So, for Christmas this year, instead of doing the normal bustle to buy gifts people don't need with money we don't have, my family decided to go to rent a beach house, instead! We all headed out there Wednesday morning, and after a long and eventful drive, we arrived a bit after 5pm.
The house was wonderful! It had two bedrooms with comfy queen-sized beds, in which Mom and Ed, and Sandi and Tony stayed in. Paul and I and the boys got the third bedroom, a full bed bunked with a twin on top. It was quite the adventure in finding the proper setup for comfy sleeping, for the 4 of us. Alicia and Anna kindly took residence on the couches, and later Alicia borrowed our
aerobed. The back deck had a beautiful view of the lake, with a huge hard for our boys and mom's two dogs to run and play in. Poor Hobie did an overzealous jump onto the mini-dock, and fell in on the first night! Paul rescued him, and he was much more careful the rest of the stay.
We did not bring a tree with us, but thanks to a lighted fake plant and Alicia's ornaments and mini-lights, we had a festive enough centerpiece for our Christmas stay.
We of course gave the boys gifts, and they loved their giant
chewies. They were over 2 feet long! It was a challenge to carry them around and chew on them, but they were up for it.
In addition to the giant
chewies, they each got a stuffed toy.
Gaius got a little stuffed green reindeer, and Hobie got a new
wubba. A
wubba, if you don't know, is what we call Hobie's stuffed rooster that he likes to suck and knead on. We have spares from Target, just in case!
After a good breakfast, we all sat around to open gifts. Instead of the usual assortment of gifts, everyone just gave something that was their favorite to the rest of the group. Such as the wonderful
Smartwool socks Aunt Sandi gave, the Produce Saver mom gave, and Paul brought beer and Cranberry bliss bars (from Starbucks). It was a really great way to share little things we love with everyone, and was just as fun as when we do lots of big gifts! =)
On Friday, we took the boys to a beach up the way to play. It was cold and windy and rainy, but they had a blast!
Gaius even still ran to the water and laid down! His favorite...
Us on the beach.
Paul fetching the boys.
Friday evening, we all sat around and read books or did crossword puzzles. It was great fun!
We even built a fire in the fireplace, which Paul and
Hoban loved.
Gaius wasn't too fond of the fire, but loved the pillow mom and Ed brought!
In the end, it was a wonderful trip. Everyone had a chance to do their own thing, and we had lots of time to hang together as a family. Since it was no one's house, we didn't have anyone feeling like they had to be the hostess. We all shared cooking duties, and even had two boisterous games of Cranium! It was one of the best Christmases I remember, and even more because it had nothing to do with the presents. I love my family and thank them again for a wonderful holiday.
The house was wonderful! It had two bedrooms with comfy queen-sized beds, in which Mom and Ed, and Sandi and Tony stayed in. Paul and I and the boys got the third bedroom, a full bed bunked with a twin on top. It was quite the adventure in finding the proper setup for comfy sleeping, for the 4 of us. Alicia and Anna kindly took residence on the couches, and later Alicia borrowed our aerobed. The back deck had a beautiful view of the lake, with a huge hard for our boys and mom's two dogs to run and play in. Poor Hobie did an overzealous jump onto the mini-dock, and fell in on the first night! Paul rescued him, and he was much more careful the rest of the stay.
We did not bring a tree with us, but thanks to a lighted fake plant and Alicia's ornaments and mini-lights, we had a festive enough centerpiece for our Christmas stay.
We of course gave the boys gifts, and they loved their giant chewies. They were over 2 feet long! It was a challenge to carry them around and chew on them, but they were up for it.
In addition to the giant chewies, they each got a stuffed toy. Gaius got a little stuffed green reindeer, and Hobie got a new wubba. A wubba, if you don't know, is what we call Hobie's stuffed rooster that he likes to suck and knead on. We have spares from Target, just in case!
After a good breakfast, we all sat around to open gifts. Instead of the usual assortment of gifts, everyone just gave something that was their favorite to the rest of the group. Such as the wonderful Smartwool socks Aunt Sandi gave, the Produce Saver mom gave, and Paul brought beer and Cranberry bliss bars (from Starbucks). It was a really great way to share little things we love with everyone, and was just as fun as when we do lots of big gifts! =)
On Friday, we took the boys to a beach up the way to play. It was cold and windy and rainy, but they had a blast! Gaius even still ran to the water and laid down! His favorite...
Us on the beach.
Paul fetching the boys.
Friday evening, we all sat around and read books or did crossword puzzles. It was great fun!
We even built a fire in the fireplace, which Paul and Hoban loved.
Gaius wasn't too fond of the fire, but loved the pillow mom and Ed brought!
In the end, it was a wonderful trip. Everyone had a chance to do their own thing, and we had lots of time to hang together as a family. Since it was no one's house, we didn't have anyone feeling like they had to be the hostess. We all shared cooking duties, and even had two boisterous games of Cranium! It was one of the best Christmases I remember, and even more because it had nothing to do with the presents. I love my family and thank them again for a wonderful holiday.
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