This may be kind of a long post….We had Christmas in AR this past weekend, and I’m kicking myself for not taking the camera! So, it will be in words.

We had a rough trip down there. We picked up Henry from school on Friday afternoon, so we weren’t on the road until late afternoon. E. Belle cried for a good two and a half hours in the middle of the trip, and drove T. and I just about over the edge. She didn’t throw up….we gave her dramamine, but she didn’t sleep much either. And she’s had a cough and congestion for a while now, so I think she was just tired and uncomfortable.

But we did make it to my little brother and his wife’s house (after the kids had a nice hour-long nap at about 8:00 pm), and after the long trip and the short nap, the kids were wound for sound! It was close to 11:00 before we all got to bed.

The next morning after breakfast, we headed to Nana and Papa’s house. We spent the afternoon there (the big two were supposed to help bake Christmas cookies, but I’m not sure how much they actually did). We had a nice, relaxed day, and T. and I left in the late afternoon for my bestie’s jewelry show. The kids went to the park in town with their Grandpa Fuji to ride a train and see the Christmas lights, which they seemed to love.

On Sunday, we had Christmas dinner at their Nana and Papa’s house, and it was a slow morning for T. and I. You know how it is when you have a night without kids! After breakfast with my brother and SIL, the two of us went to Hancock Fabrics…I spent a little too much money on fabric and supplies to make more of these little guys and other animals/dolls from Bit of Whimsy patterns (www.bitofwhimsydolls.com). I made these two last week for the girls, and plan to finish up owls for my nieces and dinosaurs for my nephews and Henry before our Christmas lunch on Sunday. Hopefully, I haven’t bit off more than I can chew!

The owls are actually really easy to make (and I’m not a great sewer), they just take a while. But I love how they turn out, and the different combinations of fabric colors and patterns that you can use for them. I’ll post a picture when I’m done (fingers crossed!). The dinosaurs look pretty easy, too, so here’s hoping!

Anyway, we had Christmas dinner with several of the members of our AR family (which was delicious, by the way–Maggie made lasagna and cheesecake–so good!).Then the big two went with Grandpa Carter to stay the night at his house, and T., E. Belle, and I went to a late dinner with my brother and SIL at Cheddar’s. Let me tell you, Baby LOVES when she has all the attention!! And it doesn’t happen very often!

Monday morning, we picked up the big two and took them to my good friend, Nat’s house. They just love her two kids, so I wanted them to have some play time with them. We had pizza for lunch, and then on our way out of town, Nat’s husband Eric, who works at the National Guard as a recruiter, let us into the Air Force base to see some of the jets. Can you say “big hit”?!

We had a lot of fun and the kids have a lot of great memories! Too bad there aren’t any pictures…

Christmas is always a lot of running around and traveling for us, but it is the one time of year when we know we’ll see most everybody. My rule is that our little family will be home Christmas morning, but other than that, it’s go go go! We don’t have to drive too far this week (thank goodness), so we’re doing some fun things….today is a free kids’ craft time at a local library, tomorrow will be the T-Rex restaurant and a movie with the big two, and Friday will be the Christmas Eve service at church. Then our Christmas morning, and two more this weekend. Whew!