Christmas in three and a half parts

Christmas and New Year's (and the days in between) were a very busy time for us this year. So grab a coffee and get comfy, because this is a long one.

First, on Christmas Eve, we packed up the car and drove to London where we spent the night with Ryan's mom and Graham. That night, we hung the stockings by the fireplace and left milk and cookies out for Santa because he knew we were sleeping there instead of at home. I'm not sure Austin really understood why he was doing all of this, but he seemed to think it was fun.

Although Austin knew that Santa was coming to bring him presents, he (thankfully) didn't realize that this meant he should wake up at the crack of dawn. In fact, we were all standing around in the kitchen waiting for Austin to wake up on Christmas morning -- and he finally did at 8:45 a.m.!

Christmas morning was exciting for everyone and Santa spoiled us all. In fact, with so many people (we were 8), it took all morning and some of the afternoon to open all the presents. By the time we were done, Austin needed somewhere to run and burn some energy so Ryan, Jamie and I took the kids tobagganing. Austin had a blast and even Alex was laughing as she went down the hill with Ryan.

That night, after dinner, we packed up and went to Ryan's dad's house to spend the night with him and do Christmas morning Part II. Once again, everyone was spoiled with gifts. Both days, Alex was more interested in eating wrapping paper than opening her gifts but Austin had no problem fulfilling his big brother duties by helping her open them!

After another yummy dinner, we packed up again and drove back to Ryan's mom's house to spend the night because early the next morning, before the kids woke up, Ryan and I left the kids with nana and gramps, drove to Buffalo and caught a flight to Raleigh, North Carolina for my cousin's wedding.

We had a bit of an ordeal getting to Raleigh. First we drove three hours through the worst fog I've ever seen; then we were only issued one boarding pass because the plane was overbooked. We waited a nerve-wracking one hour to find out if we'd be able to get another one -- which we did and it was the very last seat on the plane. We made it there by about 2:30 -- giving us plenty of time to check into our hotel, have a bite to eat and get ready for the 6 p.m. wedding.

It was a nice wedding at a nearby country club and everyone danced the night away -- including my 94 year old grandmother who barely wanted to get off the dance floor!

The next day, there was a lunch at my aunt and uncle's house, and we spent the day hanging out there. It was nice to be able to visit with my family because I don't see them very often these days. We used to spend a lot of time with my cousins growing up, including every Christmas but then we moved to Toronto and they moved to North Carolina. And now, my one cousin lives in Chicago and my other cousin (and his new wife) live in California. So, for the first time in five years, we were all together to open Christmas gifts from each other that Sunday -- and we did so on the back deck because it was 74F that day! Talk about a nice break from the winter!

Ryan and I flew home on Monday morning; flying from Raleigh to Buffalo, then driving back to London, packing up all the stuff and the kids and then driving back to Toronto -- arriving home some 12 hours after we left Raleigh.

Christmas Part III was on Jan. 2 at my parents house, where we once again were spoiled with gifts. We spent the day relaxing at my parents house and feasting on a turkey dinner.

In the days between arriving home from Raleigh and Christmas Part III, we went to an appetizer dinner party for New Year's Eve at a friends' house. Everyone had to make and serve one appetizer to the group. It was a lot of fun, and we ate some very yummy foods. We were 10 adults and 5 kids and although none of the kids made it until midnight, Austin was the last to pass out around 10:30.

Now that all the festivities are over, it's time to get back into a regular routine, relax a little bit and maybe buy some new shelving units just to find homes for all the new toys the kids got this year!