Ramblings of a Wife and Mother: Wagner Christmas

Our days with family in Melbourne, Florida were busy and full of fun. A bunch of the family came over to hang out at Mimi's house that Friday night that we arrived. Caleb and Ethan had a lot of fun running around and playing with their cousin Chase (who is one year older than Caleb). Saturday morning, Marcus slept in as late as he could, and then headed off to the shooting range with his brother Mike. The boys and I spent the morning at Mimi's house and then all three of us went down for early naps (thanks to the late night and travel the day before). All four siblings (along with spouses and children), converged on Mike & Gigi's house around two Saturday afternoon to open presents and eat together.

The kids were very excited about presents this year. A couple of adult elves helped put all the presents in piles and then we let the kids take turns opening their presents. All of the kids did a great job stopping after each present and thanking the giver with a hug and a kiss. I was very happy to see their excitement and gratitude for each gift. Our boys enjoyed a shower of Imaginext Batman toys as well as several new Lego sets. They also each got a new bike (Caleb got the 18-inch bike I promised him at Thanksgiving and Ethan got Caleb's 14-inch bike.) Aunt Traci and Aunt Gigi cooked the traditional Wagner holiday meal: ham omelet, sausage balls and several delicious desserts. Around 6:00 pm, Mimi took Caleb and Chase, the oldest cousins, for a special treat: they went to see A Christmas Carol performed at a local theater. Aunt Wendi and Joel also went to the play. After Aunt Traci took Maddie home for bed, I followed suit and took Ethan back to Mimi's house and put him down. The Daddies stayed up late at Mike's house, intending to play PS3, but Mike's game system was out of order, so they had to revert to the dark ages and just hang out and talk :)

Sunday morning was worship at Marcus's home church, and then lunch at Jason's Deli with the whole family. After lunch, the four men (i.e. big boys) piled into one car and headed to Orlando to watch a movie together, while the ladies took the five kids to their various homes for nap time. After naps, Mimi, the girls and the kids piled into the Mimi-mobile and Aunt Gigi's car and headed to Orlando to meet the guys at a very cool restaurant in downtown Disney called T-Rex. Aunt Traci and Aunt Gigi were kind enough to get there before the rest of us and wait in line so our party of 14 could be seated shortly after arriving. I was especially grateful for that, because it ended up taking us almost two hours to get there. (Thanks to a gas stop, an emergency potty stop for Caleb, a slight wrong turn, and a LOT of traffic.) The kids loved the T-Rex experience, though, and we topped the evening off with some playing and browsing at the huge LegoLand right next to T-Rex. In spite of the cold, all had a great time, and we had to drag the kids back to the car around 9:00 pm for the trip home. I so hoped that the kids would fall asleep on the drive, but apparently being in their cousin's car seats and in their Mimi's van was just too stimulating, and they both stayed up the WHOLE way.

On Monday morning, Mimi, Marcus and I took Caleb and Ethan to the elementary school where Mimi works so they could ride their bikes and play in the park. Aunt Traci, Uncle Josh and 18-month-old Maddie joined us there. It had finally warmed up a little on Monday, so we all enjoyed some time outdoors before meeting the rest of the family at Makotos, everyone's favorite local Japanese restaurant. By this point in the trip, I was at my wits end with occupying little boys at restaurants, so I was more than happy to accept Mimi's ever-ready iPhone entertainment :) Monday night, Mimi volunteered to put our kids to bed so that Marcus, Wendi, Traci and I could go see the latest Narnia movie in the the theater. Marcus had a Rave gift card from one of his bosses, so we splurged for the first time in our lives and bought popcorn and a soda at a movie. It was very exciting :) The movie was great, and we came home to two sleeping boys and one happy Mimi. (It is pretty awesome when you get to come home from a date to a babysitter that was so happy to get to watch your kids that you feel like you did her a favor.)

Tuesday was our final day in Melbourne. Uncle Mike & Aunt Gigi had to work and Aunt Wendi and Joel had already headed back to Birmingham, so the rest of us spent the morning at the Melbourne Zoo. Marcus had to leave us for a job interview around noon (and accidentally took my car keys with him), so the rest of us had to do some creative car juggling to get everyone to Crispers for lunch time. Aunt Traci saved the day by running around to get me a set of keys and then going back to the zoo for my car while Mimi and I manned the kids at Crispers. After lunch, we all met over at Mike's so the kids could do their stocking scavenger hunt. Mimi abbreviated the stocking hunt this year because a couple of the kiddos were sick and all them were tired. Even with those cards stacked against them, the kids participated more than ever and thoroughly enjoyed the hunt (especially the boys). After the stockings presents were claimed and opened, the Mommy's took the kids home for bedtime and the big boys finally enjoyed their night of video games.

We said our goodbyes, loaded up the car, and hit the road again on Wednesday. We stopped in Gainesville for a park and dinner date with our good friends, Danny & Lauren Price (and their three kids). We lingered with our friends longer than we probably should have, and ended up pulling in our driveway just before midnight central time (which was 1:00 am "body" time).

Thanks for a great week, Wagner Family!