Because I didn't send Christmas cards to ANYONE......

I just ran out of time...so, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Merry Christmas!

I'll just mostly post pictures here...what else do you say???? Especially since I NEVER even got out of my pajamas!














Lots of giving and receiving....we are SOOO blessed!

Gingerbread Houses

Since we were going to be home, oh, EVERY DAY the first week we were out for Christmas, I thought I should plan some fun, Christmas-y activities....OBVIOUSLY I did NOT realize what all would come with the taking out of the tonsils....as I am an amateur...anyway, one of the activities....Gingerbread Houses...or ONE gingerbread house. What is with stores? Or our stores? I couldn't find just your run-of-the-mill houses....so, we just found one (thanks, Mama!) They weren't nearly as delighted as I was with the activity. They did finish...sort of! But they pretty much fought the entire time....how is that for a Merry Christmas with gingerbread house...to be fair, the idea of this was that the house smells like fresh gingerbread, the Christmas music is playing while a warm fire crackles in the fire place, and we have a wonderful family moment.

Aside....when I was in college, my friend Brooke's mom did the whole homemade gingerbread house thing for several of us girls. I had NEVER made a gingerbread house before then...that is one of my very favorite Christmas memories!

The reality was that I bought the kit (no smell), no one liked my Christmas music (Dave Barnes - LOVE!), H was trying to grill steaks, I was probably NOT my most chipper, and Leighton felt like crap...Logan, he was just being his normal self....which is more than anyone can take doing a "regular" activity on a "good" day....I did get some pictures. Without all of this detail you might actually have believed we are the "perfect" family! We are....all other 364 days of the year! (HA!)

Out come the tonsils.....

We barely made it back from Disney World...well, in time for me to work a couple of days, catch up A LITTLE, eat LOTS, have Christmas at my parent's house, have an Old Fashioned Nativity with the kids (that was just in 4 days).....and then it was time for Leighton' tonsils to come out! He has been having all manner of difficulty which we ultimately blamed on the tonsils and decided they needed to come out! We were to be there at 7:45 Monday morning....they FINALLY took him back at 10:30! HEAVENS! He wasn't too nervous when we got there, but you can bet your sweet patootie that he was nervous after we sat in the room for 2 1/2 hours! And then, they had me walk him to the big double doors and tell him bye...and watch him walk down that hall with the nurse in his little hospital gown....that is BAD PLANNING on their part...he cried, I cried....

Anyway, 30 mintues later the doctor comes in to tell me his tonsils are out...and that they were "impressive"....the biggest he had seen all day! My pride...it was beaming! He also said he (Leighton, not the doctor) would be back in in about 30 minutes....so we wait.

Now, this is the first time he has ever been put to sleep and the anestheologist (sp?) told us that it takes a red headed person more anesthesia to go under...I thought he was lying, but he swore that the enzymes in the body that make hair color red are more resistant to anesthesia...who knew? Anyway, I attribute the additional anesthesia to his AGGITATED awakening! It was not fun!!!!! Lots of crying, wide eyes, begging for me to hold him, pulling (read - tearing) my clothes off!

So, we finally make it home....first 3 days...not too bad...then it gets WORSE...aren't you supposed to get better as you go???? Anyway, 8 days later, still feeling bad! It was a LONG recovery....at least it seems LONG when you are 6 or when you are the mom of a 6 year old. We thought he would never feel better...but he has FINALLY come alive!

He still isn't eating great, but he is doing some better. Bless his bones, he is so skinny! (No pun intended!) Maybe I need my tonsils out....NEVERMIND, watching him has been enough to make me know that I hope mine NEVER have to come out!

But, all of that surgery action, made for a LAID BACK Christmas vacation! We watched LOTS of movies, I ate lots, and we just relaxed, which was a GIFT.....Christmas day I never even got out of my pajamas...and I watched "Elf" 3 times in a row.....it is a gift! Don't hate me!

