The kids' most requested Christmas tradition is that we fly to Oklahoma for all of my husband's family's many Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions. With airfare over $500 a ticket now, it's becoming a very expensive tradition to keep, so we may have to drive the 24 hours it takes each way next year or just fly out there during the summer when airfare is cheaper. After experiencing so many travel mishaps (delays, cancellations, lost luggage, stranded at DWF airport on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, etc.) over the years, we decided to start only flying Southwest. Since then, we have enjoyed entertaining flight attendants, in flight snacks, and smooth travels. We're so thankful for yet another year of no weather related mishaps. The flights were bumpy, but the planes were large and handled it just fine. The layovers were short and only a few gates down from our arrival gates, so traveling could not have been much smoother. (Gift #860)
Our daughter was quite the traveling diva in her new hat, new boots, and
new sweater from Nana.
She also wore a charm bracelet that once belonged to my
late grandmother. She had collected charms from around the world during
their many travels, so my daughter is now fascinated by this great
grandmother of hers she never got to meet.
We discovered the world's best bagels at a little dive in St. Louis airport. (Gift #861) The Great American Bagel and Bakery also has a shop in the Tulsa Airport. Their blueberry crunch bagel fresh out of the oven with homemade cream cheese was so good my husband and I both dreamed about it. Now that we have tasted those bagels, Panera is no longer good enough.
Our son left his beloved tablet on the plane, so as soon as we found out, we filed a claim for it. We doubted we would ever see it again since tablets are hot items for thieves, especially right before Christmas. As much as I have had to punish that boy for abusing his screen time limit and then lying about it, I could care less if the thing was never found, for I certainly would not be replacing it. It's a thorn between the kids and me as it can be so addictive for them. But leave it to Southwest to find it, open it up, find his log in name on the front screen, and hunt us down so we could come get it. They called us at home and on our cell phones all before they ever saw our lost item report. Kudos to Southwest for their honesty and diligence. (Gift #862) This photo above shows our son right after Grandpa had fetched it from the airport for him.
Grandma always decorates elaborately for Christmas. (Gift #863) Her artwork alone is breathtaking. Since I've already blogged about her art pieces in years past, here are a few new glimpses around the house. I loved her new "test tube" style flower vase, and the way she used a beach pic of the kids to make it look like the kids were swimming in the fish tank. She is so creative!
They gave us their master suite as they always do (Gift #864) because I have a bad back, and the guest room mattress hurts my back. They are so generous to give us that room especially after they just replaced the shower and tile floors. The shower has a door size window in it which she has always covered with a shower curtain. This year she had a stained glass she designed and built installed into the window frame. It is magnificent to behold and makes even something as simple as taking a shower feel inspiring. (Gift #865)
They also replaced all the carpet in the house with really nice hardwoods (unlike the cheap ones the builder put in our house), repainted all the walls, had the fireplace cleaned and refinished, and installed really cool glow-in-the-dark kitchen back splash since we were there last year. It was all so lovely.
The view from the master bedroom windows of the pond is so pretty and tranquil. It did my heart good to gaze out those windows each day. (Gift #866)
She has added more collages of the boys during their childhood to the hallway walls. I thought the one shown above of my husband in a sailor outfit she made herself in 1976 for the U.S. bicentennial was cute, especially considering that when I met my husband he was wearing a navy uniform.
We love warming ourselves by their 17 foot tall, very wide, cozy, real wood burning fireplace. (Gift #867)
My brother-in-law designed and built this 10 foot wooden Christmas tree. Family members are allergic to pine needles, and Grandma does not like artificial trees, so she compromised with a real wood geometric tree. It looks so lovely in front of those large windows which make the walls look like crosses.
While we were in Oklahoma, Muffin spent the rest of Christmas week with my parents at their house. They sent me these cute pics so I would know that Muffin was alive and well and getting the royal treatment from the grands. She came home a bit spoiled, just as the kids do after visiting their grandparents. We're so thankful they were so willing to take in our rodent pet. (Gift #868)
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