known better! A Christmas respiratory bug/cold/stomach funk struck Ava. She spent the 27th with a fever, coughing, and throwing up. I wasn't sick to my stomach, but I had a variation of the same virus as well, so Scott and the other kids went to lunch with his family and I stayed home with Little A. Later that afternoon Scott's dad experienced chest pains and ended up in the E.R., followed by a few days in the hospital to clear some blockage and put in a stent. Thankfully he's doing well, but both events put a damper on the remainder of the trip.
Still, we love our families and were so happy to see them and spend time with them. We wish we could live closer to each other. It's hard to love and enjoy your family as much as we do and only be able to see them a couple of times a year. The internet, Face Time, and cell phones are a real blessing.
During this Christmas visit we also managed to fit in the Larsen family picture, Tex Mex at Chuy's (sweet Maria, I miss Tex Mex!), a cousin party at Chuck E Cheese, fireside caroling on Christmas Eve, playing in the snow, crafting with Grandma, a wee bit of shopping, and a lunch with just me, Aunt Sarah, and Brenna. Not bad for just a week.
