What better place to be then in Boston for Christmas? I just can't imagine being anywhere else. The only thing that would make it better is some snow which sadly, is lacking again this year. We're still holding out hope for a white Christmas but I think we will just be dreaming of one.
***Having a problem with my pictures uploading so no pictures for now.***
We arrived here last Friday just before noon after a 22-hour road trip. It went remarkably well. We made our best time ever with kids (Duncan states that our fastest ever was 19 hours, 36 minutes which was obviously pre-kids). It was so much nicer having Brady be 18 months on an epic road trip rather than 6 months although I was questioning the wisdom of him getting two shots on the day of the trip. We had a few random screaming outbursts from him with no apparent reason but fortunately they passed pretty quickly. I think probably the most noteworthy event of our trip was that we happened to be passing through Connecticut, and not even that far away, when the tragedy occurred in Newtown. By the time we arrived at my parents, the reports were that someone had been shot in the foot. Boy, did that quickly change. Just a horrible, horrible event that I almost can't even think about.
Since I missed posting last week, I wanted to just mention briefly a couple of things we did the week we were getting ready to leave:
- Saturday (12/8) - Duncan and the girls and Bruce and the boys along with Ron & Elaine did the bike ride through Casselberry which is part of a charity fundraiser. Like last year, everyone decks their bikes out in lights to ride through the neighborhoods with a police escort. Unfortunately, the ride didn't take them past Ron and Elaine's this year so we missed seeing them all go by but they had a good time. Afterward, the Bergherms joined us at Ron and Elaine's for a supper and then we went over to the decked out neighborhood near our old house to see the lights and villages several folks have in their garages.
- Sunday morning (12/9) - Took the van in for new breaks. I had made an appointment for my eyes at 1:00 pm because of my bad allergies here at my parents. I have no glasses and knew I would need them. I thought about the appointment that morning at 11:00...and then then didn't remember again until Monday morning. Does that mean I'm getting old? Thankfully I have Duncan's briefly used glasses to hold me over. Hopefully I don't look too mannish.
- Sunday evening (12/9) - Joined Jennifer, Evan, and Isidros minus Tangie (working) for an evening at Sea World. It is a wonderful place during Christmas with great shows and tons of lights. We did have to cut a few things short since Brady is clearly at the age where sitting to watch a show just doesn't hold his attention for long. But then again, I noticed Duncan having the same problem. I'm sure if Brady had an iPhone he would have been on his too.
- Wednesday evening (12/12) - We now live in a neighborhood that Santa comes to visit! Every other year we had to go to Ron and Elaine's. We're moving on up! The Isidros hosted us and the Bergherms for a supper before Santa's arrival so that we could have one last get together before the holidays as we would all be going our separate ways. Aubree was scared and Blake almost got hit by Santa's fire truck as he tried to sprint for some candy but other than that, Santa was a rousing success.
- Thursday morning (12/13) - Brady had his 18-month appointment. He's still not on the weight chart but he's getting closer at least! He's still a healthy boy so happy times. Here are his stats:
Calleigh Aubree Brady
Weight 25 lbs, 3 oz (50th - 75th) 21 lbs, 6 oz (10th) 20 lbs, 8 oz
Height 32.5 inches (75th - 90th) 31.5 inches (50th) 31 inches (25th)
Head 48.25 (90th) 47.5 (75th) 18.4 inches (10th)
Weight 25 lbs, 3 oz (50th - 75th) 21 lbs, 6 oz (10th) 20 lbs, 8 oz
Height 32.5 inches (75th - 90th) 31.5 inches (50th) 31 inches (25th)
Head 48.25 (90th) 47.5 (75th) 18.4 inches (10th)
I did get in a trip to CVS for some deals and this is the conversation that took place while were waiting to pay:
Calleigh: "Aubree! Did you toot? You should never toot in public."
Aubree: "This is NOT Publix. This is CVS."