So, here's to Leighton's tonsils...wherever they are....we are glad to see them go!

And then there was DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!

Before you start reading this post, I should warn you...it is LONG...not for the faint of heart or those easily bored with EVERY TINY detail of another's life...or trip, if you will.....

So, on December 9th our family set out on a journey.....what should have been a 8-9 hour drive to Orlando in great anticipation of seeing THE mouse turned into a horrific, weeping and gnashing of teeth, JOURNEY.....that ultimately ended on the 9th with an emergency, if we don't get out of this car I am going to hurt someone, stop in Gainsville. Sweet Mercy! I have never been so happy to see a Best Western in all of my days on this earth! I think the excitement coupled with the fact that we set out at 4:00 and the fact that my kids have NEVER been on such a long trip not to mention that they aren't great riders anyway...well, let's just say, NOTHING worked, not games, music, DVDS, coloring, screaming, spanking......NOTHING! But, after exiting the car and sleeping at least sort of good, the rest of the ride to Orlando was pretty good....and THEN. WE. ARRIVED!!!!




We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge! AWESOME!!!!!! I am pretty sure my excitement rivaled that of being inaugurated as president or at least that of any of the other small people who were there. I have only been once in my life and it was with a friend when I was like 12 so to be there....well.....DELIGHTFUL!





And, let me just say, we have had this trip OFFICIALLY planned since the 4th of July, but I have had it planned in my head for much longer....and please understand, I had been telling myself EVERY SINGLE DAY prior to the trip that I was NOT going to be one of those crazy, every minute scheduled people. I would plan our sit down meals (thanks to the "free" dining plan) and look at the activities that were offered in each park and then aside from making our meals on time and being in a specific park on a specific day, we would be a NO SCHEDULE FAMILY....WELL.....that was great in theory, but when I got there, I got a little "overcome" with the Magic and by overcome, I mean, I pretty much turned into a vacationing maniac.....I tried self-talk, I really did...HONEST!!!!! But the opportunities, they were a plenty!

And, let me just stop to say, I learned 2 very important things about my family as we relate to Disney World:
1. My family does NOT move NEARLY as fast as Disney World!
2. I might just move TOO FAST for Disney World!

So, we arrived....sweet mercy, we arrived! And, lo and behold, our room was ready, so we spent a split second settling in and then it was off to Epcot for us! I was giddy...GIDDY!

We had lunch and then got busy seeing EVERYTHING!!!!! We eventually had dinner at Tokyo Dining in Japan...YUM! (I wish I had a picture to put here....when I got home, I thought I had SO. MANY. PICTURES. but I realized I didn't have all that many...or at least, not that many of anything different....I was devastated! I have played what I SHOULD have taken a picture of over in my head at least 100 times, but oh well, that is what going back is for! I will talk more about that at the end...if you make it that far!) Anyway, Logan was pretty much done...like, stick a fork in me, I'M DONE by the time we finished dinner so he and H headed back and Leighton and I stayed to enjoy Illuminations and Extra Magic Hours....both were great...so, Epcot, CHECK!!!!





Saturday was Magic Kingdom!





Remember, I said we would take things slow, right? Well, I did my best not to blast everyone out of bed at the crack of dawn, but, after making enough noise to wake the dead, my family arose...IMAGINE!!! Anyway, we headed over to Magic Kingdom and to my UTTER DELIGHT, the crowds were very low...so we had Fantasyland knocked out by 10:30.....MOVING ON! We looked around Adventureland, Liberty Square, had lunch, let Logan nap




and settled in for the parade, ONE HOUR EARLY...I could NOT help myself! So, we watched our FIRST parade...JOY! At this point, H was thinking we were headed back, but remember, I said we had activities...so we had our first character meal at Crystal Palace....Logan LOVED the characters! Leighton did too, but it was Logan who I was concerned about pre-arrival!





