Ten Lords a Leaping

On the tenth day of Christmas, we drove. There isnt much that happened. We just drove and drove and drove.

Nine Ladies Dancing

On the ninth day of Christmas, we played DnD. First Jaime and I went to Village Inn for lunch with Jenna and Brett. It was good to see them one last time before they went back to Florida. It was also fun to go back and see that nothing has changed at all at Village Inn.

I went to pick up Ted and then we headed over to Neils. Neil arrived shortly there after and then Dan. We started our character sheets and Matt showed up. We got a couple good battles in and rolled some serious magical items. It was great to have a night with just the boys. The thing I miss the most about living in Phoenix is that we dont have any friends there. Sure Dan and the Tesos live just a couple hours away. Its not the same though.

Eight Maids a Milking

On the eighth day of Christmas, we ate tacos. First we went out to Muskegon to see Dans sister Carla at her new job. One of her friends opened up a fancy pants store and shes helping to run it. Its called Lee & Birch. Jaime got a couple shirts.

After we watched the Joy of Painting, we headed over to Neil and Bris. We ate many tacos. I managed to eat the square root this year. Dan ate the square root twice and was instructed by Raene to "take care of your butt." There was also a special surprise. Ted came home. It was great to see everyone again.

Seven Swans a Swimming

On the seventh day of Christmas, we relaxed. Jaime went out shopping with her mom. I went out to lunch with my dad. Dan and I hung out for a little while. We went out to dinner with Jaimes parents. Then Dan, Neil and I hung out. We went to Meijer for a late night sled and snacks run.

Six Geese a Laying

On the sixth day of Christmas, we went sledding. First we went to my dads for some breakfast and quality time. We exchanged presents and I got another Sears gift card. After we were done there we went to Jaimes grandmas house. We ate more food, exchanged presents, (I got a personal grooming set and another Sears gift card) and played some Catch Phrase music edition.

After we were done we had planned to go to Jaimes parents and have xmas with her brother and the gang but their little one was running a really bad fever so they took her to the hospital. Unable to open presents at that point we decided to move sledding up.

I rounded up Neil, Jenna and Brett and we went sledding. We only had a couple sleds so we decided to break in Raene and Rubys new sleds. And break them we did. Well, just Neil did. The one he was using cracked and was rendered useless. Fortunately this didnt happen until the last trip down the hill.

We went back home and Jaimes brother called to say they were on their way so we could open presents. Here I got a Visa giftcard, a light for my bike and a Get Fuzzy calendar. This concluded the family and gift exchange portion of Christmas this year.

Five Golden Rings

On the fifth day of Christmas, we opened presents. After breakfast we spent the morning and afternoon at my moms house opening presents and playing games. For some reason my mom had to go get some maps for the wall for dinner that evening. That just meant that we didnt have to spend as much time with here which was fine. Unfortunately, Brett decided to go with here so we didnt get to spend as much time with him either. With the exception of a chocolate letter and a wooden back scratcher, my haul was exclusively Sears gift cards, exactly what I wanted. After that was done we went back to Jaimes parents house in GR.

Four Calling Birds

On the fourth day of Christmas, we slept. We were awakened to the smell of bacon emanating from my mothers kitchen. We got up and ate a delicious French toast and bacon and coffee cake and eggs breakfast. We hung out with my mom and her husband until it was time to go to Holland for the first Christmas.

We went to GR to meet up with Jaimes parents and then the four of us headed out to Aunt Ruths house. On the way out it started snowing. It was beautiful. I had been longing for snow for over a year and there it was. Horray! The actual celebration was boring as usual. I didnt take part in the gift exchange. (I have enough $10 flashlights.) The food was delicious.

By the time we left the snow was really coming down. We were supposed to pick Jenna and Brett up at 945pm from Gerald R Ford Int and when we checked the flight was still on time. When we got to the airport it was really dark. It seemed like it was shut down and only the security lights were on. By this time, the snow was blowing sideways and the wind pierced our coats. There was at least six inches on the ground.

When we finally found our way to the terminal from long term parking it became apparent that something wasnt right. There were about 64 million people waiting for people to arrive and the lights were nearly all turned off. The arrival board said that all but one flight out of Chicago was on time. It didnt make sense.

After standing around for a little bit we over heard that the main power was out and they were on generators. They also werent letting any flights land until 1000pm because they needed to clear the ice off the runway. Then when the planes land they have to wheel stairs to them so that people can get off the planes because the jet ways arent working. Also, there are at least four planes circling, waiting to land. One of which Jenna and Brett are on.

At 1030 my phone rings. Its Jenna. This discussion followed.

Me: Hey, did you guys land?
Jenna: Yeah, what airport are you guys at?
Me: Were at Gerald R Ford. What do you mean what airport are we at?
Jenna: Were in Detroit.

The conversation continued but Ill summarize. They were circling GR, waiting for a chance to land and got low on fuel. They sent them back to Detroit, told them to get off the plane and get their luggage. They were canceling the flight and the next flight into GR was 830pm the next day. I told her to see if they could rent a car or get a flight close, like Muskegon, Lansing or Kalamazoo then when she knew give us a call.

We went back to Jaimes parents house and Jenna called back. They got a flight to Lansing and should be arriving around 0115am. Jaime and I borrowed her moms GPS and headed out. We picked them up and went to Kalamazoo certain that we never wanted to drive again.