Christmas 2008

What a wonderful Christmas week we have had. It truly will go down as one of the most memorable ones ever. Having to be shuttled back and forth in Grandpas 4 wheel drive was exciting, if not a major hassle. Having a white Christmas for the second year in a row was amazing, even if it put a kink in some of our plans. Personally I enjoyed cutting back a little, and not being able to stress if things weren't perfect. Even my mom did a great job of being flexible with the weather. We enjoyed spending time with Family, without a whole lot of extra fluff. (I do enjoy a little fluff once in a while, but life and Christmas still go on without it.)
Christmas eve we played gift bingo and had lots of fun. (Only a few tears from Megan over a stolen Taylor Swift cd that Uncle Jack thought was funny to do, but the pre teen Megan didn't.) We ended up with lots of fun gifts including a burts bees pack, a gingerbread gift set, a gumball machine, Hairspray the movie, and Todd picked a look alike leg lamp (from A Christmas Story) that he thinks would be funny to put in our front window! (Don't worry-the girls have plans to accidentaly break it if that happens.) We also did a great nativity story, with the best costumes you have ever seen. Grandma Milne made them and as the snow got higher, the cosumes got more elaborate! You could really feel the spirit in the room. The whole family was in new Christmas pajamas as we went to bed and awaited for Santa to come. It was a little wierd because Samantha is the only one left in our house that still believes in the big guy. By next year Santa may be a thing of the past, which would make it a little easier to concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas.
Christmas morning the girls were very suprised to find that Santa had gotten Daddy his big screne TV!!!!!!! We are all enjoying how clear everyone looks. Today I told the girls when they have kids they will tell them ,"When we were little we had to watch a t.v. that was square, and the people didn't look clear at all." Isn't technology amazing? I can't imagine how much change my grandparents have seen in their lives! Speaking of technology Kaylee got a robot from Santa, Megan a kids video camera, Jenelle a new camera yeah!, and we now have to buy stock in batteries. Jennifer finally got the guitar she wanted, and Samantha was thrilled with yet another baby doll. We marveled at how quickly this Christmas came. Wasn't it just Christmas of 2007? After picking up most of the mess me were shuttled by Grandpa over for the Milne family Christmas. We had the traditional sausage egg cassarole and cinnamon roll Christmas tree for breakfast before tearing in to the gifts. Actually Christmas was not crazy this year as all of the kids (except Kyler) were old enough to have patience and we enjoyed opening each and every gift. Most of the day was then spent watching the girls play with their cousins on the dance dance revolution they got from grandma and grandpa for Christmas. We even got Grandpa and Uncle Jack to do it! Then we ate too much for dinner and tried to stuff even more in for dessert! We especially enjoyed spending time with Kacie and Andrew who finally arrived via Boise and Seattle. We are sad they are going back to Utah on Thursday. On Sunday we were able to have Christmas with the Christensen side. We heard about everyones Christmas, and the kids spent lots of time playing in the basement while the adults talked about politics, and of course the Portland Police department. After dinner we opened presents, and the big highlight was Megans bike! It was nice to visit with family that even though live close, we don't see often enough. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope anyone reading this also enjoyed lots of time with friends and family.