Christmas 2014

This post is dedicated to Aunt Ree, who, along with her family, saved Christmas 2014 for our family.

Our home owning adventure had some unexpected problems, all connected to other humans, past (*cough*shoddy contractors!) or present (*cough*neighbors!). The good news as of March 2015 is that at least some of the problems might be seasonal. Nevertheless, the long and short of December 2014 was that our childless neighbors were only okay with our presence as long as they were unaware of it. The day to day struggle of living with that kind of negative environment was bad enough, but the thought of trying to have any kind of Christmas celebration in it was just too much. Mom and Dad brainstormed about what we could do and decided to call Mom's Aunt Ree (Grandmother's sister), who graciously offered us sanctuary. The Muffins were in school right up until the last minute, but they had Christmas Eve Day off, and that's when we headed for Aunt Ree's house.

It was a long day of driving. We crossed a few state lines, including the one shown below.

One of the highlights of the road trip was stopping for dinner. Mom wanted Arby's, if possible, and the car's gas light came on right when we pulled into a station that included one.

Clarissa and the other Muffins generally did pretty well on the trip, especially considering how much of the day we spent in the car.

 Another fun thing was the cheeseburger flavored chips Dad picked up to help us through the last little bit of the trip. The secret to the "burger" element? Pickle flavor on the cheese.

 At long last, though, we made it to Aunt Ree's house, and still in time for Christmas Eve. There were all kinds of yummy goodies, including a fabulous hot chocolate bar.

 There was also a giant Christmas tree . . .

 . . . and other lovely Christmasy things.

 Here we are in front of the tree on Christmas Eve.

 Christmas morning included lots of surprises for everyone.

 And, no, it wasn't a white Christmas, but that suited us just fine, considering all our driving.

Aunt Ree's house was full of family home from college. One of Aunt Ree's daughters, Launa, lives near Aunt Ree, and she and her husband graciously lent us their house while we were visiting, since they themselves were going elsewhere soon after Christmas. Here are the Muffins playing with their Christmas goodies there.

 Jared was especially excited to get a science kit.

 He used this . . .

 . . . to make a bouncy ball!

 Here's another Christmas tree (and Amanda enjoying a show).

 More science stuff Jared did . . .

 One of Mom's favorite Christmas presents: Utah Truffles.

 We went back to Aunt Ree's house for Christmas dinner.

 And then back again to Launa's house (and Christmas lights!) for a good rest after a good day.

Christmas 2011

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas 2011, just like we did for Christmas 2008. Thankfully, we could drive there this time, since we had twice as many kids to bring along as we did back then. We went up on Christmas Eve afternoon and had a Christmas dinner that night.

The next morning, of course, the Muffins were VERY excited for presents. Here we have Amanda and Lydia opening one of Lydia's presents.

Here's Curtis passing presents around.

As fun as presents are, though, the big event was the gingerbread house making. Here's Dad with the elder three Muffins deep into construction. He made the gingerbread from scratch.
Assembling the house . . .
House all together . . .
All ready to be decorated!
The finished product pictures this year are unfortunately non applicable, due to some structural issues. Still fun, though.

On the way home, the family indulged Mom in a little side trip. We went to see the "Up" house, modeled after the house in Pixar's Up. It really stands out from the other (boring brown) houses in the neighborhood. Mom had heard about it back in August, and she was glad to finally see it in person, at least on the outside.

Christmas decorating 2011

Our Christmas decorations this year were nothing fancy, just our favorite trusty traditional display, much of which was made or given by Mom's Grandma Joan when Mom was little. The advent calendar below ended up full of ornaments by Christmas, including a brand new ornament sewn on by Mom to replace one that went missing.

The real decorating event this year came a few days before Christmas when Mom and the Muffins decorated cookies. Mom went for a fairly traditional look:

The rest of the Muffins chose their own styles:




Looks like this should be an annual event. :)

Thank you note to Santa for Christmas 2010

Dear Santa,
Sorry this letter is a bit late; I meant to send it off a couple of months ago, but I'm sure you understand how busy life gets in a house full of small children. I really must thank you, though, for the wonderful Christmas this past year. As you probably know, we've tried hard to downplay the Santa mystique in our family, not from any inherent Scroogieness or Grinchiness on our part, but just to avoid any potentially unpleasant discussions with our kids in a few years. And yet, this year we have you to thank for Christmas.

I'm not sure if you remember us; just to jog your memory, the kids and I came to see you a few days before Christmas. You may remember my little Curtis, the brave toddler who climbed up on your lap with no help from Mom.




There was also one more child, baby Lydia, who stayed home with her dad. But you remembered her, too! We started out the season with our little tree, the one my parents gave me back when I was little.


Then we got the gifts from the grandparent Santas (thanks for putting in a good word to them!).


We were so surprised, though, to find that you weren't finished yet. By the time Christmas morning came, we had stuffed stockings (including the stocking you brought for Lydia, her very first stocking ever) . . .


. . . and we had an overflowing treeful of presents, too! The kids were delighted. I felt so loved every time one of your elves stopped by. Dad was amazed that we should have such a Christmas, especially when he knew we certainly hadn't done any Christmas shopping.

Little Curtis dove right in and started passing out gifts.

We were all so pleased and so thankful for the things you brought, and most especially for the love that went into the gifts, from boots for the kids to gas for the car, and all sorts of amazing fun and practical gifts in between. I would write out a list of it all, but I know you know what you sent, and what I really want to do is just thank you again and again on behalf of us all for all you did for us this year.

Love,
Muffin Mom

p.s. Here's a picture of Dad spending Christmas with us; we were glad to have time with him. Oh, and thanks again for the boots, coat, and watch for me; my winter has been so much nicer!