- Twelve hours in the car to my parent's house (almost to the minute). It was a little less getting home and we would have made even better time getting home if we hadn't run into some wicked fog.
- Eight adults, 9 kids (8 of them 6 and under), 2 dogs (one an 8 week old puppy) and lots of visitors.
- Only a few coughs and colds, and one fever.
- First Daughter declaring "I don't want to be safe!" Oh, so true!
- Over 150 pictures (not counting the ones on First Son's new camera).
- First Son's first college basketball game. He watched half (which we thought was pretty good) and spent the rest of the game engrossed in a handheld "educational" game.
- Christmas celebration with Kansas Mom's extended family and even a few additional visits, including one amazing aunt and uncle who arrived with homemade applesauce, apple butter, salsa and whole crushed tomatoes...and venison jerky!
- A generous cousin and her family who arrived for a visit with their X-Box 360 and Rock Star game, much to the delight of First Son and First Daughter.
- Miserable weather - icy roads and bitter cold that even kept us housebound on Christmas (no mass for the second year in a row).
- Many thanks for the whole house generator that kept us going for at least 18 hours straight one day (and a few times on other days), even if the carbon monoxide alarms did go off. (At least we know they work! And the kids were thrilled with the visit from the volunteer fire department.)
- Kansas Dad and I had a wonderful dinner with some high school friends of mine and then had the opportunity to try out the Wii for the first time. I got a strike at bowling! (So did Kansas Dad.)
I couldn't possibly say how wonderful a time it was, especially for me. It has been a year since I was home and it's safe to say I'll be homesick for a few days yet. I hope you all had as marvelous a holiday as I did!
