January 2, 2005

Christmas Vacation Debriefing

We returned from Christmas vacation in Alabama a couple days ago. I’m pretty sure our car was sagging the entire 700 mile trip from Alabama to Fort Worth because of all the toys from the grandparents. Thankfully, we didn’t have to let the air out of the tires in order to get the car and rooftop cargo carrier out of the garage like we did last year. Since so much happened, I’ll tell it in little bite sized chunks:

In Wagarville
(About 40 miles north of Mobile where my parents live)

1. Convinced Pres, my boss and friend, to let me off work a day early on Wednesday, Dec 23rd, barely outrunning icy storm that was coming. My boss left a day after us, and he wasn’t so lucky. His car spun out of control and rolled over somewhere in Arkansas, but they weren’t hurt bad.
2. Shivered. It was cold, cold, cold up until the day after Christmas. We missed the hay ride that my dad had planned, we missed a hunting trip, and we had to stay inside most of the day.
3. Watched deer feed under the light each evening.
4. Tasted my parent’s homemade wine.
5. Watched The Return of the King with my dad, the extended version of course.
6. Spent quality time with my dad and my mom, and enjoyed watching them bond with Caleb.
7. Was given an old school desk that my dad found and refurbished…for Caleb of course.
8. Ate too much good food.
9. Felt like crying when we had to leave because we live so far away.

In Dothan

We met Tiffany’s sister, aunt, uncle, grandmother, cousins, and cousins’ boyfriends at Ruby Tuesday the day after Christmas. It was the best we could do with everyone’s tight schedule, but it was definitely nice getting to see all of them. Tiffany, Caleb, and I sat at the "adult side" of the table, so we have no idea what kinds of commotion was going on down on the other end of the table.

In Tallassee
(About 25 miles northeast of Montgomery where my in-laws live)

1. Enjoyed seeing Caleb stockpile more toys.
2. Met Kayla’s new boyfriend Will.
3. Caught and ate a few catfish. Okay I caught one catfish, Will caught one, and Tiffany’s granddad Clyde caught five. He had home pond advantage.
4. Learned to like coffee.
5. Saw The Aviator and Meet the Fockers.
6. Witness Caleb’s passion for ATV’s and tractors.
7. Loved seeing Caleb enjoy the outdoors so much and bond with the family members
8. Ate too much good food.
9. Felt like crying when we had to leave because we live so far away.