Really good week

I'm really pretty fortunate.

Talk to me two years ago at this time, and I'd say I had a lot for which to be thankful.  And I did.  I also had a great deal to overcome.  A lot of things were pretty horrible.  Now I start 2013, and I think it is going to be a pretty good year.  Maybe it's more accurate to say that things have been going really well lately and I'm excited at the prospect of more to come.

So, what I really intend to write about is my vacation.  It was a great one, and I want to document a few of the highlights.  Selfishly, I admit this is more of a diary than a blog (in case you hadn't already noticed) and this post specifically I write in order to remember.

Mon, Dec 24 2012- Most unorthodox start to a Christmas eve I've ever had.  Spent the night in NW OH to visit some friends and then to be able to pick up my boys first thing in the morning.  I had them for a week, and I was excited to start Christmas.  Not before waking up at 4:30a for a 6a Bootcamp in Fostoria.  I was told wake up call was 4:50, so I was sure to be waiting behind the door with a Batman mask on to scare the shit out of my buddy.  Chuckles were had.  After a 2000's pop mix Bootcamp with a potentially scary drill instructor type, I packed up and brought my boys back home.  We swung by for Elizabeth and went to my parents' for Christmas eve.  It was a nice afternoon, eating, conversing, seeing my both my Grandmas.  We headed home early evening so the boys could get their first (and biggest) gift: bunk beds.  They were jazzed and begged to go to bed at 7a.  I took that as a high compliment.

Tues, Dec 25- I maaaay have awoken at 3:30a, unable to sleep due to the excitement of having my boys in the next room on Christmas morning.  I got them up at 4 with Eliz and we opened our stockings from Santa.  The room was lit only by our tree and my signature C7 color painted glass bulbs.  There is a certain beauty in the simplicity of stockings.  They had no big gifts to open at our place, but were so jazzed at the nerf guns, Uno cards, Bubble Tape, etc.  Awesome.  We headed to my parents bright and early around 5:18 and opened gifts.  Yes, there were a lot of great things given, Guitars, Bruce, record players to name a few.  The room was awash with gifts.  My mom is nuts.  My dad is nuts.  Love them.  We proceeded to "Miss Sherry's" house where Santa brought the super hero box filled with villains.  It was great getting to share Christmas day with both families and with the boys.

Wed, Dec 26th- I put on my Dad hat, and we had an organization day.  Every Christmas brings a whole new set of colored plastics to my house, and I usually purge quite a bit to make room for the influx.  I had my boys be part of the process, and to my surprise, they rose to the occasion.  We filled several large bags full of old toys that they chose to donate to those in need.  By midday, their room was organized, cleaned, and ready for play time.  We spent most of the day trying out new toys.  I'm here to say that after a week, they still kept the room clean.  Not bad for a 4 and 6 year old.  This evening we had Aunt, Uncle and Cousin over to see their room and play with the Hexbugs they got them for Christmas.  Capped it all off with a big family game of Uno.  Awesome.

Thurs, Dec 27th- I want to say this was the day we went out haha.  The weather was so snowy that we had a lot of days in.  I didn't mind.  After going to Costco and scoring some Winter boots 'n such, we went to lunch at Red Robin with my mom and one of my best friends from school.  It was great to catch up.  I miss him.  Later that afternoon, a snowman build at Uncle's turned bust, so we had a snowball fight instead.

Fri, Dec 28th- Another cleaning and playing day in.  Our house is in transition, lots of little projects :)  That night we had our final Christmas at my Grandma's house.  The kids were nuts, like kids should be when playing with cousins their age.  My personal highlight was watching them play with this crappy old ring toss set that I played with as a child.

Sat, Dec 29th- Um, kind of amazing.  I spent the morning helping Ray make a real Lego fire truck.  He did so much better than I was expecting.  In the early afternoon we went sledding with the family and some friends at my parents' house.  I didn't think the snow was right for it, but once we got a few runs in, it was perfect.  Despite a few temper tantrums, the boys had a blast.  Lack of sleds led us to inflate a queen sized air mattress for group rides down the hill.  We got about 8 runs before we intentionally crashed it into a bush, poking a rather large hole in the mattress.  We dried off and warmed up to soup, blankets, and The Avengers on a crazy high def TV.  I can't remember the last time we had the whole family together like that for a movie night.  It was just so cozy and nice.  Even my dad watched.

Sun, Dec 30th-  I was supposed to leave for a few hours to play music with some friends, but I couldn't bring myself to leave the boys.  We didn't do much.  Watched some shows, built more Legos, Eliz helped them make some plastic melting bead animal crafts.  It was just comforting to spend every last minute with them that I could before they were picked up.

And in a flash, they were gone.

It was one of the best weeks I've had in a long time.  A real vacation from work, surrounded by the most important people in my life.  It gives me hope for where I am.  Makes me happy, neigh, joyous for what I have.  I've got a really good girl in my life.  I've got two healthy, weird little boys, and I got to spend a week with them.  I've got two really good jobs.  I've got a lot of neat toys.  I've got a little hope where for a long time I've had none.