A Recap with (tons of) Pictures

So as many of you may have read, my dad didn't go to Panama after all. He came here instead. And I love him for it. Especially because he could have been in the lovely weather of Panama (and I know it was lovely, as a family friend emailed me the day after my dad arrived here and told me the weather there in Panama had been beautiful for about 3 weeks), but instead came to the snowed-in Pacific Northwest! On the up-side, he did come to all of our rescue! My dad knows a lot about cars, and he knows how to finagle a situation and keep us safe. So, he got my mom's car off this hill, even without the snow tires. He helped me unpack my stuff from the gargage to get my mom's snow tires. And then he proceeded to spend around $250 on tire chains for everyone's vehicles. Because nobody was prepared for the weather that we got. Have I said before that my dad is like a hero sometimes? Because he is. And I love him. Of course, I didn't end up getting my requested 3 bags of platanitos. But I guess I'll forgive him... this time :).

And for the benefit of those of you who (like I was until now) have no clue what tire chains for the snow look like, I took a picture of the chains on my car. So, that's just an FYI. Also, you can't go over 35 mph with these on. But it's also a hassle to get in and out of the car to take them off and put them back on when you need them or don't. Ah, the joys of snow driving! But I will say that it was preferable to cabin fever.


So the week of Christmas was spent driving around a lot from house to house. We took my dad to surprise everyone house-by-house, and let me tell you... that was an adventure. Brad's road was solid ice. In fact, they would just slide down it on a little sled-like thing:


And ice and tires (even snow tires) don't really mix. So, we had to roll backwards and get to a flatter part of the road and then put the chains on. Christina was so surprised to see my dad, she cried. Poor thing. And then we went and saw Ben and visited with him too. So, Tuesday was a busy day. Wednesday I don't even remember what we did, but I know we saw family. On Thursday, Christmas, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Ernie came over for Christmas. Christina and Desiree and Emily also came over, since Nick had to work and she would've been alone all day. So, here's the bulk of the pictures of present opening:


Here are a few pictures of me with some of my presents:
Christina and Nick gave me an mp3 player (a 4 gig Zune):



Brad and Tarylyn got me Mama Mia! (but I didn't take a picture... shame on me!).

Julie gave me a beautiful bag with my initial embroidered:


Aunt Sue and Uncle Ernie got me warm cozy pajamas and socks:


And Le sent me Chinese plums and toe socks!! Which are totally awesome for flip-flop wearing :) :

Christina got Breaking Dawn from Nick, so I will eventually borrow that from her. So that means, in one way or another, I got 3 of the 4 things on my wish list. Surprisingly, there were no takers on the Toyota Yaris. But perhaps that's good. Seems I should reconsider and ask for a 4-wheel drive instead, as preparation for any future huge snowfalls.

We ended up having to wait until Saturday to do our whole family Christmas, because Brad and Tarylyn were pretty much trapped in their driveway until Friday. So, Saturday we all went to Brad and Tarylyn's and we had our family presents. And then we went to Sears and took our first ever family pictures. Both for the 6 of us (my parents, Ben, me, Brad, and Christina) as well as for everyone, including all the grandkids. And I totally love that Sears releases the copyright.



Monday was spent running my dad around to see everyone one last time, because he left early this morning :(. All in all, it was great. I'm so glad my dad came to celebrate Christmas with us and see Emily. And just to close with a shot of snow, here's a video of the crazy weather!