Christmas Day 2011, part 2

Sunday, early evening we went to Nana and Papa's house for yet another meal and more presents. Everybody had a fun time but it was clear that by the time we finished with round 3 of presents, our kids were ready for bed.





Julie made Tessa a collage of pictures and a letter for Tessa about being cousins. She loved it! She saw the pictures of the two of them and said, "Tessa and Ju-ju!" SO CUTE.



I stayed afterward and watched Tessa playing with her new toys, then played a few new games with Mike, Kate, and my dad. Such a great end to the busy Christmas day.





Parting Shots
Heath had to hike the Manitou Incline in between meals just to get some physical activity in. These are a couple images he sent me with his phone's camera.

Christmas Eve with the Fam

Saturday on Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents house to spend the day with the family. Mike, Kate, and Tessa came down for Christmas, and of course, we wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.




In the afternoon, Tessa went down for a nap, and the kids shoveled the back deck to get some energy out. They had a great time but got chilled to the bone!




That evening, my mom had planned a big birthday dinner at her store for Everest and Tessa since they both have birthdays in December. We decorated the place, and mom made both Thai and American dishes. All delicious!








The kids took turns opening presents right there in the store.





Once everything was eaten or boxed and presents unwrapped and put away, Heath took the kids home to bed, and I headed back to my parents' house to hang out with everybody. We were originally going to play games, but we pretty much just watched Tessa being incredibly cute. I headed back home around 10:45 and stayed up long enough to wrap presents, fill stockings, make some pie dough, and boil eggs for deviled eggs. Sleep sure came quick that night!

Visiting the Awesome People, pt. 3

Sunday, the kids and I slept in while Mike, Kate, and Tessa went to church. It was semi-unintentional. I did tell Kate that if we didn't get up to just go to church without us. After being up so late, I really didn't want to skimp on sleep before having to make the almost 3-hour drive home.

When they returned from church, Kate made her /famous/ blueberry pancakes. The kids have been talking about eating her pancakes for weeks! Their patience was rewarded. We rested a bit afterwards while Tessa was put down for her nap.





The kids got a little antsy as kids are wont to do, so my dad and I took them on a mini-adventure. We went to Starbucks (for my lifeline), then around the corner to Sunflower Market. They always have neat stuff there. It was really fun to look around and shop a bit.





After shopping, we sat outside of Starbucks with our store-bought snacks and smoothies and hung out for awhile. Not long after we got back, Tessa was up from her nap. She really took to Julie! Those two were like peas in a pod.



My parents wanted to take us out to dinner for Mike's and my birthdays. Mike recommended a place called in*gre*di*ent, which is like an upscale Panera Bread, but still without waiters. It was an unique place--one I wouldn't mind visiting again! Their food was phenomenal.






And of course, no visit up to their town is complete without a stop at Walrus for ice cream! Always a fun time. :o)





Julie rode back with Mike, Kate, and Tessa so she could be with her buddy. My parents rode with me and Everest. We had packed up earlier and were just about ready to go when we got back to the house.



It was nearing 8:00 by time we actually pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the interstate. We listened to Adventures on Odyessy episodes from my iPod despite Mike's great efforts to get an ebook downloaded to my iPod. (Apparently Blue Like Jazz is pretty boring to an 8 and 4 year old.)

Everest was asleep within 40 minutes, and Julie drifted in and out of consciousness. We finally pulled in at home around 10:30. Heath greeted us with a clean house and help getting everything unloaded. The kids went to bed right away. I stayed up a little longer to unpack some things and chat with Heath for awhile.

All in all, it was a great trip to visit Mike's family. The kids were pretty good, all things considered, and we were able to relax and have fun too. Perfect!

Parting Shot:

Visiting the Awesome People, pt. 2

Saturday, after breakfast, I took the kids on a but of a nature walk to help them get some of their energy out. It was just me and the kids because Tessa was taking a nap. We had fun finding acorns, spying on squirrels, and dropping grass into the stream.


(Click this if you can't see the slideshow above.)
They'd gathered a nice collection of nature items by time we got back.



Mike was kind enough to take us out to pick up an essential item when we got back. XD



Meanwhile, Kate had made dough for pretzels. We got a lesson on pretzel rolling, then we made a dozen or so homemade pretzels. YUM! Tessa enjoyed watching for stray bits of dough to munch.






Nana and Papa arrived shortly thereafter, and we relaxed for awhile together.




Mike, Julie, and I went to get a take-out lunch at a fabulous BBQ place called Nordy's. Downtown, there was some kind of festival going on, and people were dressed up in costume everywhere. Julie got a kick out of it. At the restaurant, we spotted Big Bird at the bar. o.O





After our really late lunch, my parents went to check in to their hotel, and the rest of us walked to the park nearby to let the kids run around. Julie and Tessa played in the sand together for a long time. Everest did a lot of climbing.






Home again, I got the kids showered, and we had some delicious beef vegetable soup that Mike had put in the slow cooker the night before. Because of the big lunch, the light dinner was absolutely perfect. We sat around and talked for a long time. Everest fell asleep on Nana's lap





After Nana and Papa went home for the night, Julie went to bed, followed by Mike. Kate and I sat at the kitchen table and chatted until 2:30 in the morning! It was great getting to talk with her though, and we did end up sleeping in on Sunday, so it all worked out...