I haven't mentioned this yet, but we were travelling to Kansas on Christmas Day to visit family and celebrate my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary.

We finally sat down for a bit at 7 p.m. to eat a pizza we preordered online (yes, we are total geeks).

After that we were going to open Christmas presents, but realized that the laundry still hadn't dried yet. It looks like something happened to the dryer during all that moving around. This meant that Eric had to pack up all the laundry and take it to a laundry mat on Christmas Eve. Yep, just how we wanted to spend it. I don't think the attendents at the laudromat were too happy to see Eric, either. He played some arcade games while waiting and when he walked away from the games to check on the laundry, they were all shut off and unplugged.

Eric got home around 10 p.m. I was packing the clothes that were already clean while he was gone. We opened presents with our son, which was a ton of fun. Eric and I had decided not to get each other anything since the new kitchen was really our present to each other. We figured we'd be shopping after the new year to finish redecorating the kitchen anyway, so why buy stuff now?

Anyway, aside from a few gifts from friends and family, all of the presents under the tree were for Gabe. He was soooo excited to unwrap his new Thomas the Tank Engine Take-Along sets and his Craftsman tool bench (we thought this would be a good buy since he keeps trying to steal the workmen's tools). He also got a couple of train engines to go with the sets, an Etch and Sketch, a set of Hot Wheels cars, books, puzzles, and a few clothes. What a spoiled little boy!

Gabe didn't want to go to sleep since he had so many new toys to play with, but about midnight we decided he really should get some sleep. We had to be up at 5 a.m. to get to the airport on time. So, with his cars cradled in his arms, we put him to bed. Eric went to sleep, too. And me? Well, I had a few projects yet that needed finishing for that 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

So, when Eric got up at 5 a.m., I was still sitting at the computer working. A little bleary-eyed, but I figured I could sleep on the plane.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding?

We got to the airport and realized we should have taken a shuttle. All the long-term parking lots were full as were three of the privately owned parking spots we stopped at. It's a good thing we got there early by the time we parked (we paid an ungodly rate) and got to the terminal, we had about 45 minutes before boarding. Whew!

Once on the plane, I attempted to sleep, but my neck just doesn't fit in that position, so it was rather fitful. I got about 45 minutes sleep during the four-hour flight. Once in Kansas City, we rented a car and then drove another four hours to my father's house. We spent a couple of days there, in the middle of nowhere, and then went on to Manhattan. The rest of Eric's family was arriving on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The trip was wonderful! We don't fit the stereotypical bickering family. This trip was such a joy. We had a great time talking to my father and it's such a blessing to be a part of the Hoffman clan. I say clan because there was a total of 24 of us all together for the first time ever. It's the most that have ever been together since I've been part of the family. The closes was 17 a few years ago for my father-in-law's 70th birthday.