I am so glad that the holidays are finally over! We have been so busy December and January with holiday plans with our family and friends. I thought I'd make a post to talk to you guys about them and tell you all about our amazing, but busy, 2014-2015 holiday season!
This year, the kids had a 2 week winter break. Their last day of school was December 19th, and they went back January 5th. I was glad that both the high school, middle school, and elementary school all had the same time off so we could be together as a family! Since I work twice a week, I only had two days off, but I took another 2 personal days off the next week so I could be with the kids and not have to call in a babysitter for all 6 kids! Jeff had off for just one week, which I am so glad that we could all spend quality time with him.
Our first christmas dinner was December 20th, with my mother's family. My mother has 5 siblings, and they all live in Delaware. My parents live in Florida. The 19th we flew out to Delaware and stayed at my aunt Linda's house. She has a huge house, and her kids are at college, so it was so nice of her to let us stay with her! The next day we had a big family christmas lunch at my uncle Todd's house. It was a blast because the kids loved seeing some of their second cousins that they never get to see! It was slightly stressful to me because Emery was very clingy and wouldn't let anyone hold her. Nolan, on the other hand, I didn't see all day because he was just getting passed around and was absolutely fine with it! We stayed in Delaware until the 22nd, just enjoying time with my family!
We got back to California on the night of the 22nd, and we had a nice day with just our family the 23rd. We have traditions of opening one present on the night before Christmas Eve, and the kids look forward to it every day! We try to spend quality time with our kids every year during the christmas season, because christmas, to me, is about love and family.
Christmas Eve we went to Jeff's parents house for the day with his siblings. It is an all day affair, brunch at 10am and we usually end up staying until around 9pm! The day can sometimes feel long (especially with 6 kids to watch) but its always so fun. I love Jeff's family just as much as my own biological family! Christmas day we always spend the day just around the house opening presents. It was so relaxing after a lot of traveling, so just stay in for the day!
For the second week of Christmas break, we went to Florida to be with my parents and my siblings! We always do our Christmas with them in Florida ever since we have been living in California. I love my parents Florida house, and it was great going back there because we haven't been there since I was pregnant and gave birth to Emery and Nolan! I can't believe that that was almost a year ago!
The kids started school again on the 5th, but our christmas festivities weren't over yet. The 10th to 11th we went to Washington state to visit Jeff's family. There was a big get together with his mom's side of the family. Again, the kids had fun seeing their second cousins, but it was just difficult because they were just getting back to school and then we had to go away again! The kids actually missed school the 15th and the 16th of January, because we went to Nevada where my dad's family lives! As you can tell, our family is very spread out across the USA. We had a big winter get together with his family, as we do every year. The kids look forward to this every year, and I have to admit, so do I! When I grew up in Florida, I was really close to my dad's side of the family, because they originally lived in Florida with us. They do only live a few hours from us now, but its so hard to find time to travel lately!
Our last get together was this past weekend. We had a party with our small group, at our house this time! I love decorating the house and preparing for parties, but its just pretty hectic and stressful at times to get the house all cleaned up and looking "perfect" for the guests! I love hosting, though!
I am so glad that all our festivities are over and done with! I'm not saying that I don't love the christmas season, its just that its crazy for us and I'm excited to get into a routine now that the kids are back at school. :)
