Mom Blogging:

This year our son started kindergarten and our other son started preschool.  It was the first year we had to work around school schedules when planning our family vacation.  Christmas was on a weekend so we decided to take off the weekend before as well and have our vacation then.  It sounded like a wonderful idea!  We’d rent a minivan and drive north, making stops to see family, visit NYC to see all the famous Christmas things there, and end up in the snow which always puts us in the Christmas spirit!  It seemed like Christmas time would be the perfect time for our vacation!  I have to learn to think things through more.

The weeks before our vacation were absolutely crazy.  Thanksgiving, then putting together everything for our Christmas party a week later, and then just two weeks to put together everything for Christmas Day!  We wouldn’t be returning until Christmas Eve and we’d have family coming to stay over that same night.  We had to do all of our decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, cleaning, making and sending our Christmas cards, planning the Christmas celebration for the class we teach for kids at our church, and all of our other Christmas traditions and preparations before vacation.  All of that while keeping busy shooting and editing family sessions to get everyone their images in time for them to use the pictures in their own Christmas cards and gifts!  I sent Jason out to get me coffee so often that the people at Starbucks would see him walk in and know what he was going to order before he’d even get to the counter!  They even took pity a few times and just walked a free coffee to him when the line was long.  But you can’t complain about an abundance of blessings!  Christmas is my favorite time of year so shopping and decorating and baking and parties and cards and holiday themed sessions might all be work but they are also fun and festive!  God is good and we came through it all in good spirits and ready to get away for a wonderful family vacation.

I had stayed up all night working the day before we left so the morning of our vacation Jason went to pick up the minivan from the rental car company and I finally started packing.  We were driving up but flying back so I had to pack with the airplane trip in mind.  Packing for a family of five, including 3 young kids who would be playing in the cold and snow, takes a lot of time and a lot of room in the car!  Not only did we have all the sweaters, coats, gloves, boots, and cold weather clothes but we also had snacks and games and stuff for the long car rides in between our stops.  My sister was joining us on the trip so we also had her stuff, and the Christmas gifts we were bringing to drop off with family we were seeing too.  All efficiently planned out and packed to fit in the least number of suitcases for our plane ride home.  Needless to say we didn’t end up leaving until that evening.

Other than a little car sickness, and thanks to the two new portable DVD players we bought, the kids were all great in the car.  We stopped the first night and by early in the afternoon of day two we were far enough north that we finally saw snow on the ground!  When we stopped for gas the kids took advantage of the time to run right to the snow to play.  Though it was more of an icy sludge, they had fun.

**DISCLAIMER:  The pictures throughout this entire blog post are a combination of Jason’s camera, our point and shoot camera, and there are even a few from a cell phone camera 🙂 .

It was our daughter’s first time in the snow and she was excited to grab a handful and check it out!

She soon learned that it is better to wear gloves when picking up ice and snow.

We arrived that evening to visit family near DC.  We were all so excited to see Grammy and Grandpa!  The kids ran right up and there were lots of hugs.  When they went inside, there were toys all over the place waiting for the kids!  Not only did they get to play with all the toys, but they also helped put together the Nativity set and decorate the tree.  There were even personalized ornaments for each of us!  Then the kids got to open a present from Grammy and Grandpa.  It was fun to share in some Christmas traditions with them.

Before we left for the hotel, even though it was dark the boys had to go out to playing in the snow.  And the snowball wars began!  They are throwing those at me and at their aunt as we hide behind the bushes and cars!

The next morning we were back at Grammy and Grandpa’s.  After breakfast Grammy had the boys bake and decorate Christmas cookies with her.  I don’t think she knew what she was in for when she handed them tubes of icing and a giant shaker of sprinkles!  She still tried one out when the boys were done thought.  Our boys were snacking on raisins as they worked and those soon ended up on cookies too.  Grandpa wasn’t easily convinced to try an icing and raisin cookie with sprinkles but the boys got their aunt to try one out.  She said it wasn’t too bad!

In between baking and decorating, the kids went downstairs to play pool and to golf.

That afternoon we met up with more friends and family.  It was wonderful seeing everyone!

That evening we went to Mass at the church where Jason and I were married and then we spent our last night there at Grammy and Grandpa’s snuggled on the couches watching the movie A Christmas Story all together as a family.  There was snow outside and home made apple pie and hot chocolate to enjoy.  All the chaos leading up to the vacation was far from our minds.  It was exactly the kind of night we had in mind when we pictured a vacation just before Christmas, and it made everything worth it.  Thanks to Grammy and Grandpa for a terrific time!

Our time in NYC and Vermont, and the wonderful sessions Jason photographed in NYC, are still to come!  Be sure to keep checking the blog for lots of updates this week!