Lotsa Oxen Blog: ...Christmas is already over?

After an 11 1/2-hour drive yesterday, we were plunged back into the real world today after our little Christmas vacation. It is definitely nice to be home, but I'll admit that I was wishing for a few days' reprieve from le train-train quotidien (...and the icky slushy snow) when the alarm went off this morning.

I made this in the 3rd grade.

Our trip to California was rather enjoyable. Thomas shared the first few days in our most recent post, so it is my turn to tell about the last few days of our adventure.

On Christmas Eve, after visiting friends and family, we headed back to my parents' for dinner. As is tradition, we (the "kids") each opened our one allotted gift early... and, as is tradition, each box contained new Christmas pajamas!

ok, ok, we took this on Christmas morning....

Christmas morning started off pretty slowly this year. Typically, as soon as we get out of bed, we take down our stockings to see what Santa has left for us. Then, breakfast and gift-opening kind of blend together and before you know it, the festivities are over and it's time to clean the house for guests.

This year, though, we all slept in later than normal. When we got up, we had our traditional homemade à la Dad Chocolate Pudding & (not homemade) Biscuits for breakfast. The kitchen was cleaned up before we took down our stockings, even. Then we opened up our gifts.

So rich. So yummy. Probably so bad for you.

Let the madness begin...! :o)

In the late afternoon, we went over to the former neighbors', the Kings', for Christmas dinner. I satisfied my hunger for ham, and after eating way too much, we went back home to catch Thomas' parents (and grandma!) on iChat.

Unfortunately, I managed to come down with a cold somewhere in the midst of all of this. I'm still trying to shake it...!

Sunday we went to church. I was really feeling under the weather so we stayed only for Sacrament meeting and a few hugs. I took a nap as soon as we got back to the house.

Me hugging Rosie. This hug did not actually happen at church.

On Monday, amidst packing and finishing our laundry, Thomas and I took a walk.

We left for home early on Tuesday morning. It is always hard to say goodbye to Mom, Dad, & Morgan... and the pets. But we were grateful for a nice visit with them and for their kind hospitality.