Christmas 2013 (part 2)

Waited too long to finish my story so I've probably lost some details, but you'll get the gist of it.

My hubby had to work Thursday and Friday after Christmas, but the kids and I were able to stay at my parents. Mom works at an insurance company and needed some help with her computer updates, so she asked if I could come into town to fix things. Roughly 5 hours later, updates were complete. Things that weren't working before started working now! Sadly, mom called me last week that things that were working before weren't working anymore so she was going to have to call the computer guy across the street to come figure things out for her. So, while I was working on the computer, my dad and the kids played Scrabble JR and Hangman and then he took them back to the farm for lunch.

Friday turned out to be a nice day, so after lunch we got bundled up and went out to play in the snow. The wind outside the shelter of the yard was too much for us to want to go to the Old Mill sledding, so dad, being an awesome Grandpa, decided to get out his tractor and build a snow pile beside the barn so we could sled off the roof of the barn! Since the pile was fresh, it was challenging getting up and down the hill, but the kids and I had fun trying! Later that night, my little brother, his fiance and the twins came out to exchange a few gifts. It was fun to spend time with them too. My hubby made it back up, too. I was able to convince my mom to help me make lefse that afternoon and we made Swedish Meatballs for supper.

Saturday the kids and I took Daddy outside to see the kittens (now about 7 months old) and sled down the hill. We had such a good time trying to see who could sled the farthest. That evening I convinced my dad to get out his slides from his years in the navy (1965-69). Galen set up our camera on video and recorded my dad telling his stories. The kids loved seeing the big ships and the pretty sites. Dad spent most of his time stationed in the Mediterranean, so there were pictures from Spain, Greece, Italy, Malta, Pompey, The Rock of Gibraltar and even a few from a short leave to Scotland and Germany.

Sunday we slept in, had lunch, packed up and said our good-byes. On our way home, Galen called his folks and made plans for us to go out to their house on New Years Eve. He also convinced them to set up their slide projector and watch slides from their Newlywed days.

This is what the Holidays means to me. Time with family. Creating memories. Re-creating memories with our kids. Every year I get to share a little bit more of my childhood with my kids as they get old enough to appreciate them. And someday they'll be able to share them with their kids.