Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Home for Christmas

Today is the twelfth day of Christmas, for those of you who aren't counting and thought it was over long ago--so it's the ideal day for me to publish the recap of our holidays.  (How is that for a good excuse to be blogging about Christmas well after New Year's?)

This is the first Christmas that our kids have ever spent with their grandparents. The grandparents went all out to make sure the kids wouldn't want it to be the last! And while we were not anywhere close to our home for Christmas, for Lee it was definitely going home.


As we drove through the Georgia pines to Mona and Honey's house (those are the Grandma and Grandpa nicknames), I'm sure he could practically smell the sweet tea. Lee's family moved into this house in 1971.

There were still a few days to get ready for Christmas once we got there. Mona had the kids help her make cookies and decorate ornaments for the tree. They were so excited.

She even let me help.  She's nice like that.  :-)

Can you guess what our big gift was this year? 

Yes, we caved splurged and got a Wii. We've already gotten our money's worth out of it!


The day after Christmas we drove down to Grandpa Jack (my dad) and Grandma Jeannie's house in Florida. (We got a picture of Grandma later--she was busy fixing a delicious Christmas dinner!)

Everything was so festive. 

My sister and her boys flew in to meet us there. It was the first time in the twenty some years that Dad and Jeannie have lived in Florida that Dayna and I have been there at the same time! It was so much fun to have everyone together.

We went to Festival of Lights at Silver Springs to enjoy the warmer version of a winter wonderland.

The kids wanted to have their picture taken by all the blow-up characters. (Yes, it's true.  My kids actually ask me to take more pictures of them.  Don't hate me.) 

I'm not sure why they felt compelled to wrestle Frosty to the ground.

The best part of visiting Grandma and Grandpa for our kids is swimming, and more specifically, driving the golf cart to the pool. It's still in one piece thanks to cousin Kyle's expert supervision.

The grown-ups love the pool, too.  (THAT'S where we caught up with Grandma!)

After our time in Florida, we headed back up to Georgia to spend few more days enjoying the family there, including Aunt Paula (Lee's sister), Uncle Bill and cousin Wil.

All too soon it was time to head back north. 

We thank God for the memories of a wonderful family Christmas!

17 comments:

Tiffany said...

That all sounds SO nice! I'm glad you had such a good time, even being away from "home." And that you were able to experience a "Florida winterwonderland" much different than most of the rest of the states, that's for sure! It's nothing to complain about, though, if you ask me!

Oh, and we caved, I mean, splurged on a Wii, too! And we totally have gotten our monies worth, too! We can't decide who like it more, me and hubby or the kids????

Glad you made it home safely and have wonderful memories to share!

Marrdy said...

Blogger ate my comment...I think!

Sounds like a wonderful trip and next year I get to go and share those wonderful Grandparents! (and play wii...haven't done that yet.)

Givinya De Elba said...

Lovely photos, looks like a great time! I initially thought you said "...Uncle Bill and cousin Wii" and I wondered why the Wii had suddenly become your cousin. but I get it now.

Tracy P. said...

That is so funny! Ya know, when I was typing that, I thought the same thing. Maybe I should have used caps for WIL's name. If the Wii was a cousin, he would have to move in with us.

Unknown said...

I loved your post- I enjoy so much seeing how everyone celebrates- looks like you had a great time.
We love our Wii too.

DaveD said...

hey tracy, just finished catching up on your blog, thanks for entertaining me!

Ronnica said...

Cute bulbs! I almost had my Christmas decorations up until the 6th and I was going to use that very same excuse. I'm glad that I took them down Sunday, though.

Joy said...

Oh, Tracy, What a great Christmas! I'm glad you all headed south for Christmas. The Christmas trees at both houses were so pretty. I know the Grandparents got lots of "sugar" from their grandbabies.
I saw your hubby had on a GT shirt. mmmmmmm. That is one thing he and Buster do not have in common. Buster is a Bulldog.
At least he went back north with some new Georgia something gear.
I'm sure your kids enjoyed swimming at Christmas and wearing shorts. They will always remember that.
I know it was a long trek for you all, but it looks like it was totally worth every mile.

Loved your family pictures.

Joy

WheresMyAngels said...

How beautiful! I love it. I have those glass ornaments and we never got around to doing them. Those look great. We might just do ours late!

Melissa B. said...

Wow...these are all superior snaps! Hey, I know you're busy getting re-acclimated to home life, but you might have something to say about my Minny-SO-tah post today! I need an expert witness!!

StitchinByTheLake said...

Oh Tracy what wonderful pictures - and even better memories! I know it was a fantastic holiday that you will hold in your heart forever. blessings, marlene

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great Christmas time. Sure would have been way to tempting to stay down there where it looks so nice and warm.

Glad you had a great vacation.

Aunt Julie said...

Welcome home! Isn't it great to be back? But I understand the value of celebrating special holidays with loved ones, too. I often wish the grands lived closer, so we could have the best of both worlds!

Queen to my 3 Boys said...

I love the picture with the glass ornament in it!

Queen to my 3 Boys said...

I love the picture with the glass ornament in it!

Caroline said...

Wow - looks like fun. You were down our way! Those grandparents sure do look like a ton of fun and they sure did set the bar high for years to come.

Mr. Baseball got mii a Wii for Christmas too and it has been most enjoyable and good for family bonding.

Happy New Year!

stefanie said...

Fantastic pictures and fabulous memories. What a special Christmas you all had!