Christmas 2008 - Sarah's Family

When my mom mailed me the sweatshirt for the Tacky Sweater Christmas Party, she also included these two ornaments. The first is in honor of winning my work Bake Off last month (still need to write about that). I love this ornament as it really reflects what I love -- Baking! The second is a 2006 Hallmark "Our Family" ornamant with the picture from the infamous holiday hockey game. Both are proudly displayed on our tree.

My parents and Grammy arrived on Christmas Day. I guess I should say Christmas Night as it was 9:30 when they finally got here. The trip should have taken about 7 hours but took them 9. They had a couple of hiccups along the way -- a "low tire" signal just outside of Jackson and Grammy leaving her purse at the Jack-in-the-Box in Diboll, Tx. Luckily neither event led to anything major... the tire just needed some air and a nice, honest man turned in Grammy's purse. Whew.

We opened gifts late that night. My dad always tries to find something goofy for Ryan. This year, it was the "Make Your Own Hot Sauce Set". Ryan LOVES hot sauce so I think he will actually enjoy this. Grammy is the lady with everything, so I just got her a box of goodies -- Cream Soda, raisins, animal cookies, crossword puzzle book -- her favorites. The highlight is always watching Admiral open his gifts. Dad didn't snap the picture quick enough when Admiral had his nose all the way in the bag but these are pretty cute!
Since we had eaten a big lunch with Ryan's family (more on their Christmas when I get the pictures from his dad/brothers), we weren't too hungry. Mom and Dad brought us some Feta Dressing from Keifers so we just had Pita Mozz for dinner! MMMM. Perfect way to end the day!

On Friday, Mom and I ran to Target to check out the after Christmas sales. I noticed a few days before Christmas that both Target and Walmart had LOTS of decor left and I need some more ornaments and decor for the new house and for when I put all four sections of the tree up. We planned to hit Walmart too, and invited Grammy to go with us, seeing as she is the Walmart Queen. When Mom asked if she wanted to go, or if she wanted to stay home, she (gasp) CHOSE TO STAY HOME (gasp)!!! We were pretty shocked and a little worried. Grammy never turns down a trip to Walmart. When we returned from Target, Walmart just looked too crowded so Mom and I skipped it.

We went to Double Dave's for lunch and had the buffet. I had a "Buy One - Get One" coupon for the buffet AND we got the "Senior Citizen" Discount so it was a pretty affordable lunch of all you can eat pizza, pepperoni rolls and dessert pizza. MMM. After lunch we took a tour of some of the houses Ryan has built. This trip was two fold. Mom, Dad and Grammy always like to see the houses and Ryan and I are looking for ideas for our new house (we start construction the first week of January!!!). We also took a trip to show Grammy our new neighborhood. There isn't much too see since our lot is just a lot of trees. But, it was sort of eventful. We got stopped by the Game Warden...on our new street. The look on his face when he peeked in the truck and saw Mom, Grammy and Dad squished in the back seat was priceless. He thought he was gonna catch someone trying to hunt illegally... instead he sees sweet Grammy in the back seat... though she has been known to shoot squirrels with a BB Gun!

After our tour of homes, Mom and I decided to hit WalMart. This time, Grammy hopped up off the couch in record time. Saturday morning, Grammy laid in bed for a while, until Mom told her we were going to Hallmark to check out the Christmas Sales. Her feet were on the ground and she was up and ready to go in no time. She was "back"!

Saturday we FINALLY made a trip to Mel's Country Cafe. I drive by Mel's every day and it is almost always packed. Everyone I have talked to that knows about Mel's has said it's great. So, we decided to go. The prices were so good we figured you wouldn't get much food on your plate. Ryan ordered the 8oz Chicken Fried Steak (after briefly considering the 16oz), I got the catfish plate, Grammy got the Catfish Sandwich, Mom got a Cheese Burger and Dad got a Double Cheeseburger. Our plates came out and our mouths DROPPED! Grammy's sandwhich had two large filets on it. My plate... FIVE FILETS plus sides. Dad's double burger was HUGE and the Chicken Fried Steak, yeah, no way could Ryan have eaten 16 ounces. And then, Dad ordered Banana Pudding. We were stuffed! It was SOOOOO much food but OH SO GOOD! Good Prices, Good Food, HUGE Portions!

Grammy ate ever bite of her Catfish!
After Mel's, we headed to Cypress to the Outlet Mall. I was pretty successful in spending my Christmas cash/gift cards, but still have a little leftover!

I have been promising Ryan fudge. I tried 2 years ago with no success so I decided to try again. Mom gave me two new candy thermometers for Christmas so I thought I was set. Yeah, not so much. I am "oh for two" ... as soon as I dropped it in the pan, it became hard as a rock. It was dry and gross. To the trash it went. I don't like defeat in the kitchen but don't have the patience to try again yet.

Mom, Dad and Grammy just left. Hopefully they get home quicker than they got here. They will be having Christmas with my Aunts, James and Helmi on Monday. Ryan and I are watching football and just vegging out today. It's finally cold after a week of warm weather!

Stay tuned for Christmas with Ryan's family... hopefully with video!