Calleigh: (while emitting major sigh and shaking her head). "Aubree...I know this is not Publix. I said PUBLIC. That means where there are a lot of people."
As usual since we've been here at my parent's it has been a whirlwind of activity. Just the way we like it! Here is a recap of our activities:
- Friday (12/14) - Arrive from Boston. Is there a better feeling than walking into my parent's house so nicely decorated, Christmas music playing on the radio, and my Mom with a pot of soup on the stove? It doesn't get much better than that. I managed to stay awake to attend the Braintree Church Christmas program that evening while Duncan stayed home with Brady. There was no way either of us was in the mood to chase Brady around the downstairs of the church for almost two hours. My cousin Jonathan sang "O Holy Night" which he sang for my wedding almost ten years ago so that was a nice bonus. The highlight of the night was when the program was about to start, meaning it was pretty quiet in the church, and Freddy and Kathy arrived with Bruno. When Calleigh saw Bruno, she screetched "BRUNO" just about at the top of her lungs for everyone to hear.
- Sabbath (12/15) - We haven't been to Cape Cod in almost three years and who knows how many it's been during Christmas. Up until I was a teenager, all my Christmases were spent at the Cape so I have so many fond memories of it. Aunt Lori had suggested we come and see Rad and Jen since they would be in Michigan, as usual, for Christmas. Some other relatives were around too so we jumped on the chance. We got there for church, went to the Cases for lunch, and then went to see my grandparent's house (which was sold shortly after my grandfather's death in 1988) where I spent all those wonderful Christmases. Sometimes you just wish you could jump back in time and experience it again...but then a loud shrill scream from the back seat reminds you that it's not happening. When we got back to my folks that evening, Shawn, Camille, Camden, and Acadia had arrived. Let the fun begin!
- Sunday (12/16) - The priority of the day was to get a family picture for our Christmas card. I thought it would be nice to get a nice outdoor photo this year instead of the canned JCPenney picture so I called on Shawn to work his magic. We found a nice barn nearby and everyone cooperated long enough for us to get something pretty good. In the afternoon we went to the Natick Mall and the American Girl doll store there. It was our first time in one of those and we had to take Aubree out kicking and screaming. That's pretty much you would have had to do to me if we had bought one because those things are stinking expensive...over $100! She'll have to settle for the knock off version from Target. After the kids were in bed, we had the Patriots game to watch. More kicking and screaming ensued as the Pats fell behind 31-3. Only the faithful stayed up to watch the end. They did come back to tie it up but lost 41 - 34 in the end. Oh well.
- Monday (12/17) - In the morning we took the kids to Bass Pro Shop which is nicely decorated for the holiday and of course, the stuffed animals alone are enough to entertain the kids. Thankfully none of them asked any questions. (Yes, honey, that IS a dead deer head hanging on the wall). For lunch, my mother had about a dozen or so residents from her nursing home come to her house. This is an annual tradition but since they all have Alzheimer's I'm not sure that any of them remember from year to year. We couldn't help but chuckle at one of them, age 99, who muttered as she exited the bus, "Where the hell are we? What nut had the idea to come here?" This same 99-year old recited the Gettysburg Address for us so clearly they remember SOMETHING. The kids were great with them, drawing pictures and singing Christmas songs. We were very impressed with their behavior. That evening we went to the car dealer in Millis who has a huge Christmas display at their house.
- Tuesday (12/18) - We all met up with Alison, Tyson, baby Westin, and Toni at the Children's Museum. Since Alison wasn't going to Newport, this was our chance to see Westin. Of course, he was pretty much sleeping the whole time, as newborns tend to do, but I was able to determine that he looks like Tyson, in my opinion. All the kids enjoyed themselves very much but this was just Act 1. We departed mid-afternoon for Carver and Edaville Railroad. Kathy and Bruno met us there which, of course, was a big plus for Calleigh. I marveled that Bruno is still willing to walk around holding a 5-year old girl's hand at his ripe old age of 8. I can't imagine that will last much longer. The kids really enjoyed the rides. Aubree was disappointed that she wasn't old enough to do the bumper cars (have to be 42 inches and she's 38) but she did get to go on the Tilt-a-Whirl. She had a completely stoic look on her face during the ride but she claimed that the "shell" ride was her favorite. Brady was obsessed with these three little riding horses and would not get him off. We've determined that he is quite taken with horses. It's one of his favorite words to say, in fact.