Then, there was a nighttime parade....so, we couldn't leave...right? Anyway, it was on to Tomorrowland, and whatever the land is behind Fantasyland....so many lands...anyway, then, line up for SpectroMagic and Dream Fireworks....at this point, I thought H's head might blow right off of his shoulders. Me: "H, you okay?" H: Silence. Me: "Isn't this wonderful/beautiful/fantastic?" H: Silence. So we watch the parade and the fireworks...they are still ONE HOUR away......EVERYONE is done...except me! OH, can't we please stay? I will stay by myself! Silence...but he didn't move! So, we watch the DREAM FIREWORKS...I am in awe, the kids have gone back with H's mom and dad, H...well, he is NOT in awe...but Magic Kingdown, CHECK!

Next day...Animal Kingdom....with a breakfast at 8:00...that is REALLY early to BE somewhere in Disney World! But, as luck would have it, we were ready to see the park early so, once again, low crowds. H pretty much said, in his most authoritative, I might divorce you if today is like yesterday, voice that we WOULD be taking a break this afternoon...and about 1:30 it started raining and then got COLD, and I had done most of what I thought we needed to get done, you know, in y NOT PLANNING way...so I let him think he won and we headed back! After all, that night was back to the Magic Kingdom for the Very Merry Christmas Party......WONDERFUL!!!!!!














Animal Kingdom...pretty much CHECK!






















(BLESS YOU IF YOU ARE STILL WITH ME...it goes quickly from here...I think!)

Monday, Hollywood Studios....FREEZING....FREEZING....like, coldest temperatures in 100 years or some small time period like that for Orlando.....this morning was breakfast at Chef Mickey's at....7:00 AM.....we had to ride there...on a boat....at 6:30...when it was like 25 degrees....my family, I am sure you can see why they adore me!!!










It was also Logan's birthday!!!!!




















When we got to Hollywood Studios we went straight to Toy Story Mania...and I stood in line for 15 minutes just for the fast pass! But the ride, it was worth it! This day was fun, but COLD...did I mention it was FREEZING?!? Anyway, about 2:00 we had done most of what was there, but there was a PARADE (if you were keeping count, and trust me, H was, this would have made parade number 4...he was NOT a fan)at 3:45..the Block Party Bash...how can you miss something with a name like that? And everyone said it was the BEST parade? (H said, IT. IS. A. PARADE.) And then, and then...Fantasmic at 6:30...how can you miss that????? But, at 2:00 this is what happened, we were eating lunch at my children were CRYING...not whining....not wimpering...but CRYING...BEGGING to go back to the hotel...H said, "We won't even know what we are missing. Some of the stuff that we have done HASN'T EVEN BEEN THAT FUN???? (EXCUSE ME?) It won't matter if we miss something." And then, to my GREAT shame, I said, "Well, guess what, I might miss something that I want to see!" (I thought we were "here for the kids".) Then I looked around at all of the families with crying kids, who were threatening all manner of punishment if their kids didn't suck it up, because, WE ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME! And, right there, my dreams of Fantasmic and the Block Party Bash died.....

























But, to my delight, that night, AFTER our rest time/relaxation, H and I did go over to Down Town Disney which was a nice surprise...not on the, huh hum, "itinerary"!























But, now, we have 2 days left and we have seen pretty much everything (or at least been everywhere) at least once....I RELAX! But not too much!

The next day was filled with park hopping from Animal Kingdom, to Epcot, to Hollywood Studios....then, on our last day, one more quick stop in Magic Kingdom (where we did get to see a fun "block partyish" type parade)







The trip was AMAZING! When we first left, I thought we would be a family that might go once or twice...that maybe it wasn't for us...but the longer I am away, the more I LONG to return!

I did have to keep "reminding" my people that this was a TRIP not a VACATION...no sleeping in, no "rest time".....to which H reminded me that HE was on vacation! And, we even managed to stay married...can you imagine????

Here's to Disney World!