here there and everywhere

--shamefully overdue...and therefore lacking in appropriate detail as well. apologies upfront.

--we have multiple travel stories from the last part of last year, and had a grand ole time. first we drove down to mobile for thanksgiving. we left after work on a tuesday night and drove straight through. took 15hours give or take...which was excellent time. i find i like to drive in the middle of the night...children are generally quiet (read asleep) and other drivers are usually seasoned travelers (read non-retarded/aggressive, so long as it's not a drunk night...so tuesdays work perfectly.)

--we got home at 4am central time...just in time for about an hour of sleep for me before children were ready to be awake. i managed to squeeze an extra half hour of "rest" while they played quietly...haha...in our room before it was necessary to let them out. i'm embarrassed to say that i honestly cannot remember what we did that day, minus some prep work for thanksgiving dinner.

--thanksgiving was in lucedale as it has been as long as i can remember. the kids had a blast playing with my cousins, eating more than humanly possible, going on adventures in the pasture to the pond, and hugging on animals. i spent my time catching up and enjoying the company and conversation of my wonderful family.

--friday was the iron bowl day (alabama/auburn game for the non sec-fans)...or cookie making day...depending on who you were to ask. chuck and emily and i watched the ballgame while aidan and sierra made and decorated cookies with li-li. after the unfortunate outcome of the game and a wonderful dinner, we trooped over to our cousins' house and took them with us to bellingrath gardens to enjoy the christmas lights. it seemed to be a shorter walk/smaller display than last year, though they add lights every year, so i contribute that to the fact that both of my children were on their own feet and couldn't help but break into a run occasionally when accosted by so many lights, long winding paths to explore, and cousins.

--bright and early saturday morning we started our journey home, after a nice breakfast with my dear friend jay at cracker barrel. that day we drove to athens to visit aunt carroll and uncle larry. emily met us there as well later that day. kiddies were treated to experiences such as throwing pumpkins off the pier, rides in spinning chairs, remote helicopter flight shows, and a hissing kitty cat. our drive home the next day was to take 10hours...and ended up taking nearly 14. holiday traffic was ungodly terrible! but we made it home and had a great trip.

--two weeks later, aunt emily and pawpaw came to virginia beach for a miller-fied christmas. they took aidan and sierra to the movie "tangled" while i went to a baby shower, we went christmas shopping, kids got to meet santa claus, pawpaw and aidan put together and flew a remote helicoptor, and aunt emily and aidan put together a lego spaceship. everyone had all kinds of fun that weekend.

--they even got to watch my volleyball finals...which we won...yea!

--the next weekend, aidan and sierra went to new jersey for ten days with their dad to visit grandparents and aunts/uncles. they had a blast and got waaaaay too many toys and clothes, that it has taken us nearly this long to get them all down to virginia and find places to store them. :)

--while children were otherwise occupied, i took advantage of the fact that my cousin jason would be in mobile for the family christmas party, and that i wouldn't have to buy three plane tickets, to fly to mobile. emily and i went shopping during the day then helped prep for the xmas party at my mom's house. i hadn't been to the family party since 2002, and hadn't seen jason since long before that. and i have no shame in admitting that when i finally did see him, i actually had tears in my eyes...and i don't generally do stuff like that. now that it's in writing and on the internet, my stone-cold facade will have been shattered...darn. anyhow, it was great to see everybody again, and those that i hadn't seen at thanksgiving, and to see the change in family dynamics as my cousins have grown up and joined the adult side of our gatherings.

--the next weekend was christmas. it was very very quiet and very very weird. i was trying to figure out what i used to do before children, as i didn't really have anything urgent to take up my thoughts and time and energy besides working all week. on christmas day, i went to my friend susan's house for dinner which was really nice.

--the kids came home on tuesday, and on thursday we drove to north carolina after work. my mom, stepdad (chuck), his mother (frances), my sister (emily), her boyfriend (jordan), my step sister (meredith), and her fiancé (mauricio) all met in boone for the new year. we stayed in an awesome cabin in the mountains. friday we left the grandkids with the grandparents and went snowboarding. it was my first attempt, and i think i (almost) did rather well. there were no green slopes to speak of, so learning (read falling) took place on the blues. i got the hang of the snowflake thing but managed not to be able to choose a lead leg, and so in switching back and forth, i fell quite a lot. when i did choose a lead foot, i'd end up catching the front lip of the board and bouncing on my knees. not cool. volleyball-wrecked knees don't much appreciate that, and i therefore perfected the art of the bellyflop in order to save them. :) we had a lot of time for hanging out that weekend, watched some football, played some games (including dirty santa), and had lots of yummy meals. we even did an early birthday party for aidan.

--so, that was our holiday season in a nutshell. good times had by all. indeed.