The Girls' dance recital went well. Unfortunately, one of our cameras did not film well at all, so hopefully the recording I did will be sufficient. We had quite a snowstorm hit us that evening, but it didn't slow us down too much.
The elementary school kids went to school for a short day on Friday and were home by 2:00. We spent most of that day finishing up the laundry and getting clothes ready for our trip.
On Saturday we continued with our packing and getting things ready for our trip. Saturday afternoon I made a potato casserole to take with us to our "Christmas" Dinner and celebration with Ryan's family. We had a delicious dinner at Emergency & Nate's place and the kids enjoyed the early Christmas party, opening presents and getting some Christmas treats. We also celebrated Darien's birthday, he turned 1 on that day, Dec. 22nd.
Sunday morning we went to our sacrament meeting, then came home and finished loading up the van to leave town. We were on the road just after noon and made good time down to St. George. As Mary and Frank were staying in St. George with Frank's family for the holiday, we stopped in at their vacation place, returned their camcorder and dropped off our Christmas gifts for them. Then we continued across town to the condo where we were staying for the night. It was not really warm there, but no snow makes all the difference.
Monday morning we got a relatively early start to finish our trip to Riverside. The weather was mild and we only encountered some gusty winds after we passed Barstow. It was nice to get into town before the sun went down. We, of course, setup my computer right away and found that we had left our power cord at home. As the laptop battery does not hold a charge, it was a necessity that I get another power cord in order to be able to work while I am here. So, here we go to WalMart at 4:30 on Christmas eve. No luck there :-( Best Buy was just across the street and we were able to get in their doors just before they closed at 5:00. We found a compatible universal-type power supply, so we grabbed that and got in line. Luckily we got in line before they started turning off the lights in the store, so we only had to wait behind 15 people instead of the 50 people who got into line after us! :-) The kids were able to go Christmas carolling with my parents and brothers, while we finished unloading the van and settling in for our stay.
We had an enjoyable Christmas here with my family. We started early with the telephone ringing a 6:30 a.m., which was my brother Daniel calling us from Guatemala. After the family spent a while talking to him, we emptied out our stockings and ate some breakfast. Even though we were all up before 7:00, the present opening didn't begin until almost 10:00, much to the dismay of my kids (Ryan included)! Eventually we got started, but Addie did not have the patience to sit through the whole taking turns part of present opening and soon opted to go watch a movie in another room. My sister Evelyn called from Hawaii around noon and I was sure to thank her for not calling at 5:00 a.m. I guess it helps that our time zone is a couple hours ahead of hers.
The day after Christmas we drove down to San Diego to visit Bev & Rob and their boys. We had a fun visit there and spent a couple hours at the beach, despite the 59-degree temperature. I got a couple cute pics there. Then we went back to Bev's place for dinner and I took a quick nap. The kids had a great time playing with all their cousins' new stuff and we had an enjoyable visit as well.
Thursday my dad took Ryan and the kids to a museum while I stayed here and worked for a couple hours. Thursday evening was spent playing games, while I worked a little more. I was able to get a lot done, though, so I am glad about that.
Friday morning, 4:00 a.m., Ryan, Andrew and I got up and headed to the airport to send the boys back home. Ryan was a little worried about being left at an unfamiliar airport, but they found their way through check-in and security and made it all the way home without any problems. Friday afternoon Austyn and Alexia went to play with Ethan and Emily, my friend Lara's kids, while I worked for a couple hours. Addie, thankfully, has been taking some good long afternoon naps the last couple of days, enabling me to work while the other kids play.
Today was not a "work" day, so I was able to catch up on laundry and some cleaning up around here. I also vacuumed a lot of the house and got our clothes more organized. Jimmy had an extra drawer available in his room, so I was able to put Austyn's clothes in there. I hung up a few things and put all our shoes in the closet. After that, I trimmed my hair and took a shower. My dad took Austyn, Ashley, Alexia and my brother Jimmy roller skating this afternoon, so they had a lot of fun doing that. Luckily only minor injuries, just a little scratch, a small blister, and a bruised bottom on Ashley. No one else has complained of any pains, so I am assuming that is all. I am planning to cut Austyn's hair tonight before his bath, so hopefully I won't get too much of a fight about that.
Well, I better get to that haircut before I run out of time. Hopefully I will have time to post again before I head back home. I guess we'll have to see how things go. For now, I am glad it's not 25 degrees :-)
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