The Horn Family: California Christmas Vacation

After years of celebrating the holidays separately, we decided that a good, old-fashioned, giant family Christmas was in order. Since, aside from Kris and JP's family, we are the only ones that live away from the left coast, we knew it was up to us to travel back to our homeland. The decision was only confirmed by a willing pet sitter, an airport parking Groupon deal, and unseasonably low airfare. I have a strange belief that God reveals His plans to me through plane ticket prices. With that kind of divine intervention it would be sinful not to follow through.

We needed the couple of months lead time to prepare to move Christmas to California. There were all sorts of logistical considerations ranging from child sleeping arrangements to the holiday gathering itinerary to gift transportation. The Sacksteder's Elf, Jingle, even made the trip, complete with miniature scarf and suitcase. No Christmas detail was overlooked.

Of course the next obstacle was actually getting to California. Nick was on Emmy duty (I never thought I'd say this, but he lucked out with that gig) and I assumed Hannah duty. Overall, Nick gave Emmy a B- and I graded Hannah's travel performance at a C. All things considered, they did pretty well. We had a lot working against us, including a gnarly jet stream that significantly bumped up our in-flight travel time. It could have been worse, though, I could have been my sister who traveled solo with her three children. She reconfirmed her hero status in my book. Our planes pulled into their respective gates within minutes of each other, which enabled us to congregate in the rental car building before caravan-ing back to Danville.

My parents had so kindly emptied rooms worth of stuff into a storage unit to make room for the influx of people. Pretty incredible how many of us could fit! We tucked the three eldest grandbabies into their air mattresses in my parents' office that first night without any hint of back-up plan should the arrangement fail. By the grace of God, for the first time ever, they went to sleep easily and remained in their beds until they all promptly woke up at 345 AM Pacific Standard Time. To their credit, it was 545 and 645, Mountain and Eastern time. I had been up throughout the night with Hannah when I heard little footsteps emerge from their neighboring room; which must have belonged to Emmy who marched into the downstairs bedroom to notify Kris (and Jacob) that they were all awake. I guess the early wake-up was the price to be paid for smooth bedtime...

For the next few days, until JP arrived, we looked a lot like Nick's sister wives. We turned quite a few heads as Kris and I followed him into Target, each one of us was either pushing a basket filled with children of carrying one on our person. We got some good laughs out of our predicament, especially watching Nick chase after Emmy and Claire as they insisted on trying on a wide variety of glittery mary janes in the children's shoe department.

On Wednesday, we were overjoyed to host Emmy's family birthday party at none other than Chuck E. Cheese's! It was the most fantastic party-hosting experience; my work was limited to completing the online reservation form and selecting a pre-made cupcake arrangement from Safeway and Emmy was TICKLED to eat pizza and play games with her loved ones. We might have to do this every year, as I doubt it would ever get old! Seeing the beads of sweat running down the faces of my husband, brother and brother-in-laws while competing at a basketball arcade game was all I needed to know that Chuck E. Cheese appeals to all ages. :-P

Thursday evening was our giant playdate at Grammy and Poppy's house! Grammy just raised the bar for cool toys with a new vehicle made especially for little people! My Emmy took back-to-back turns as she drove up and down Via Romero. Clairey was, of course, her sidekick. True to independent Clairey form, she was none to interested in assistance when she climbed behind the wheel. Ben, rebuffed, explained how she brushed his hand away as he attempted to steady the steering wheel. Large and in charge, our Clairey is! We finally reunited with our favorite Landgrafs, who have temporarily relocated to the bay (which was, to us, one of our favorite Christmas gifts!) Even though the kiddos hadn't seen one another in just about two years, it was as if no time had passed; and the new additions got along swimmingly! After night fell and the kid-sized jeep was secured in it's own parking spot in the garage, we all warmed up over hot cider and sandwiches while the kids explored all of Grammy's exciting Christmas decor. They finished up with some gingerbread cookie decorating! So fun!

Kris and I were able to sneak out the following night to meet up with Annie and Jess for a leisurely dinner and a very, very, very long overdue catch-up sesh. Emmy had a sleepover with Grammy and Poppy, and loved every second they spent cuddling on the couch watching Peter Pan. Nick was able to sneak out to soak up some friend time, too!

Kris and I basked in our ability to leave our sleeping babies in their grandparents' care so that we could finish up our Christmas shopping. We didn't take a moment for granted as we wrapped up our shopping lists at all the incredible shopping venues the east bay has to offer. It's amazing how efficient two can be without ten extra, grabby hands.

We started the holiday festivities on Sunday with a Odell family bash...We were ALL accounted for (except for my cousin, Nicole's fiance, who was scheduled to work at Disneyland over the holiday.) I can't even guess how many years it's been since we were all in the same place. Too many. It was so wonderful to catch-up, although there is never enough time to cover it all. There is something to be said, though, for being with family, and picking right back up where you left off...So much love!

Monday was Christmas Eve! After getting gussied up, we joined Grammy and Poppy for the children's church service at CPC (the church where Nick and I were married,) which was complete with coloring books and a puppet show! They have kids figured out! Emmy was absolutely entranced by the music and Hannah insisted the Grammy and Poppy carry her around to inspect every square inch of the joint... :-P We sped home for a giant Christmas Eve feast with the rest of our family! It was so much fun to introduce the kiddos to their great aunts, uncles and second cousins! They adored all of the attention. Under the direction of Auntie Eliana, Clairey initiated the singing of Christmas carols while Emmy played the drums on Mimi's glass coffee table. After our goodbyes, leaving out cookies and carrots, and dressing in our matching Christmas jammies, we settled in for a long (?) winter's night.

