There's No Place Like Home for The Holidays . . .

Which is why my family goes somewhere else. For the past few years, my parents have started taking everyone to a weekend away instead of buying us presents (of course, the grandkids still get plenty). It cuts down on some of the stress of finding beds for everyone and orchestrating meals and activities. So, this past weekend we were at a hotel with a water park in Okoboji.

The boys had a great time with FarFar & FarMor, uncles & aunts, cousins and Bella (my sister's dog & Nils' favorite cousin it seems). Really, they could get by without getting any presents, but of course people buy for them. Just to make our job of teaching them that Christmas isn't about the presents, it seems. But of course, the boys enjoy the gifts (they've been wearing the new clothes, reading the new books and playing with the new toys nonstop), and we can't take away from others the joy of giving. It is fun to watch kids open presents.

We drove back yesterday on the edge of a major blizzard system. Thankfully the DOT websites weren't accurate--the roads were fine. And now its back to real life: washing clothes, putting things away, serving coffee (not me, but Beth's doing that today). It's too bad we can't spend more time in the celebration and revelry of the holidays. Of course, maybe these short times together help us appreciate and want to be with our family a little more.