East Coast Tour - 2010: Part 1!!
Goodness it's taken me to long to get something up here from Christmas that I'm going to make it into 2 parts! So, here is the first installment!
We did another tour of the East Coast this year for Christmas and New Year's! This is our 4th year to do so and it's quite a fun tradition for us! This is the 2nd year we've driven it, and it's actually not bad at all. Our kids are both pretty good travelers, and we made it from GR all the way to my parents’ house in one (long) day. But overall, we were able to make just a few stops and spend that time nursing/eating/bathrooming/running off some energy. It was as efficient as possible with 2 small children!
In Massachusetts we had a wonderful and relaxing time. David planned a special date for us to see Cirque du Soleil, the Dralion show. He surprised me and didn't tell me what we were doing/seeing until we were at the arena! It was such an amazing show, and going to Cirque was something we had always talked about doing. So, it was a really fun surprise for me and a fun evening to enjoy without the kids!
We also got many chances to do our Christmas shopping, mostly without the kids. Before heading to MA we do some shopping, ordering things online or buying specific things here or there. But for the most part we always leave our shopping to do in tax-free NH and without kids. It is such a treat to be able to get in the car without having to buckle anyone else in, browse stores at our own pace without having to entertain/ hand snacks & drinks/ field questions/etc. Shopping with 2 kids is a task and something I can do, but prefer not to. So it's really a treat to be able to do this several times while in MA. We don't even mind that it's the "Christmas Rush" because we are always able to chill and shop without feeling the strain of the hustle and bustle.
We were able to get together with some of our really good friends, Pat & Katie (and meet their dog) and Matt & Christen (and meet their son). It was so much fun to catch up with them, even though we were only able to spend a short amount of time with them. For both families, we feel when we get together we pick up where we've left off, even though we go long period of time without seeing each other or even talking to each other.
Kayla enjoyed working on many crafts that my parents had planned for her. They made and decorated cookies, decorated a gingerbread house, and made Christmas ornaments for everyone, among other things!
Isaac was still getting over being sick when we first got there, but he was quite snuggly and quite sweet and my parents really enjoyed bonding with him.
For David's birthday he wanted to go Duck-Pin bowling. There happens to be one in Chelmsford, which is amazing because there are only 3 left in MA! It was a hole-in-the-wall bowling alley, but it was perfect! We were the only people there and we had a blast! Kayla played the first game with us and really enjoyed herself (it was her first time bowling). Overall we had a lot of laughs and a really good time!
On Christmas Eve we went to my parents’ church service. I (eventually) got a picture of the two kids in front of the fireplace and we got family pictures as well. Some of the "outtakes" of the kids together are just hilarious! Kayla likes to hug Isaac and rock him from side to side, and sometimes he likes it and sometimes he doesn't. But eventually we ended up with 2 happy and smiling kids!!
Before going to bed we read the Christmas story from Luke by the tree. Kayla used her Little People Nativity Scene to help act out the story. And we set out cookies and milk for Santa and nuts for his reindeer.
Christmas morning was filled with lots of presents and lots of fun! We started by opening the stockings.
Then we had a yummy breakfast of a strata casserole and caramel rolls!
Then we opened some of the presents.
Then we took a break from opening and played with some of our toys.
Then we opened some more.
Then we made and decorated a birthday cake for Jesus. Later we had a delicious Christmas dinner.
We ended the evening relaxing in the hot tub!
We packed all of our stuff up with plans to leave the day after Christmas. But instead a blizzard warning kept us in MA for another day. While we were sad we weren't able to be in DE with the Taylor's, actually the Taylor's were snowed in down in NC, so we ended up not missing out on anything! As it turned out, we definitely made the right decision to stay an extra day. When we drove down the roads were pretty good and the traffic was minimal. We did see a lot of cars on the side of the road, but otherwise the trip was what we would expect until normal road conditions. The bummer of the blizzard was that we didn’t get to see Nick or Laura because his job and her boyfriend kept them from being able to come up since they lost a day.
Part 2 to come (shortly, I hope).