- Wednesday (12/19) - After lunch, we departed for Newport. Here's hoping this becomes a family tradition as this is the second year in a row that we've had the pleasure of staying for two nights at one of Aunt Lori and Uncle Charlie's timeshare places. For the record, those that were there were:
- Lori & Charlie
- Kelly, Steve, and baby Caleb
- Jonathan, Marcela, Zasha, and Luccia
- Shannon and Finley
- Devin, Leigh, Mia, Jack, Bode
- Aunt Toni & Uncle Terry
- Mom & Dad
- Shawn, Camille, Camden, and Acadia
- My immediate family stayed together in a three bedroom unit and it was really spacious and nice. It gets a little noisy in there with five kids but it was all good. We all got together at Lori and Charlie's huge unit for supper on Wednesday evening and then went for a walk through downtown Newport. It's a really quaint little town. We stopped at the public ice skating rink and just as we arrived, we saw a lady take an awkward fall onto the ice. Her ankles were at a strange angle and it was obvious she couldn't get up. Devin, being an ER nurse, jumped over the side to keep her calm while the ambulance arrived. My dad could obviously sympathize with her predicament since he was in her position not too long ago (although he was able to limp off hanging on to someone). We felt especially bad when we heard she was from Bangladesh and surmised this may have been her first and last time on ice. Oops.
- Thursday (12/20) - We took an amazing walk on the "Cliff Walk" along the coastline. The trail takes you in front of some HUGE (65,000 sq ft) mansions that were once owned by society elites back in the late 1800's. Now they are historical landmarks. It as a spectacular day weather wise and I can't tell you how lovely it was walking along the ocean. In the afternoon, the kids all went swimming in the indoor pool. In the evening we met at Lori and Charlie's again for a supper of haystacks.
- Friday (12/21) - First of all, we are glad to be alive since the Mayan calendar predicted the world would end today...We had to check out by 10:00 am and Duncan was up and about to get us going. I always do the packing for a trip but Duncan's specialty is getting us packed up to leave. He's like a machine. We were out of there by 9:30 and we headed back to my parents where we dropped off Gigi and the girls. Duncan, Brady, and I had to get over to the Outlets since we've barely gotten any shopping done. I probably did 50% of my shopping on-line and had it delivered here but there's still more to do...which pays off. Something on someone's list for $40 was only $14 at the outlets. Besides, I know this sounds crazy to some people, but I love Christmas shopping. I love the crowds, the music, and just all of that. I take after my dad, what can I say. Would I prefer to be doing it without my son who is glued to my iPhone in his stroller? Yes! Would I prefer that he didn't lose his shoe meaning I had to traipse back through four stores to find it in the pouring rain? Yes! But it was still fun.
Okay, so that brings us up to now. A few other bits of information..My allergies have been so-so. Could be much worse. I'm still blowing my nose fairly frequently but the eyes have survived pretty much unscathed (this is my worst thing about allergies - - the itchy eyes)....We've noticed that Calleigh and Camden are gravitating to each other (wanting to drive in the same car wherever we go) and Aubree and Acadia likewise. At this point you may be thinking that my brother should have another kid and name him with a "B" so that poor little Brady has someone to join up with. In the meantime, he will continue to suffer through Acadia's "hugs" which, at their present heights, means essentially that she's strangling him. She means well but Brady just shrieks as loud as he can. I tell him someday he'll be bigger and he can get revenge but at his rate, I'm guessing that won't be until he's like 14.
On that note, I will call it a day. Merry Christmas to all and to all, a goodnight.