So I'm doing a random bit o' blogging.
We had a great Christmas in Boise. It was an on again off again kind of trip, but I'm glad that in the end we went. It was fun to be with my parents. We were the only ones there, so it was also fun for Todd and Ben to have some quality time time with Grandma and Grandpa. We had many hours of quiet time at the house. Todd was in heaven because he got to play Age of Empires on the computer for hours every day--this is not something that home-school nazi mom usually permits. The boys got legos, legos, legos for Christmas. I love Legos. Granted, they do have a million small pieces which can get spread all over the house. But my boys will sit down and play with them for hours. Their creativity astounds me. Once I just gave up and let them have an entire corner of the living room devoted entirely to Legos that never get picked up, they became the happiest toy on earth. Seriously. There are some serious advantages to not having any children under the age of three. (But, I digress. This is not a post about legos. Back to our trip).
It started snowing about 2 hours after we arrived, so we woke up to a beautiful white Christmas. I am a Montana girl at heart, and that was exactly perfect for me. Ryan still isn't convinced. We got to play in the snow on Christmas day. Grandpa, Ryan, and myself helped Todd build a sweet snow fort out of 5 gallon bucket molds. The next day it snowed some more and Ryan buried Todd entirely in the snow with the exception of a little circle around his face.
We did a few fun, even slightly cultural things while there. We went to the Warhawk museum in Nampa, Idaho. It's a WWII museum with airplanes, uniforms, and all sorts of museum-y things. The boys actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I learned some things I hadn't known before. The coolest thing I saw was a map made out of playing cards. THe Red Cross was allowed to distribute care packages to POW's in the camps. One of the things they included was a pack of playing cards with false backs. When the back was peeled off and the cards were assembled in the correct order, it became a map of various escape routes. How cool is that? People really sacrificed during the war. I am humbled and grateful when I consider it.
One day, Ryan and my dad took the boys to the Discovery Center while Mom and I went shopping and lunching. Great day for both groups. I needed a little break from my day to day. Todd said the best part was laying on a bed of nails--very cool for a seven year old.
Ryan played technical genius while we were there and fixed up Mom and Dad's computer systems. He's a great son-in-law.
We saw Grammy--she's looking great at 97. I told Ben that Grammy had already celebrated Christmas 94 times more than he had. Isn't that a crazy thought! We hope that she can come to Todd's baptism in April. Ben was loving playing catch with her with a little Teddy Bear. I love that my boys always seem to know that they need to be on their best behavior for Grammy. They are always so ready to give her a hug or talk to her, usually without being prompted.
We also got to see Grandma Kay and Grandpa Bob, Uncle Eric and family and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle David. It was nice to see family.
On New Year's Eve, Kyle and Lizzie arrived to play with Ben and Todd. They brought the rest of their family along for the ride. The kids had a fun night. Then we adults stayed up for Nertz and chip dip. We sure missed Chris and Julie et al., especially when we found some stinkin sweet photos of Chris during his childhood--were those shorts pink, Chris?
We played on the New Year's day and then stayed up way too late talking.
The next day, we made the 12-hour trek home. It only took 12.5 hours, even with the 1 hour detour when I missed the turn in Idaho and headed for Pocatello instead of Ogden. It wasn't one of my best moments. But I did apologize for throwing a tantrum like a three-year-old. It's good I have a forgiving family.
By the time we got home, we were glad to be back. That's the beauty of vacation. It gives you a wonderful break from the norm, and then makes you appreciate the norm a little more when you get back. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a great week.
2 comments:
I love those nights when you are with family and you are having so much fun talking and then go to bed super late....we've had a few nights like that.
That sounds like a lot of fun. I remember Grammy! (At least hearing about her.) Next time you leave Boise, head North on I-84 all the way to Portland, then South on I-5. Stop when you get to our house. I will play Nertz, hand and foot, Settlers, and I will have chip dip on hand too, if that's what it takes.
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