A Midnight Ride

In the last post I mentioned that we were doing a "bucket list" Christmas this year.  The last day brought a new surprise.  As the kiddos gathered Christmas Eve morning to open the last envelope, they all speculated what it would say.  Some of the guesses included; "Go to David's and have dinner and do the Nativity", "Play games and have steak and crab for dinner", and "Watch movies and track Santa on the computer".  They were all wrong!  Paige opened the envelope with three other sets of eyes looking on and read:

 

"Pack the motor home and go to Grandma Dunyon's for Christmas Eve!"

 

It was like watching a Disney commercial. They all stared at the card for a minute, then you saw the lights in their eyes turn on and the screaming with delight started.  I wish I had thought to video their reaction. It was priceless.

 

We packed, we drove, and tried to beat Santa to my mom's house.  We made it in time for dinner and a short message from Grandpa, then hurried into bed and awaited the big arrival.  Christmas morning came with squeals of delight, and we even managed to rouse my grandparents before 9:00 a.m.!  Of course my parents were up and showered before any of us knew it was morning...they are so good at this parenting thing! Being there brought back a ton of memories from Christmases past.  There is just something about being "home" for Christmas.

It was a beautiful day spent playing new games, riding outside in the beautiful sunshine, and eating.  Jeff and I try to surprise the monkeys every year, I don't know how we are going to top this one though!