Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

Another one in the books and an eventful one it was. The Xmas week started out with us having my company Xmas party on the 21st. Mom and Dad Kehrt came down to babysit the kids for us, which was awesome. They had planned to stay both Friday and Saturday nights. We were planning on heading to Des Moines on Sunday the 23rd for the Stacey's family. We would stay the 23rd night and come home on the 24th so we could have our own family Xmas out our house on the 25th. So, we go to the party on the 21st and all goes as planned. I got pretty lit up, Stacey stayed sober and we got home safely. The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon did not look good, and by daybreak it looked as if the weather man was getting it right this time. Therefore Mom and Dad Kehrt wisely decided to bug out and get their hineys home on Saturday. Damn good thing they did cuz by the time they got home on Saturday, Ol' man winter was giving the Cedar Rapids area a solid ass woopin'. Here was the scene at my house on Sunday morning.

Now a mere 24 hours before that photo, that snowblower was Out of Operation. The weekend before we got a couple inches of snow. I got Josey's lead wrapped up in the auger cuz I didn't see it buried in some snow. Luckily, my dad did what dads do and he helped me fix it on Saturday before he headed north to beat the blizzard. Thanks again dad!

So this storm hit us on Saturday afternoon. Remember we were planning on heading to Des Moines on Sunday the 23rd. The map above shows road conditions on the 23rd in Iowa. The purple means 100% snow and covered with no services available. Sundays forecast called for temps in the single digits and 25 to 45 mph winds. There was no way in hell we were going to Des Moines. This didn't make some people happy, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I can't imagine going in the ditch with a 2 year old and 1 year old in the van. So it was tough-shit time, we were staying home. Turned out staying home wasn't so bad. It was great actually. We sat around on Saturday and Sunday and did absolutely nothing. R and R.

On the 23rd we got a call from the Schwartz's in Des Moines. This would be Stacey's parents and her brother Brian and sis-in-law Jen. They pretty much decided that if we weren't coming to them, they were coming to us. Perrrrfect. This way everybody's happy and it doesn't involve me driving to Des Moines. Selfish, yes, but I never said I wasn't. They showed up on the 24th. The road report they gave us only confirmed that we made the right choice to not put the girls in the car on the 23rd. Lot's of cars in the ditches. We made a feast fit for a king and opened a bunch of gifts. I made a nice glazed pork roast with potatoes and glazed carrots. The girls hit the Dora the Explorer and Fisher Price Jackpot. We ate, drank, and played games.

Ellen couldn't possibly have cared less about the gifts, but Mara really got into it this year. She loved tearing the paper and seeing what was inside. And then of course she "helped" anyone who needed help opening their gifts. The girls had so many gifts we had to open them in shifts. We also set out cookies and a soda for Santa. I wanted her to set out a beer for Santa, but decided that bordered on dysfunction. Santa and his brother-in-law Brian ate the cookies, but Santa traded the soda for a beer when nobody was looking.

On the 25th, Brian and Jen got up and took off while Grampa and Gramma S stuck around. We had our own family Xmas between me Stacey and the girls. Stacey made a pot of Chili and once again the girls hit the jackpot. All in all it was pretty ridiculous, but it was fun.

I gotta put this in here too. See, I've been wanting an iPod for years now, but have never been able to bring myself to buy one. I see them as luxury items that I can live without, unlike beer and bicycles. Therefore, my ass puckers up as tight as a drum when deciding whether to buy such items. My wife surprised me this year and got me the nano version, which was exactly what I wanted. Here's me getting it. Thanks baby!

Everybody had to go back to work on the 26th, but on the 28th we headed to Clear Lake in the afternoon for Xmas with my side of the family. The whole fam damily was gonna be there. I could tell my Mom was pumped. The weather got shitty again on Friday morning, but we were able to make the trip on Friday. This was our first Xmas in my parents new house. My bro Chuck was first on the scene with his family in tow. We arrived next at around 7 pm. My sister Sara and her new husband Bruce arrived around 10pm. There was plenty of room in the new house which is a stark contrast to the old house in Belmond. Bruce and Sara were kind enough to allow us to have Mara bunk with them so we would only have one toddler in our room, which was Ellen. Ellen is more likely at this point to wake up during the night and not want to go back to sleep, so we kept her. It was great to have everyone together. As usual, we snacked all day Saturday and had soup and ham for dinner. We opened gifts, and once again Ellen and Mara hit the jackpot. My dad gets a big kick out of giving new parents toys with lots of tiny parts to them. So, it was no surpise to me to get the 100 piece block set and another toy with lots of parts.

We all went together this year to get my dad a kayak. He's been wanting one for long time and now he has it. We had it hidden in the basement until it was his turn to open gifts. We made him close his eyes so he couldn't see until we put it on the floor in front of him. So he has his eyes closed and the room is quiet. He has no clue what we're doing at this point or what he's getting. Just then Mara breaks the silence. "ITS A BOAT!!!" she says. Hilarious. The gig was up at that point. I think he likes his kayak, and I plan to borrow my friend Ken's this summer to go out on the lake with him.

We hung out together on Saturday night and drank beer together. My family friend Cuddy stopped over with his wife Kim later. They're part of the family and it was nice to see them. My uncle Buck and Aunt Gayle stopped over along with my cousins Whitney and Brandon as well.

Sunday everyone took off and it was just us with my parents on Sunday night. It was a very relaxing night and Mom and Dad got some good one-on-one time with the girls.

New years was awesome too, but I've written enough for one night. I'll post about that later this week.