HAPPY 2009!! (Christmas vacation-Part 1) Lori

Can you believe it is 2009?? It seems like yesterday when we were storing up can goods and water, anticipating Y2K....crazy wasn't it?!! We had an awesome Christmas in Alabama and were so glad to get to see many of you again. When you are away from the "familiar", two months feel like two years so seeing all of you again was like water to a thirsty soul! I have lots of great pictures to share so it is going to take me several entries to write about our trip. I'll begin with Christmas Eve......

A winter storm was coming in Christmas Eve night, so at the urging of many church members, we left for Albuquerque at around 11:00 a.m. Santa came that morning and our Landon was up at exactly 1:47 am, ready for presents (that kid!!!!) He and Mason worked on waking Haven up until 2:30 a.m when she arose and the opening began! It's funny.....they all took turns, opening one present at a time instead of tearing them open as fast as they can like I use to do. Haven got a Barbie Jeep and a princess scooter and the boys "big" item was a 4-wheeler (yes, we did make them wait on that one!). Because it was 7 below that morning the 4-wheeler would not crank so they did not get to ride it before leaving for Bama.

Bill and Joy Brooks are members of our church that were responsible for our plane ticket gift and they were also flying out of Albuquerque on Christmas Day but a little later than we. So because of the snow storm, they decided to travel with us which was just God's provision because we were going to have to drive the Jeep Wrangler (no luggage room and only 4 seat belts)! I rode down with them while the kids rode with Mike and the DVD player. We stayed at Days Inn and had a wonderful Christmas Eve supper at Flying Star with Bill and Joy. They were flying to North Carolina to their daughter's home.

Christmas Day was mainly spent traveling to Alabama. We arrived at Mike's family's home around 6:30 p.m., so excited to see everyone and spend Christmas with them. We always have such a fun time together. Here are some shots from the night...

This is all the Owen grandchildren....Kayci, Landon, Carter, Parker, Caleb, Sydney, Haven, Mason, and Brent (ranging from age 3 to age 22).

Jeff and Denise (Mike's oldest brother)

Mark and his son Caleb(Mike's youngest brother)

Angela(Mike's sister-oldest), Jeff, Mike and Mark

Haven and her favorite cousin Sydney! (Jeff's daughter)

This is Brent, the oldest cousin with his fiance Hannah.....

Mama Kaye and Pop

Thank you for a wonderful Christmas and all the great presents!! Our greatest gift was getting to be with you!!

DEC. 26- On Friday, we started out visiting my Dad in Reform and then on to my Mom's for the Richardson family gathering. Mom did an awesome job with supper and had many fun games for the kids to participate in. They had a blast! Landon got a remote control tarantula for Christmas that he kept scaring my sister-in- law Patti with and he then started getting mysterious threats on napkins. The spider was eventually kidnapped, and Landon had to perform several stunts to get it back! Thanks Patti for making Christmas a little more mysterious and fun for Landon!! It was great! Here are some shots from the Richardson Christmas.......
Haven and Brenlee.....

Haidee and Kayla......

Colton.....

Hannah and Landon......

Mike and Chloe

Hallie and Faith........

Colton, Landon, and Mason.....

This is all the grandchildren with Mom in the middle.....

Me and my brothers Robby, Kerry, and Mike

Mike is my oldest brother. This is his wife Jennifer and daughters Kayla and Chloe.....

Kerry is next with wife Renee, and daughters Hannah, Haidee, and Hallie.......

Robby is the youngest boy with wife Patti, son Colton, and daughters Brenlee and Faith.....

And last but not least, these are the jealous "in-laws" that must have their picture taken because they are left out of the sibling photo with mom.....boo-hoo......!

That sums up our Christmas gatherings with family. On Saturday, we spent more time at both my mom's and Mike's mom's house. Because I have so much to share and lots of pictures, I've got to end here with Part 1 and pick up later.....stay tuned!!!