Holidays



Snow was the major theme of the 2008 holidays. We had a white Christmas this year. The snow fell a week before Christmas and as of today we still have a lot of snow on the ground. Thankfully, Mom's flight just happened to come in on one of the few days that the airport was running smoothly. Because of the snow, UPS didn't deliver a few gifts that were ordered online. We also didn't get our Honeybaked Ham Brunch delivered. Jen did happen to run into the FEDEX driver at our vet's office and he gave her a few packages and some for our neighbors too.

Mom came in on the 23rd and spent the afternoon settling in and then we headed to the casino for a little fun. I won $1500 dollars and she came home $20 dollars ahead. On Christmas eve we were supposed to go to my Dad's but the roads were full of snow and ice. We were using chains to get in and out of our road and it was still dicey so we spent the day at home wrapping gifts, drinking hot cocoa and playing games. We tracked Santa online at NORAD and when he got to the eastern coast Chandler headed to bed so he would be sound asleep by the time he reached Washington. We then watched "Burn After Reading". Cody and Cami were both super excited. Cody admitted later that he didn't sleep all night. I think he knew he was getting gerbils and was super excited about that.

At 5:45AM on Christmas day the kids came upstairs and woke us up singing jingle bells loudly - accompanied by jingle bells. It was orchestrated by the oldest of them all which made it super cute - even at 5:45AM. When the sun came up we were treated to a beautiful snowfall. It snowed on and off all day. We opened presents first thing and then had a nice brunch of Belgian waffles with bacon and scrambled eggs. We spent the rest of the day lounging around and enjoying our new gifts.



We went to my Dad's the following Saturday. We had a nice ham dinner and opened gifts. The picture to the right was taken with the new digital camera that my Dad and Joyce got us for Christmas.

Jen's birthday was on the 30th and we celebrated by spending the night at the casino resort. The kids and mom shared a room and Jen and I shared a room. Jen won her first jackpot and ended up winning $1000. It was a nice birthday surprise for her. She had to work some the next day so I slept in until check-out and then the rest of us went for a late breakfast in town.



Jen and I spent New Year's Eve dancing the night away. Red Star Events put on a NYE party at the Eagles club in Bremerton. There was finger foods, chocolates and champagne for toasting. I had the most scrumptious bacon wrapped date and Jen loved the salami cold cuts and toasted onion dip that tasted just like an onion ring. We had a great time visiting with our lovely friends Mary and Nani. We danced and reminisced with our friends Bryan and Noah and Eric and Michael. Jay introduced us to his mother who didn't look even the slightest bit mortified during the drag queen and king shows. We walked back to our hotel around 2:30AM thankful that we would not be suffering any hangovers for New Year's day. Although, I did suffer from various aches and pains due to dancing all night long like a 20 year old!

I woke my mom up at 7AM to catch the 7:20 ferry. Luckily she was able to pull herself together quickly and the ferry was only a short (cold and snowy) walk from our hotel. Her flight home was uneventful. I woke everyone up and we checked out early so that we could come home and sleep the day away in our own beds. We ended up driving home with new snow falling. It was a slow trip but we made it safe and sound. When Jen and I finally woke up we went out for some Mexican food and rented some movies. It was a nice relaxing day.

Although we didn't travel anywhere this year the holidays ended up being very memorable. Because of the snow we were almost forced to spend lots of family time together. As the kids get older I cherish the time we have before they have flown the nest. Chandler made Christmas special for us all because he's still so young and it's so much fun watching him enjoy the magic of Santa Claus and Christmas morning. My mom was great company. We played some cribbage and some slot machines. We laughed and rested a lot. Jen and I spent another holiday in love with each other. We are happy and content and planning on enjoying 2009 together with our family and friends.