Jimindy Xmas IV

It was 7:20am Xmas morning. I was up before any of the kids. I was determined to complete my exercise routine and get Ykraps walked before the kids woke up. That endeavor was a success. However, I wasn’t back home long before the kids began to stir. Mindy sternly warned all the kids Xmas Eve about the danger of going downstairs without either of us. The warning worked. They waited for Mindy. In fact, they even waited for us to get Landon’s diaper changed. We headed down to greet what Santa left behind as a family. Mindy & I prepped coffees first, then put the Xmas breakfast strada in the oven. It would bake for about 35 minutes. The kids let their eyes wander around the familyroom marveling at all the packages. Santa wisely placed each kids stack in a separate corner. Under the tree were more gifts for all the kids, but those were from Mindy & I. The kids dumped their stockings before tearing into their gift boxes. That took only seconds. Rocky tore into his stack of boxes first. He had two or three opened just as the other two got started. Landon was largely uninterested. That’ll change in a couple of years. All the kids were grateful for their gifts. Nothing like a child’s coo at Xmas. And Jacob’s getting to an age where the gifts get cool - even for me! They opened all their Santa gifts before opening the Jimindy packages. Collectively, we got them Wii games, a movie, and a board game. The kids gift opening lasted 20-30 minutes. They wanted to play with everything. Sadly, though, that’s nearly impossible. Instead, we convinced them to keep it simple until after our gifts were opened. I went next. Mindy brought my stack up from the basement. And while she was down there, I went to the garage to fetch a few gifts I had stashed for her out there. Most of my gifts were of the practical nature - much like what my Grandma Wright would’ve got me. I got socks, underwear, chewing gum, & beer. Just to tease Mindy, I opened my camera box first, which I knew was empty since I already had it out and was taking pictures with it. I was the one who encouraged her to wrap it. Just as I tossed it aside, she asked that I check inside the box a little more carefully. Buried under all the tissue paper was the Live David Gilmour CD that I asked for a while back. Cool! I got a big bottle of Jack, too. Mindy was next. She got perfume, three winter wicking ski shirts, a ski helmet, and new hi-tech ski gloves. But that wasn’t all. She also got a tight, shimmery Minnesota Vikings shirt. And in her stocking I placed some Dove chocolates along with a nice long window scraper/snow brush after battling with her little piece of crap scrapper during one of our many recent snow/ice storms. But even that wasn’t all. I gave her two photo albums that contained about 320 pictures capturing many of our major events from the year 2008. Some of the pictures are priceless! Lastly, I had Jacob give her a tiny little box that contained a mother’s ring. The ring represents the birthstones of both Jacob and Bella - a diamond and a tourlamine, respectively. After getting all the wrapping paper picked up, we had the kids seek out the magic box. Jacob spotted it stuffed back in the corner behind the tree. Inside was a note telling Jacob, Bella, and Rocky to go to the basement to find their last gifts. They tore off to the basement extremely excited. In the basement they found a big gift for each of them - a rod hockey table for Jacob, a large wooden doll house for Bella, and a frog tent for Rocky. They were so excited. That idea worked well. After the kids were settled, I readied for a run. It must’ve been about 9:30am. Meanwhile, the weather was superb. It was about 30 degrees and sunny. I dressed for a mild wintry run and headed out. I ran four+ miles taking in the Trabue/Hague avenue route. It went really well. I passed another runner on Trabue. We exchanged Happy Xmas greetings. Back at home the kids were busy playing with their toys - big surprise. I ate a big slice of the strada and enjoyed another cup of coffee. Mindy told her mom that we’d most likely be at her place by noon. It was already after 11:00am. The morning was flying by. Despite our eagerness, there was no way we were gonna be at Mindy’s mom’s by noon. 1pm looked more likely. That ended up being more realistic. We loaded up the kids, gifts, food, and drink and left the house at 12:45pm. We had to take the minivan of course. Mindy mentioned that this might be the last family outing in it given our commitment to the new Honda deal. Wahoo! Half the family was already Xmas’ng at Gloria’s. Like always, everyone was gathered in the lower level. The food was laid out buffet style in the playroom and the drinks loaded into the washer (bet we’re the only family that does that!). The family room contained the family (go figure) and all the Xmas presents. Rocky and Landon opened gifts first. That helped on two fronts. First, the kids were antsy and eager. That would keep them busy. And lastly, Lindsey & Kelly were coming to pick them up at 2pm. That was just a short hour away. Mindy’s family was good to all the kids, but then again they always are. But this year they also took care of Landon & Rocky, and that was after learning of our situation kind of last minute, too. The kids cleaned up - lots of toys, lots of clothes. Lindsey showed up a little after 2pm. She didn’t stay long, just long enough to gather the kids and go. Mindy and I walked out to greet Kelly and to give her the gift from the kids. I love Rocky & Landon but felt a huge sense of relief after they left. I could now relax a little with family -something we don‘t get to do much of lately. The gift opening ceremony at Gloria’s seems to go on for hours - literally. This year was no exception. Everyone partook in the many eating opportunities as well. I spiked my Fresca with some Capt Morgan’s rum to take the edge off Xmas. It worked! Mindy & I might’ve been the only two drinking any booze. :) As the day faded into evening several family members headed upstairs to play Apples to Apples. I stayed back and hung out with Mindy and her mom. Later, after the game, we gathered for some Xmas icebox cookies - a Thompson Xmas tradition. We didn’t gather our things to leave until 8pm. It was a long day. Mindy phoned Kelly to plan the return of Rocky & Landon. Kelly agreed to bring them to us at our house. That worked well. We weren’t home long before they arrived. Jacob and I had just returned from walking Ykraps. Jacob rode his scooter while we walked. Lindsey brought the kids in. She was pleasant. The kids got into their Xmas toys but that’s to be expected. I had to calm Mindy lots. Lord, woman, it’s Xmas! :) OK … that’s not true. I was the one having the Xmas coronary. Xmas at our house is NOT healthy for the OCD. After getting the kids settled into bed, Mindy & I enjoyed yet another bottle of Spumante’. While we Xmas’d, daughter Courtney phoned to wish us well and to chat. She was doing fine. She also shared a little of their time at Kelly’s. I called my mom later, around 10pm. I also tried reaching Glenn but didn’t get an answer on his cell. We left a message. Once again, Mindy and I stayed up until just after midnight - new ground for Mindy. Good night Xmas ‘08.