The night was less long for some of us. Hannah woke up in the four o'clock hour, leaving me peeved that my siblings no longer preferred early Christmas morning wake-ups. A couple of hours later, the others started trickling into the family room and Christmas was underway! The demolition of Christmas wrapping was fast and furious as the little ones jumped from gift to gift. They were as excited as all get out, while also protecting their new loot from eachother. Just when things started heating up between Emmy and Clairey over Clairey's new scooter, it was time for us to depart for round two with the Horns! Everything about the day was gluttony, the gifts, the company, the food! We are so blessed in so many ways!

The following night, we had another fantastic childless excursion with our incredible friends, the Weis', the Landgrafs, the Laudins, and Arge! What I would give to construct a neighborhood in which we all could live and have communal dinners each night. With Kris fighting off the flu, I was left in charge of Nick and JP; I warned them as we drove to the Weis' that my late-night stamina paled in comparison to theirs. But I surprised myself (and them), and had to force myself to leave the party just before 1. I can't wait until our next rendez-vous, whenever and wherever it might be!

With all of our big gatherings under our belt, we were left to pack up the obscene amount of new things making the return flight with us. I seriously underestimated the load, and that it would take us most of the last day we were in California to gather it and pack it! Lucky for me my husband brought his thinking cap, and we managed to cram it all into three suitcases, two carry-ons and an extra box. We were so grateful for the luggage benefits extended to active duty military personnel by the airlines because it helped. A lot.

We said our final farewells before boarding our flight home. Come to find out, Delta flights only have four oxygen masks on one side of their planes, which happened to be the opposite of what I had pre-selected when we purchased the tickets. Because I lost at "noses," Hannah and I were banished to a middle seat six rows in front of Nick and Emmy (on the opposite side of the plane, of course). Hannah protested our new seat by throwing her bottle, pulling our neighbor's hair and screaming for the better part of taxi, take-off and the initial ascent. I went to my happy place and assured myself that we would not be traveling by air for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, the trip was worth the travel days on either side of it...This Christmas ranked supreme!

Emmy had high hopes of reliving the pool play from this summer. It was a little disappointing.

Sissy charming one of Grammy's toys!

Blissfully napping with my Clairey and my Emmy.

Sweet babies.

Totally loving the new ride.

Just before I nearly got run over.

Grammy nailed it!!

Dear Drew Landgraf inspects the tree!

My new favorite picture with Sissy. This is the smile she offers every time the camera comes out. :-D

The kids take over the living room.

Drew Landgraf!

Hannah & Poppy!

Will Landgraf is ready for the cookies!!

Jen so thoughtfully snapped this one for us!

Jacob giving the refrigerator door a once-over.

That boy melts my heart each time he flashes that smile at me.

Hannah made the rounds!

Eagerly awaiting the gingerbread cookies! Emmy stripped down to her skivvies to avoid dirtying her new dress. All of the others followed suit.

Making a toast before decorating Mimi and Papa's Christmas tree!

Egg Nog will now forever be known as "Christmas milk."

The kids camped out to watch Papa's train. They even outfitted it with Princess passengers when Papa wasn't looking.

My cousins Pat and Eileen & Pat's beautiful wife, Mindy.

Uncle Kevin, Chris and their sweet granddaughter Shannon.

Mom steals a kiss from Jamie. :-P

My cousins Ashley and Mick, and Uncle Kent.

Papa, Uncle Kevin and my girls :)

Emmy was SO EXCITED to reunite with Auntie Kerry!

Thank goodness for timers and tripods! Back Left: Andy, JP, Dad, Scott, Bryce, Pat, Mick, Uncle Kevin, Jamie, Uncle Kent. Middle Left: Nick, Hannah, Mom, Clairey, Auntie Kerry, Emmy, Chris, Auntie Laurie, Eileen, Shannon, Mindy & Clare. Bottom Left: Nicole, Ashley, Jacob, Kris & Yours Truly.

It's not an Odell family Christmas without Daddy Cookie Cake & Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Christmas Eve Service

Auntie Eliana is the Pied Piper and the most kind-hearted sister-in-law a girl could ask for. So blessed.

It's the Emmy & Clairey show!

Cookies for Santa & carrots for the reindeer!

The gifts circled the room!

My wake-up buddy, Hannah.

Emmy joined us a couple of hours later!

Andy made his way to the tree after Emmy's wake-up call...

..followed by Clairey. :) She gets up on her own time. :)

A family who dresses alike, stays together?

A whole lotta love!

Jacob and Uncle Jamie wore matching red, footed jammies. Which is appropriate, because, upon further examination, it appears that Jamie is Jacob's doppleganger.

Smiles!!!!!

We toyed with the idea of reenacting a pose from years past where we lay under the tree like presents.

Hannah's new beloved "LOL" Elmo!

Joy!

Still smiling!

Grandpa Jack and his great grandbabies! Lovely!!

My Emmy was so tuckered out by the fun, this is where Nick found her when he got out of the shower. Still wearing her baby doll ergo with the bear that she asked every Santa's helper for.