Christmas memories

So it has been a while since I posted. Christmas is a busy time for us. We travel 3 hours to my parents house in Southwest VA for the 3 days before Christmas doing all the family gathering things. Then spend Christmas morning opening tons of presents only to load up the car (quite the feat) and drive another 3 hours to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Jason's parents. Then we spend 3 days there to re-load the car for the 5 hour drive back home. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the time with our families but it is exhausting!
So I am going to start with Christmas. New Year's Eve was an experience that deserves its own post...let's just say I have videos. ;-)
So at my parents...
Truflz is cute..he can't help that he has a stupid name. And Mom makes him wear stupid hats.
My parents are putting in a sunroom on the back of the house..it was being built while we were there...it will be all sorts of fun once it is done. There will be plenty of pictures when we go visit again!
Now..for Christmas my Mom gave Jason the perfect gift (a birdie told her)..a remote control helicopter!!!! She also got one for my brother-in-law Scott. After receiving them, they were both outside on Christmas morning in their PJ's (Christmas eve's eve gift) running around. It was funny b/c they weren't exactly able to control them 100% initially..so there was a lot of running around the fields and at one point Scott (BIL) had to hop on the 4-wheeler to retrieve his from the neighbors yard (they live in the boonies..the neighbors are a good ride away). You may have to look for the helicopter in these pictures..but it is there!

Then we packed the car tight (we have a rack sack so we look like the standard family but we have 4 dogs in the back instead of skin kids!) We arrive to a wonderful meal..and how often do you see this...the MEN are in the kitchen prepping dinner (Jason's uncle is a professional chef (burgandy shirt), his sister's boyfriend likes to cook (red shirt) and well..you know Jason's passion!)
And yes..Christmas is for children (and adults who never grow up). Williams shows off his spiderman shirt and teenage mutant ninja turtle toy!

And you can't guess who's brother this is...NO resemblance...

We brought Guitar Hero 3 with us and everyone got in on the action (my Mom became addicted..I didn't take pictures but she was rockin' around the Christmas tree!).

Like father, like son!

We did manage to get the kids around the Christmas tree (jason loves his shirt...it is fitting)By this time, Cali had had enough of Christmas..she was worn out with her first experience and quite peeved by the 'no dogs on the couch' rule at Jason's parent's house..so Daddy sat in the floor with her and she made due with what she had for a pillow.At one point, Jason was feeding the dogs treats (that his Uncle had made for them)..and Cali decided THIS was the best angle to get treats..don't ask.The weather was beautiful over the holiday, so we took the dogs to the park. By now they had been on a leash for 5 days (my parents have a paddock for the horses and they were allowed off leash there..but it was wide open). They had a blast running!I love these two shots...she was so happy!Greyhounds on the hunt for the elusive red helicopter...it is in our sights...going in for the kill..over.Why is Daddy so mad..we just wanted to play with it...Christmas was great..we got a powerwasher, remote control helicopter, new clothes, greyhound stuff, a new coat, new shoes..and a gift card that we used to buy a new set of Caphalon One pots and pans!

But Cali says Christmas was tiring...too much for a little girl to handle New Year's pictures and stories to follow at a later date..it was a blast from what I remember. ;-) I hope everyone had a Happy Holiday season!!!