"Christmas Time...Is Here..."

Already?? Yes, I too am in disbelief at how fast this year just went by. I guess we all say that in December right? When you're in our family, you have a lot of Christmases to go to, and this year was no exception. As I may have mentioned a few times, my 16 day vacation started on the 21st, so I had all the time in the world to relax. Cari had to work up to Christmas Eve but she was off the following week. We started by going to her parent's house:



What a tempting shmear of dinner treats. I forget what we brought. A pumpkin pie maybe? Not sure.



A Martin High School hoodie for Emmy? Check! Eventhough she won't be going there for 5 more years, why not get a jump on the fashion trend, eh?



Zach picked up a Hexxbug battlefield! We've experimented with it. Cari got everyone Hexxbugs, which are robot bugs that will move around and battle each other when in a confined space. Much like married people do to this day. I kept calling it "Hexabugs" which Zach couldn't stand. He'll say "Okay Dad, say Hex...Bug...no A in the middle!" and I'm all "Hex...B-B...B---ABUG!" and he'd freak out just a bit. Ahh, the fun I have with my kids.



John: "Can anyone guess what I have behind my back?"
Us: "Um...not a clue."
John: "Oh come on...somebody guess...please?"
Us: "Ohh...we'll say...a chicken."
John: "What kind of a guess is that!?"

Moving on...

Christmas morning of course saw Ol' Saint Nick leave everyone some goodies:



A new iPod for Emmy? Check. A new TV for Zach? Double check. How did we wind up with a nicer TV in his room than we have in ours? Very peculiar...



I really like this shot of me and Zach. I got some new sunglasses and a book, "1001 Battles"!! Zach got some Nerf battle blades which he will not put down. So far all of us have gotten hurt in some way by them...but Zach the most. When the attacker becomes the martyr...God help us all.



Me: "So Cari, how do you like those earmuffs I got you?"
Cari: "I'm not wearing earmuffs."
Me: "Ohh...um...this is awkward."

Turns out she wanted some a little more...less furry. I can't blame her.



We even got some snow! Not until we were driving home after Christmas lunch of course, but it was still pretty cool to have some during the holiday week.

All in all, we all got some pretty cool things this Christmas. But what made it really nice was to be able to see all of our family at pretty much the same time and be able to be together for the holidays. That's what really does it for me. Knowing my family is taken care of makes me feel like I can do anything. Hopefully that's the point of it all.