Christmas Vacation in CA ... and ID

So, as if life isn't crazy enough, we flew out of Indy on Thursday the 17th for a wedding in CA - yes it was on the 19th, 6 days before Christmas ... bless my brother and my new sister-in-law ... and actually, it was wonderful! I didn't have to do any crazy shopping, it was all done - shipped and sent long before we left, I didn't do any baking -we've been on that crazy diet until the day before we left and I didn't have time, the weather was just a bit warmer - enough to make us feel like we were really on vacation. And so, really it was wonderful to relax at the hotel pool,

let the kids swim everyday, dress up for a wedding and fabulous reception, see some great places in Sacramento, be with family from all over the world (literally - my brothers and sisters are scattered everywhere) finish J.D.'s stocking that I've been working on since our second child was born, drive to ID for Christmas at my parents and just enjoy the moment! In Sacramento there is an awesome Jelly Belly Factory with a free tour and an ALL YOU CAN EAT jelly belly tasting bar.

We also went to a Train museum that was beyond incredible - Big D walked around saying, "TRAINS, TRAINS, TRAINS!" over and over and over. (He's a little obsessed right now with them ...)They had the actual steam engines and cars that you could walk through. Someday I'd like to take a train ride across the country - J.D. rode them in Italy all the time on his mission. Something to add to my bucket list. My brother's new wife is absolutely darling - I'm so excited to have another great sister-in-law! Miss Lilly was in total awe, following her around the temple grounds and the reception. She even got a bouquet to hold at the reception like her new aunt and you'd think she was the one getting married, she was so delighted!

J.D. rented a car in Sacramento ... we thought we'd fit in a full size and it was cheaper. He ended up with a Dodge Charger! Ha! He loved every minute of it, I can still hear the elation in his voice and see the twinkle in his eye 'see, all the kids can fit in here'!

Once we got to Boise we made gingerbread houses with Uncle 'King James' (self proclaimed nick-name). I found a recipe for a village on the Canadian Living website: http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/other_crafts/make_a_christmas_gingerbread_village.php

and since we had extra hands (aka 'King James') I thought we'd try it - it turned out great and everyone had their own house to decorate, so we had a church, a school, a clock tower, a house and a stable. I always wonder in the middle of that insane activity why I do this every year, but then I hear my kids talk about how cool it is, their memories of it each year and then the mess, the stickiness and the craziness is all worth it.

The kids are loving every minute at Grandma's ... and this is such a great pic of Master S and Miss Lilly ... can't you just see the words 'while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads' written on this one? Love it ... nothing like the presence of pure and innocent 'believing' at Christmas time!