Four Christmases

Well like the movie Four Christmases, we too had four Christmas celebrations to go to this year but unlike the movie the blizzard didn't keep us from going somewhere warm and tropical. We had planned to stay in this cold snowy state no matter what because what would the holidays be without the ones you love. We started our marathon of Christmases on Christmas Eve eve. We celebrated with just the kids and us. We had planned on making a nice supper but after the boys had been asking every 5 minutes all day long when they got to open their presents. We opted for something quick and easy and ate pizza. The boys riped open gifts as fast as they could and seemed so excited for each present. Bryce and Caleb were more than happy to help Abby open her toys. She liked to take off a couple pieces of paper but really just wanted the toy out. It was a fun night of putting toys together and playing with new things. After the kids went to bed Santa had to get busy. I cleaned up the house while Robb brought up the Santa gifts and stuffed the stockings. We ate the Santa cookies and gnawed on the carrots a little and finally got to bed knowing that tomorrow would be a fun but busy day. We were keeping an eye on the weather because supposedly a big storm was coming through but it didn't look too bad out yet.
Bryce and Caleb were so excited in the morning that Santa had made it to their house. Bryce got super heroes, Caleb got 4 wheeler stuff and Abby got a stroller for her baby. The kids spent the next couple hours playing while we frantically tried to get all packed to make the trip back to Norfolk because a blizzard was still on its way. The weather outside was freezing cold but no snow yet. Finally at about 10:30 we left and headed for Norfolk.
It was terribly windy outside and when we got to Columbus the roads were very icy. I was so glad that Robb was driving and not me. I was nervous just being the passenger. We finally made it to the Lutz's house for Christmas #2 on Christmas Eve. The kids were very excited to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house and see the massive pile of presents under the tree. We opened gifts and the kids all had so much fun. Bryce by this point was an expert opener and tore all of his gifts open so fast be barley saw what he got. Caleb opened each gift and then wanted the toy out which is great except each piece of each toy is strapped in with about a million heavy duty twist ties. Why they do this I have no idea! Whoevers idea this was definitely did not have a 3 year old hanging on their leg while they were trying to get the toy undone. Abby was a little overwhelmed by this whole process. She wanted to be held for the majority of the present opening but did enjoy looking at her gifts. After gift opening the kids had a little time to play before we got everyone out the door for Christmas Eve church. I must say that Christmas Eve service is one of Robb and my favorite parts of Christmas Eve but with kids things get a little complicated. One, they don't want to leave the gifts they just opened, two it is supper time so everyone is hungry despite the fact that they have been snacking all day and third everyone is cold and doesn't want to go outside. Despite the sobbing in the back of the car on the ride there the kids were great in church and it was a very enjoyable service. Thank you Pastor Steve. We finished off the evening with a wonderful supper and the adults opening their gifts in peace while the kids watched a movie in the den. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone. By this time the weather was looking pretty bad out. It was snowing and the wind was blowing like crazy.
We awoke the next morning to blizzard conditions! The wind was blowing snow around so much that it was almost a complete white out outside. We were very thankful to be in a warm house! We got the call at about 9am that Christmas #3 was cancelled. I was pretty sad. We were finally going to get to see everyone this year at my Dads but the weather had ruined it. We didn't do too much for the rest of the day. Robb, Bryce and Caleb played with their new toys and Abby and I slept a lot since we had both come down with a pretty nasty cold that was making us feel pretty crummy. It was a pretty odd Christmas since we didn't really celebrate a Christmas on Christmas. Throughout the day the weather got worse and worse and the drifts of snow bigger and bigger. We were starting to get a little worried about heading home the next afternoon. By the time we went to bed that night it was decided that we would be staying in Norfolk Saturday night also because all the highways out of Norfolk were closed. I think everyone was starting to get a little bit of cabin fever being in the same house with the same people (mostly Bryce and Caleb) for too many days.
On Saturday we had Christmas #4 with my mom. It was nice to get out of the house but the streets were terrible and we saw some of the biggest snow drifts that I remember. Robb said "Ahh to be 10 again, this would be perfect weather for snow forts". We celebrated at my moms with Steph and Draven and Mitch and Courtney. It was too bad that grandma and grandpa and Tim and Linda couldn't come. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with good food and good company. The 3 little boys did a good job playing together and the adults got a chance to talk.
On Sunday we got the official word that the highways were open, we were headed home! I don't mean to sound ungrateful Bob and Susie, it was wonderful to stay at your house! You always make us feel so welcome it was just time to get our wild kids home to start the retraining process after being with grandmas and grandpas for so many days. :) We did get to makeup my Dad and Cindy's Christmas at Village Inn on our way out of town. Although it wasn't what was planned it was fun to see everyone for Christmas regardless of where we met and which day we did it.The kids all did decent in the restaurant and it was nice to have a good meal before we made the trek home. Thank you everyone for everything this holiday season. We were truly blessed to see everyone for Christmas. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!