Christmas 2007 Recap

Christmas was very busy this year with lots of travel. Unfortunately, my Uncle John (dad's brother) passed away unexpectedly a few days before Christmas. So, we changed our plans slightly to attend the visitation and funeral the weekend before Christmas. Although it was a sad event, many relatives were able to come, so it was nice to see them. Hopefully, the next time I get to see family it will be for a reunion.

On Sunday before Christmas, we celebrated with Todd's family. As you can see from the photo , it was chaos! With five nieces and nephews, it gets interesting keeping track of who is opening what gift. Usually we open gifts one at a time going from the youngest to the oldest, but this year the kids were ready to tear into their gifts. We got Max a circuit building kit. He said he wanted a science kit and Todd picked out the circuit set for him. I guess he loves it - his mom said it was the only gift he was playing with even after opening presents from Santa on Christmas Day. Todd is just happy that there may be a budding scientist in the family.

On Monday, we picked up my Grandma on the way to visit my parents. We were in Decatur for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. While there, I got to catch up with my friends Gina and Kelly from high school. Gina now lives and works in Tuscon (lucky) and Kelly has two little ones. In fact, she had her second one, a little boy named Garrett, in early December (I hope I look this good two weeks after having a baby someday)! On Christmas Day, Todd and I went on a hike after opening gifts in the morning. It was supposed to be a walk, but we ended up going about 7 miles after starting at a different spot on the trail than we thought we were at. Of course, Lucy was with us and loved every minute of being outside. Plus, she was out of the house, meaning no one could dress her up as a reindeer anymore (Todd was not a fan of her costume and almost didn't allow this photo).

We stopped in Champaign on the way home. Of course, I had to go to campus and get an Illini Rose Bowl t-shirt. While there, we drove past the Alma Mater and noticed she was decorated for the big game. We did a u-turn to get back for some photos. The banner was made by several art and design students and is done in all plastic roses. It is really cool to see it in person.

When we got home Wednesday night, we both went to bed early! It was nice to be home!