Four Christmases

Okay, so I've never actually seen the movie from which I've stolen my blog title. But it seemed appropriate, given this year's Christmas celebrations.

We started the Monday before Christmas. Kevin's sister and her boyfriend flew to DC to spend the holiday with Kevin's mom. So we all went out to dinner while Kevin and I were still in town, then back to my mother-in-law's place to open presents. Dinner was at an Argentinian steak house with excellent sides like fried plantains and cheesy rice. And presents were a lot of fun. Everyone basically exchanged books and board games which is my ideal gift exchange.

On Christmas Eve, Kevin, Connor, and I woke up way too early to fly to Colorado. We landed in Colorado as the sun was rising, to give you an idea of how long this day lasted. My mom picked us up at the airport and we went back to her place to rest and nap. Then it was time to head to her older sister's house for the huge family Christmas party. Everyone from our side of the family attends, as well as all of my aunt's in-laws. There's a big turkey dinner, a ton of catching up, and the most chaotic present opening you will ever see. After the party we went back to my mom's house for a much quieter gift exchange.

My mom has recently become enamored with Doctor Who, so we spent most of Christmas morning watching a Doctor Who marathon before heading over to her younger sister's house from Christmas brunch (at 2 in the afternoon) and the smaller family celebration (which was still bigger than our Thanksgiving dinner).

The next morning we woke up and drove down to my dad's girlfriend's house. We spent the day playing pinochle and Settlers of Catan, then enjoyed a delicious prime rib dinner. This was the only night that we needed no designated driver, and we took full advantage of that fact, breaking out moonshine and whiskey in addition to the typical wine and beer.

The rest of trip was spent celebrating my mom's birthday before we flew home on the 30th. It was a whirlwind trip, especially with a big dinner planned on nearly every night we were there. But it was a ton of fun to see everyone, including some family friends I haven't seen in years - this was Kevin's first time meeting them. I'm excited to go back in March. We won't be there any longer, but it will be nice to be back so soon and without all the craziness of the holidays.