Anticipating that this would be the case, I actually made a list of things I wanted to do while we were all together. Since we had all the ingredients for a wonderful time, I didn't want to waste it just sitting around, or worse, get to the end of the week and realize that we could've done something awesome if we'd thought of it earlier. I am happy to say that the list was a success! Here are the highlights:
- Christmas carols around the piano -- As per tradition, I played while everyone sang, but this year we had the added bonus of Big Tuna and The Black Belt each offering their own solo performances.
- A Muppet Christmas Carol -- A family tradition for The Black Belt to watch this on Christmas Eve, so we stayed up late and watched on YouTube after everyone else went to bed.
- Geocaching -- A new adventure for most of us, and one that my mom had been talking about trying for a while. Armed with our GPS, Big Tuna took us out to our first location. And within 10 seconds, my DAD announced that he'd found it. We were all dumbfounded. Buoyed by our quick success, we headed off to the second location. Just as we arrived, so did the worst thunderstorm of the year. We decided we'd had enough geocaching for the day.
- The Alamo & Cafe Rio -- A return to my most frequent field trip destination from my elementary years, and a brush-up on our Texas history was certainly on the agenda for our newest citizen, The Black Belt. Having dinner at Cafe Rio afterwards made it even better. (We also faced a near tragedy, though, when two SUVs decided to run a red light and almost kill my husband. Luckily, something made him pause before taking another step, so they just missed him.)
- Breakfast with Grandmother -- As a belated birthday present, The Black Belt and I took Grandmother to IHOP for breakfast, just as she and Granddaddy did for me every year for my birthday when I was a kid
- Sea World -- I have wanted to go back to Sea World for YEARS! Every trip home, we thought about it but never did it. Too far, too expensive, too much other stuff to do. This year, Mom surprised us with tickets, so one sunshiney morning, the three of us headed off! It was exhausting to hike back and forth across the park, but it was totally worth it to see The Black Belt get to play with his favorite animals, the dolphins.
- San Antonio Temple -- We like to schedule a session at the temple when we go home to visit, so we included that over the holiday as well. It's always nice to be there as a family.
- The Gods Must Be Crazy II -- What can I say? I love this movie. And The Black Belt hadn't seen it! Done.
- Bowling -- The Black Belt and I have wanted to go bowling since we started dating, mostly because we both claimed to be absolutely terrible. I correctly guessed that I was getting hustled, because he sure did a lot better than I did. However, I got my first (and second!) ever STRIKE! They helped make up for all the gutter balls.
- Adobe Cafe -- of course we had to go there. It's my favorite restaurant.
- And finally, our Sound of Music sing-along -- I got this idea when my sister and Big Tuna were getting to know each other and have wanted to do one ever since. So, for New Year's Eve, The Black Belt and I, along with my parents, went to my grandmother's house and spent the evening singing along with Fraulein Maria, Captain von Trapp, and all seven children. Best New Year's Eve ever!
2 comments:
And don't forget Wii bowling. That totally rocked.
That sounds like an absolutely wonderful Christmas! And you got to have thunder, too? What could be cooler? Did you know that "The Sound of Music" is one of my favorite movies? I love how romantic and sweet and beautiful it is. And our family loves bowling, too. We went bowling over our "Christmas," when Mom and Jim came out in January to celebrate with us. I did better this time. I'll tell ya, though - and this is absolutely true - that once I actually did so badly that I got an ELEVEN. Really. And I was trying to bowl.
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