Christmas in Edgerton 2009-Part 2

Thursday morning we were supposed to head back to Sioux Center to have pictures of all the grandkids taken. However due to weather concerns and fears that our kids (especially Tyson) would go insane if they had to be in the car again, we decided it was best to stay in Edgerton for the day (sorry LaShawn!). Daci and her kids came over for part of the day, but left before the weather got too bad. Some churches were already canceling their Christmas Day services because of concerns for the snow and ice that were predicted to hit the area. We found out Darin's parents church was cancelled later that night.

Christmas morning we all got up and after a few calls were glad to find out that Grandpa Van was already out clearing their driveway and Uncle Randy, Aunt Jan and Orey would be free to join us since the rest of their kids were stuck in Iowa and Nebraska where the weather was much worse. We had a wonderful meal and found out that Tyson and Jori both LOVE ham. It was a pretty quiet Christmas Day with no church and not too many people out on the roads. That night the kids were thrilled to open some presents from Grandpa Rick and Grandma Karen.

Here's Grandma opening Rosa's new camera.

Jori hugging her new Little Mermaid towel and Tyson opening some Spiderman placematsHugs for GrandmaNew jammies for JoriTyson's new "doctor" shirt, complete with bloodstains!

Saturday morning came and we found out that the roads to Sioux Falls were closed. This was bad news for us because we had plans to go to a hotel with an indoor water park. We waited around for a few hours and then decided to take our chances and we left. LaShawn was held up for a bit because the weather by her was much worse than what we were dealing with. Thankfully we were all together by dinner time. Sadly, I have no pictures of our time at the hotel because our camera has been taking so many fuzzy pics that I didn't bother bringing it out to the pool. I will post some pictures once one of my dear in-laws passes them on to me : )

The time at the hotel was a lot of fun for all of us (ok, maybe not as much for those chasing children under age 2) and it was the perfect Christmas gift. Thanks mom and dad! We had been at this same hotel when Jori was 18 months. At that time, she kept falling in the kiddie pool and couldn't get herself back up. This time she was going down the water slide BY HERSELF! She did have on a life jacket and her cousins were there to pull her to the stairs, but still, what a difference 2 years make! Tyson loved being on his own and being one of the "big" kids. It is always fun seeing the kids play with their Uncle Israel and cousins and we are thankful for opportunities when our families can all be together.

Monday morning we headed back to Edgerton. We might have headed home that day, but the Vikings were playing that night and Darin COULD NOT miss the game. This was one time I was thankful for the Vikings because I wasn't ready to head home yet! Other than some throwing up (which later became a mini-epidemic) by Zachary we all spent a fun evening together. We left on Tuesday morning and I held a bucket on my lap the first 1/2 hour of the ride. At least 2 other family members (Brooklynn and Jordan) had gotten sick that night and I really had to practice mind over matter and tell myself that I was NOT sick.

Thankfully we made it home safely and without anyone tossing their cookies!