Christmas 2013
[One would think that a state of "retirement" would provide plenty of free time for updating blogs and such, but teaching full-time and planning lessons with all of the rest of my time for a few months left me with a lengthy to-do list that tends to take up much of my days. Between catching up on to-do list items, being consumed by pleasure reading for the first time in a while, and starting a new job (more on that later) this Christmas post has been seriously neglected. But, without further ado, here it is, better late than never, they say.]
This Christmas was the second one in our rotation between families. Last Christmas (see here and here and here), we spent the holidays in Utah with Drew's family, meaning that I spent my very first Christmas away from my family. It wasn't super cool, especially the first time around, but having a fantastic second family certainly made up for it. This year, it was Drew's unfortunate turn (although I think he has a pretty good second family, too), so we headed to Georgia while the Barnes clan converged on Christie's house in Utah. We worked until Friday, enjoyed an evening of freedom, then got up and packed on Saturday morning for the journey south. We stopped in Dunn to pick up Nannie (and her significantly more luxurious ride) and got back on the road, Georgia-bound. The decision to travel southbound on I-95 on the Saturday before Christmas was a bit of a mistake; the traffic was horrendous and it ended up taking us twice as long as it should have to make the [usually] 4-hour drive between Dunn and Midway. With the help of GPS and fatherly knowledge, we were eventually able to get off of the interstate and enjoy the uncongested freedom of South Carolina's back roads. Although the ride was extra long, it wasn't half bad given the company, and we eventually made it to my dad's house in one piece and with most of our sanity. We spent the next few days just enjoying the change of scenery, the slightly warmer weather, the abundance of food, and the family time.
Drew, Nannie, and I left around noon on Christmas Day to head back to Raleigh - a decision necessitated by the ugly reality of full-time, grown-up employment. Drew had to work the next day, and my mom was in Raleigh, waiting patiently to celebrate Christmas with us, too. The drive back was infinitely faster and smoother than the ride down, since everyone else in the southeast was still unwrapping or napping by their Christmas trees. Drew and I and Jenn and Koda got back to Raleigh within minutes of each other and met my mom at our apartment for quesadillas (traditional, no. a welcome change after so much holiday food, yes.) and presents.
The fact that I'm the subject of most of these Christmas Day pictures and Drew doesn't make an appearance in many means he was holding the camera the whole time. Although it went undocumented, this Christmas was actually a big deal for Drew, who received both a new, significantly-larger-than-the-old-one TV from his parents and an Xbox from my mom and sister. For the past three years, our Christmas wish-list discussions have gone something like this:
Compared to the Barnes Family Christmas going on in Utah, our Christmas was sorely lacking in children - other than, of course, our child-in-progress, who was certainly not forgotten or neglected under the Christmas tree. Though we missed the magic littles add to the holidays, between Drew's video games and his Papa's fancy helicopter, we didn't completely miss out on the fun of new toys this year.
^ I mostly sit around and eat German chocolate cake when ^
This Christmas was the second one in our rotation between families. Last Christmas (see here and here and here), we spent the holidays in Utah with Drew's family, meaning that I spent my very first Christmas away from my family. It wasn't super cool, especially the first time around, but having a fantastic second family certainly made up for it. This year, it was Drew's unfortunate turn (although I think he has a pretty good second family, too), so we headed to Georgia while the Barnes clan converged on Christie's house in Utah. We worked until Friday, enjoyed an evening of freedom, then got up and packed on Saturday morning for the journey south. We stopped in Dunn to pick up Nannie (and her significantly more luxurious ride) and got back on the road, Georgia-bound. The decision to travel southbound on I-95 on the Saturday before Christmas was a bit of a mistake; the traffic was horrendous and it ended up taking us twice as long as it should have to make the [usually] 4-hour drive between Dunn and Midway. With the help of GPS and fatherly knowledge, we were eventually able to get off of the interstate and enjoy the uncongested freedom of South Carolina's back roads. Although the ride was extra long, it wasn't half bad given the company, and we eventually made it to my dad's house in one piece and with most of our sanity. We spent the next few days just enjoying the change of scenery, the slightly warmer weather, the abundance of food, and the family time.
:: driving Daddy's new toy ::
:: chatting by the light of the Christmas tree ::
:: a bonfire with s'mores ::
:: Christmas morning ::
Drew, Nannie, and I left around noon on Christmas Day to head back to Raleigh - a decision necessitated by the ugly reality of full-time, grown-up employment. Drew had to work the next day, and my mom was in Raleigh, waiting patiently to celebrate Christmas with us, too. The drive back was infinitely faster and smoother than the ride down, since everyone else in the southeast was still unwrapping or napping by their Christmas trees. Drew and I and Jenn and Koda got back to Raleigh within minutes of each other and met my mom at our apartment for quesadillas (traditional, no. a welcome change after so much holiday food, yes.) and presents.
The fact that I'm the subject of most of these Christmas Day pictures and Drew doesn't make an appearance in many means he was holding the camera the whole time. Although it went undocumented, this Christmas was actually a big deal for Drew, who received both a new, significantly-larger-than-the-old-one TV from his parents and an Xbox from my mom and sister. For the past three years, our Christmas wish-list discussions have gone something like this:
"What do you want for Christmas?"
"An Xbox."
"Hrmph."
So, finally realizing how unselfish Drew has been not to march out and buy one for himself already, and coming to the conclusion that just because there is a game system in our house doesn't mean it will define our lives, I finally passed that wish-list item on to Santa Mom. (An article I read about the benefits of video games for hand-eye coordination, memory, and problem solving skills probably deserves some credit for my change of heart, too...) My mom also gave us her MarioKart gear for our Wii (which was previously donated to us by my dad and Kandi), so we're now more than set in the electronics department (thanks, everyone!).Compared to the Barnes Family Christmas going on in Utah, our Christmas was sorely lacking in children - other than, of course, our child-in-progress, who was certainly not forgotten or neglected under the Christmas tree. Though we missed the magic littles add to the holidays, between Drew's video games and his Papa's fancy helicopter, we didn't completely miss out on the fun of new toys this year.
^ I mostly sit around and eat German chocolate cake when ^
there are rogue helicopters and Nazi zombies about...
Overall, our Christmas holidays were a certain success, filled to the brim with family and food and fun. With all of the baby gear emerging from under the Christmas tree this year, we couldn't help but daydream a little about this time next year, when we should have an 8-month-old little girl around to eat wrapping paper and make everything just a little bit merrier. I believe our Christmases are only going to get merrier and our new years happier from here on out.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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