the very best time of year

to simplify things for my swiss-cheese brain, this post chronicling our christmas adventures will be presented in chronological list format. enjoy.

december 24:

9:15am--abby and i arrive at church for the morning service. i attempt to rehearse with the trombone player while abby bangs on the bass end of the piano. it's not an easy rehearsal.
11:00am--the service was very good. now we go home.
12:30pm--abby goes down for her joke of a nap. i take a nap as well.
5:30pm--we leave for the evening service.
7:05pm--i bomb the first hymn, one that i've played every year since i was 16. sigh.
8:30pm--we are in the car headed for appleton. abby sleeps from columbus to neenah, then cries the rest of the way.
10:15pm--we arrive in appleton, we change her diaper and put on jammies, she goes to sleep.

december 25:

merry christmas!!

8:15am--abby wakes up, and we all go downstairs for breakfast.
9:00am--presents! abby and mommy and daddy all get very nice things from grandma and grandpa schultz. it's an arcane musical instrument christmas for me...i got a fife, a penny whistle and a harmonica. abby got toys, books, and clothes, including a stuffed meemo and meemo book from mommy and daddy. abby didn't show much interest in opening presents, because there were toys that weren't all wrapped up for her to play with. but, she got the idea.
1:00pm--we leave for menasha. brian's grandma came down from the great white north, so that was wonderful to see her.
4:45pm--cory, cortlee, james, and hayden arrive. let's eat! we had beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, homemade mac-and-cheese, cottage cheese, corn, beets, and rolls. mmm.
5:30pm--more presents! we all got more great stuff. mommy and daddy even got a new printer/scanner/copier! abby got a set of little stuffed muppet babies, and other toys and clothes.
6:15pm--time to go back to appleton. brian dropped us off and took most of the presents back to sun prairie with him.

december 26:

6:45am--time to wake up! i wake abby up and she is very confused. we get dressed and load up the van for the long trek to springfield. she was an excellent traveler the whole way down.
12:30pm--we stop for lunch in washington, IL, with john, mary, kim, matt, and derek. we have awesome turkey salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, fruit, crackers and dippity-doo, and other things i can't remember. oh, and ice cream. as abby said, "more ice!!" oh, and matt made the traditional scottish shortbread which turned out very well.
2:30pm--back on the road for the short little jaunt to springfield.
4:00pm--yay! we're here! playtime ensues...abby really enjoys daniela's new dora the explorer dollhouse.
6:00pm--time to eat! we had roast beef, carrots, mashed potatoes, rolls, 24-hour salad, oyster dressing, and for dessert chocolate tofu pie and various cookies/treats. abby says, "more pie!!"
7:30pm--bedtime for abby.

december 27:

7:15am--time to wake up! after a very restless night, abby opts to wake up early. i am not pleased. playtime for the rest of the morning.
11:45am--lunchtime. sandwiches, chips and dessert.
12:30pm--back on the road headed for home. abby is not as excellent a traveler this time around. after a short nap, she wakes up and is very upset...so much so that we pull over to get her calmed down and when we put her back in the car seat she pitches such a fit that she throws up. it's a pleasant rest of the way home after a change of clothes and some carseat cleaning.
5:00pm--we're home! abby and mommy are happy to see daddy and kishi. hooray for home!


hope everyone had a wonderful christmas. pictures to come.