Christmas, The Other Parts

As per usual, we made the trek to North Carolina this Christmas. It took us some time to get ourselves packed and actually get out of town, what with two little ones and a sick-feeling husband and all, but we made it -- even despite the two hours it took us to go about ten miles when leaving Atlanta, all due to traffic (on a Saturday) caused by people trying to get to the Mall of Georgia. I have never been there, but it must be some mall to stop all lanes of traffic going north on 85. It got really interesting when we were stuck in the midst of it all and Elsa decided she needed to go potty. Thanks to Jarrett, we were able to unbuckle her quickly, get her underwear off, and get her into a Pull-Up. "Good idea, Daddy. Now I can go pee-pee in the Pull-Up."

We arrived at Kate and Tim's house in the North Carolina mountains around 11:30 p.m. the Saturday before Christmas. All in all, it took us about eight hours to get there and, all things considered, it really was not that bad. The girls did great -- sure there was some crying, and maybe even a little screaming on Elsa's part, but nothing that was unmanageable. Both girls were sound asleep by the time we got to Kate and Tim's, though Elsa had only conked out about 30 or 45 minutes from their house. While there, Aveline and I shared a bedroom, and Jarrett and Elsa shared a bedroom, which worked out pretty well. We had a wonderful time spending the four nights with our friends, Jarrett and Tim getting out a couple of times to fish and hunt deer (they caught fish, but no deer), and Kate and I (and Avie) getting out to run errands and enjoy a morning out for coffee, some window shopping, and lunch in West Jefferson.

On Wednesday after lunch, we headed down the road to Charlotte to stay with my parents for another four nights. Elsa was spoiled rotten, getting to open the items in her stocking there the first night (she did not seem too confused that Santa left her things there too), and opening a present nearly every other night leading up to our usual Christmas celebration on Christmas eve. My parents have started somewhat of a tradition, having some of their friends over Christmas Eve morning for a brunch, which is always nice. And the girls were just doted over even more. And we all actually made it to the Christmas movie this year, which amazed me. We saw The Muppets, which Jarrett and I thought was quite good (though I think Jarrett was even expecting more). Elsa got a little antsy toward the end, but seemed to enjoy seeing Kermit and Miss Piggy on the big screen. My parents thought it was so-so. And aside from a little crying upon arrival because she was ready to eat and a bit tired, as well as a bump on the head on one of the chair arms thanks to an ill-planned move on her Mommy's part, Avie did great and hardly made a peep, either nursing, sleeping, or watching the movie herself. We all had dinner out, and then my parents attempted to take Elsa to a children's service at their church, but it was apparently way too crowded. Once they came back, Elsa opened her remaining presents, the favorites being a piggy bank and an Olivia umbrella. Then, once the girls were in bed, us adults were able to relax and open our gifts.

On Christmas morning, we (meaning Jarrett, really) packed up the car once again, and we headed up to the High Point area to be with Jarrett's family, although sadly Bethany and Jonathan and his wife, Michelle, could not be with us, so it made for more of a quiet, low-key Christmas. We started off the celebration with Grandad Craven, Stephen, and Jarrett's mom at her house, and enjoyed a wonderful meal and present opening together. Elsa was, again, spoiled rotten, and racked up with things like a Disney book set and a Thomas set.

Later that afternoon, we made our way over to Jarrett's dad's and Susan's house for another celebration, and another lovely meal. And, again, Elsa was spoiled. This time she got some fantastic art supplies and book, as well as an incredible handmade tent.

We spent four nights in total with Jarrett's family as well, and were able to take advantage of having grandparents around. Elsa spent one afternoon over with Grandad and Grandma Susan, trying out her art supplies, visiting the neighbor's horses, and making and playing drums with Grandad. Then Elsa spent another afternoon with Grandmom, while Jarrett, Avie, and I did some after-Christmas shopping. She also let Jarrett and I go out on a date one night after the girls had gone to bed. We decided to go into Greensboro and see how things had changed, and enjoyed dinner at Lucky 32. It was fabulous.

The drive home went decently well too. We were certainly all ready to get out of the car and just be there already, but at least it was otherwise fairly uneventful.