Merry Christmas!!!

I was so excited for Christmas to come this year! I couldn't wait to start new memories with Jeremy and let him experience how my family spends the holiday. Jeremy wanted my family to come and celebrate at our new house this year. So my sister decided to brave the weather and the pass from Seattle and got quite a few days off. Our plan was to have her drive to my parents and then the three of them drive to our house in Hermiston. They would spend the night at our house and we would all wake up together Christmas morning and spend the day together.

My work schedule worked out great with me having both Christmas Eve and Christmas day off. My sister got into town Christmas Eve morning to my parents and a couple of hours later the three of them packed up and drove down to Hermiston. For our family tradition we always make G-ma Kitty's clam chowder for Christmas Eve dinner. We had to make a minor adjustment because Jeremy doesn't like seafood and so we made the chowder and also stromboli. Us girls started prepping right away for dinner so it could be simmering while we went to Christmas Eve service. The service was great, I always love singing Christmas songs and having candlelight service.

Not long after we got home, our friends Bob and Becky and Bob's brother Don came over to spend the evening with us. Normally we just had our chowder in bowls but my mom surprised us and had bought bread bowls which were a big hit. Everyone got their food together and found a place to sit and enjoy. Afterwards everyone congregated into the living room where Jeremy started up the Wii.

The next few hours were spent sitting around laughing and watching several of us play numerous games. Some of the games we played were bowling, tennis and carnival games. I played tennis and really had to pay attention and focus so I swung the right way to hit the ball. While everyone was sitting around, I passed around slices of my chocolate cake. I had made the "Chocolate Lasagna" cake from Olive Garden. It was a big hit! After our company left we only stayed up a few more hours. We prepped breakfast for the morning and finished any last minute things before heading to bed.

Immediately after waking up, I got my stocking stuff done first and then went to get my sister and mom so they could do theirs. During this time no one is allowed in the living room to spy. Dad came down to get his coffee and was shooed away so Jeremy tried to get the coffee ready and he too was sent to his room. Apparently I hadn't explained well enough to Jeremy all that Christmas morning entailed. I just laughed hysterically hearing my sister yell at him to get to his room and he tried to push it but it didn't work. Finally it was time to start the fun! We emptied our stockings while sipping on coffee. Then we decided to fix breakfast so we could enjoy it before we got too late. Mom had planned quite the spread and everything was wonderful. The gifts came next and of course I was santa. I passed them out until they were gone. Now it was time to relax, get ready for the day and spend time with each other. We looked into seeing a movie at the theater and found a time that worked. Since holidays always seem to be a day of eating, we already were thinking about lunch. We decided to go non traditional and have french dip. After eating everyone passed the time visiting and just being together. Later that night we went to the movie, "Did you hear about the Morgans." It was very funny and a great way to end the day. Soon after my parents and sister gathered up their things and packed them in the car. After they left the house felt so empty. Jeremy had received the movie, "The Hangover" and we popped that in and ended our holiday laughing!