Christmas vacation

On the 23rd of December, we boarded a plane, landed in CA and for 2 full weeks, lived a life I barely recognized as my own. First of all, my dear husband and I brought with us just 3 children rather than 4 (oh how we missed "our" baby!!) and they were spoiled and adored and entertained on a constant basis. I was surrounded by friends and family and had ample time to spend with them - loving, laughing and living life. With grandparents who were always willing and seemingly excited to watch my little ones, I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased and was astonished at the feasibility of doing so without several little ones in tow. My husband and I had more alone time together than we've had in 5 years combined!! I was amazed that I actually had moments of uninterrupted thoughts where I could more fully appreciate the many reasons I love, respect and adore the man I married!!! My precious mother and father-in-law love to pour themselves out for us, so I ate amazing food that I didn't prepare, wore clean clothes that I didn't even wash, enjoyed a shopping spree where I didn't spend a dime, and occasionaly got to cruise around in a porsche that, obviously, did not belong to me. I even read a book in it's entirety, sometimes while outside basking in the glory of the sun, while snacking on oranges and lemons picked from the citrus trees outside. Oh, that sounds so nice right now as I sit, once again, in a cold, snow covered land!! Since it would be impossible to tell the many stories of our wonderful trip, I'll just let a few pictures (relatively so, I think between my dad in law and myself we took well over 1000!!) do the job. :O)

The evening of Christmas Eve, about to leave for Uncle Rick's for a family gathering

Christmas story with Uncle Rick

Ky with cousin Meghan

Ky with Aunt Debbie and 2nd cousin Maddie

Christmas morning gift giving with Grammy and Poppy

Late morning Christmas trip to the ER for Kylee. Massive double ear infections. Poor baby!

Later Christmas Day spent time with the family at home then went to another fun filled extended family gathering at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Noel's

Poppy, Jim and the kids got to go to a fun pizza/bowling/playland while the ladies shopped!

At Grammy and Poppy's church at the base of the mountains - beautiful!

Enjoying a train ride at the outdoor mall with friends Madison and Pierce

A visit with Aunt Donna, cousin Jenny and her sweet baby Bella was a special treat! Then we all gathered for dinner with Grandpa Gib and Grandma Rosye.

Grammy and Poppy planned a special trip with the kids to Legoland!! There were far too many photos to choose from - but, needless to say, incredible fun was had by all and wonderful memories were made!!

Jim and I tried very hard to think of things to do while the kids were off with Grammy and Poppy. We went out to lunch and to dinner (incredible!) and got lots of errands ran in between. It was wonderful to have so much alone time together!

We got to spend 2 days up in the mountains with Jim's sister Julie, her husband, David, and boys Gage, Chase and Trent. We had so much fun with them and it was hard for us to leave!!!

The Keegans - Trent, Chase, David, Julie and Gage
They were so hospitable and treated us so very well!

My sweet nephew Trent liked to throw snowballs at me, but reminded me of my Cole when he then had to wipe them off and clean me up. Too cute!

On day 2 at the Keegans, we got to go skiing! Jim's mom had graciously offered to stay with all the kids. It had been 5 years since Jim and I had skied/snowboarded, so I was a little timid at first, but thoroughly enjoyed it by the end of the day. We also realized that our bodies are not quite so young and agile as 5 years ago as one of us (I'll try not to embarrass) came home with a facial abrasion and broken coccyx!

Julie and me

When we returned from the mountains, we were off to the 1st birthday party of Devin Liam Lei. He is the adorable son of my dear friend from college, Edith. We had so much fun!

My sis Sheila and her family (husband, Paul, and son, Nathan) happened to be traveling through So Cal on their way back up to Oregon, so we got to spend a fun evening with them at Jim's parents house. Every moment we get to spend with them is so very special as they will be sent out with New Tribes Missions to Indonesia this summer.

Ky loved playing with Nathan! He is one fun little guy!

When we weren't traveling around, we had a lot of fun spending time at "home" with Grammy and Poppy. There was so much to do - a big blow up bouncy play gym, a spa, a neighborhood park, lemons and oranges to pick, ball games, pillow fights, wrestling, stories to read, and games to play. It was so wonderful to see the love and relationships between my kids and their grandparents grow!!

Coming home was a terribly difficult thing to do. My arms were aching to hold "our" happy baby again (who happened to have his first ear infection in our absence) but still, leaving our Grammy and Poppy whom we love and adore is never easy. Tears were falling freely, especially when Kylee got lost in uncontrollable sobs at the airport curb. Sweet girl. After we walked into the terminal, Kaden turned around and hollered out the door, "Good bye Grammy and Poppy! I love you! Thank you for taking me to Legoland and letting me swim in your pool! I can't wait for you to come to my house and I can show you our Wirth Park pool and..." on and on and on he went, constantly thanking them, telling them good bye and that he loves them. People inside the airport started crying watching him profess his love and gratitude, quite loudly I might add, to his beloved Grammy and Poppy. It was precious!

We are so grateful to have had this time with our family and friends. We are so blessed and so touched by the incredible hospitality and generosity shown to us by so many!! Thank you for such a wonderful trip!!