The Rest of the Christmas Trip

We had a great time with Nonna and Grandpa. Sure it wasn't exactly what we planned- but we had a blast! It will definitely be a trip we won't soon forget! We did manage to get to the mall once (a great trip out) and we did see both of my Grandmas which was great. Disappointingly, the big family Christmas party where we were to see my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. was cancelled due to snow. Also a big disappointment, many of the Christmas presents I shipped up there for my family never made it due to the snow!

One thing that was really great was that Matthew and Kyle had a great time together. They played together, watched movies, played in the snow and learned a lot from each other. Matthew in particular learned how to say the word 'show' from Kyle. Now he asks me all day long, 'Mom, show?' It is pretty darn cute!

During our visit, we had a special tea at my Mom's house for my Grandma. She really enjoyed seeing everyone and we all got to dine on some delicious goodies with tea. We took this opportunity to exchange Christmas gifts with her and were so delighted with her generosity and attention to her gifts. Everything she got us was so perfect and chosen with such great care and love. After tea, we went to mass with her and had a really nice evening. It was snowing like crazy when we went to mass and it was still coming down steadily afterwards so my parents took her straight home to make sure the roads didn't get too slick before she made it safely back! Jill, Gina, Nat, Kyle, and I went to Gina's house to get her some clothes as she had been stuck at my parent's house for about 4/5 days now. It was certainly a comical (and slipery) ride!!

My Dad wanted to have a 'Christmas Movie Night' for the whole family in this home theater. He showed Jim Carey's, The Grinch and my Mom went out and got more candy than we knew what to do with! It was really fun and we were all really cozy and happy to all sit together and enjoy the movie! Matthew was able to sit through the whole thing with is so nice for me that I could actually enjoy myself!!!! Go figure!

I am so thankful to have a family who enriches my life and the life of my little family so much. We had so much fun being with each other, laughing at old stories, cooking together, slipping and sliding on the ice, and preparing for the holiday. We exchanged gifts and I feel so blessed to have so much! I was sad to go but also nervous that maybe we wouldn't get out due to the snow/ice on the runways and the other snow storm on the way! My family was really accommodating, understanding and helpful and I had a great, great visit. Approved!

We arrived at Seatac airport three hours before our flight in anticipation of a very crowded airport due to the previous two days of flight cancellations. Much to our amazement, there were no long lines, there was no over crowding, and our flight was on time (oh, and Matthew slept the whole the way home). I guess we deserved this after our travel drama on the way in! This picture was taken at the airport and you might understand why we felt so blessed to be able to fly out and be at our house when Santa would come in two short days!