Christmas in Chicago, Part 4

OK, so I'm not sure who even wants to still read about our trip to Chicago that was 3 months ago, but here goes.

The boys just adore my parents' little dog, Rimshot. They wanted to play with him a lot. My sister Danielle overheard Nathan tell the dog, "You're so adorable!" Nathan did have the habit of calling Rimshot "Jasmine" early on in our trip, a small dog that belongs to my friend Cheri.

Christmas was rapidly approaching and we got even more snow to play in. We bought some snow boots for the kids while we were there, which was much more expensive than I thought it would be. Target did not have cheapie boots. Bleh. We found some snowsuits/pants that would work at the Goodwill, which saved us some money. It helped keep the kids warm and dry.

I know I look ridiculous, but I was borrowing my mom's coat and boots since I didn't have anything really suitable for playing in the snow.
Danielle joined us outside.
My parents didn't have a sled of any sort, and I didn't think to buy a plastic one when we were out and about. So, a piece of cardboard it was!




Christmas morning arrived and we were all very excited. Food was being prepared in the kitchen and making the house smell delicious. Colorful presents were waiting under the tree. But most importantly, Danielle was completely unaware that her boyfriend was going to make a surprise appearance. He had given her a very lame excuse that he had to stay with his family Christmas Day, even though they didn't have a big family gathering happening that day in Wisconsin. Little did she know the scheme we cooked up...

Does your mother insist on keeping your childhood stocking and refuse to let you have it like my mom?

relaxing and waiting till it was time to open gifts

We were waiting for sister April and her family to arrive before we got started opening presents, which was the perfect method for stalling so that Sam could make the 2+ hour drive down. He and I were furiously texting back and forth that morning, trying to figure out how soon he'd be arriving. The night before I had quickly taken Danielle's cell phone when she wasn't around and gotten Sam's phone number out of it so I could text him and find out what his exact plan was.

It just so happened that April's family pulled up into the driveway just moments before Sam arrived. Danielle was downstairs on the computer and was in no hurry to come upstairs. Sam ducked into the house along with April's family, but we didn't have to worry since Dani was still downstairs. We couldn't believe we pulled it off!

She had made it very clear to us that she was sad that Sam wasn't here with her. She even posted on Facebook, "Danielle (Last Name) doesn't think she'll get what she really wants for Christmas this year. Siiiiiiiigh. If only someone lived a little closer....."

We were all gathered around upstairs, trying not to giggle, while Dani was deciding to put some Christmas music on. After what seemed like ages she finally sauntered upstairs while we all looked on expectantly. Raymond was armed and ready with the camera. Totally clueless as to why he wanted to take her picture, she gave a big grin.
And then....

She spotted him, sitting quietly on the couch in the corner of the living room.




Yaaaaaay! The little lovebirds were together again. :) (I'm not sure why it looks like baby Blake is about to fly through the air and tackle them in the picture above. But it is rather funny to me!) We were all very stoked that we had pulled it off without a hitch. She had no idea and didn't even suspect!

Rimshot didn't really care what was going on as long as people paid attention to him.
Now it was time for the presents!

Blake was enjoying his first Christmas.















It rained a lot on Christmas morning and melted away most of the snow.

I love this picture of my mom and Blake. So cute!

We had a great Christmas, eating good food and visiting. My mom and dad made the most delicious moist turkey I think I've ever had. My mom said the secret is roasting the turkey in one of those oven bags and it keeps the juices in. YUM! Even Raymond really liked it and he's not a big fan of turkey. My mom only made foods that were absolute family favorites, there was not one thing that was questionable or only okay tasting on the table. We all played Guesstures (the charades type game) together after our meal, teaming up boys against girls. We laughed so hard and had an awesome time! I think that is becoming one of my absolute favorite group games to play. I must own this game someday!

The rain turned into snow and the ground started accumulating gentle white snowflakes again...

to be continued, I promise to eventually wrap this up!