Christmas 2008

For Christmas this season (2008), it was Jon's turn to spend the holiday with his family. All three boys and their significant others were home for Christmas this December. So, it was a special time for his parents to enjoy their family being all in one room.

Jon and I spent the majority of our Christmas break in Colorado. We (Jon, myself, and Daisy) packed ourselves in a rental car with Chris, Kim, and Sebastian (Jon's brother, his wife, and their dog) for the 9 hour drive through Kansas and into Colorado. When we packed the car early Monday morning (December 22), the wind chill was below 0. Every rest stop, we would take the dogs for a quick "potty" and hop bac

k into the car. Sebastian was afraid of the strong wind and didn't care for the cold temps. along the way. He held his bladder for at least two stops...we were getting a little nervous because he didn't want to "go." No "potty" accidents to report, however.

While in Denver, we obtained the 2004 Pontiac Montana that Jon's dad bought for us at an auction two weeks prior. Lots of electrical work had been done behind the dash and the carpets had been cleaned. Nevertheless, since it was a well-used rental car in its past life, there was still more work to be done. Jon spent half his break tinkering with little things here and there.

Oh! I forgot to mention a Pontiac Montana is a mini-van. And no, we are not have kids yet. :) It just happened that way when Jon's dad was bidding at the auction. We'll probably end up using it like a truck for a little while. It'll be handy down the road when we do have kids, though.



While in Colorado, we had the opportunity to see some of the state's beautiful mountains. The weekend after Christmas, Jon's dad (being a district superintendent) took us all up to Glenwood Springs for church on Sunday. Since there was no current pastor, he filled in and gave a sermon. We drove up the night before and enjoyed dinner at a little quaint Italian restaurant in the basement of some building. I think the name of the restaurant is Italian Down Under. For the night, we stayed in the vacant church parsonage, which happens to be located up on a hill overlooking the little town. I couldn't get over how beautiful the scenery was. I was ready to pack up in Kansas City and move to the mountains! Ha!

Following our arrival back in Denver, Jon and I began the daily work-out routine with his parents, who were able to get us free visitor's passes at their local gym, Fitness 19. This got us started on a regular fitness routine which we are more or less keeping up with back here in KC. We'll see how long it lasts.

At the conclusion of the week, we celebrated Carol's (Jon's mom) birthday and began to pack the van for driving 9 hours back home. We left at 5 am that Friday and arrived in Kansas City around 4pm.

It's amazing how 2 week vacations feel long and short all at the same time. Now, Jon and I are back at work and back in our routine.