January 2, 2014: What I Did on my Christmas Vacation

The Twelfth Day of Christmas 

Today I was thinking about the common grade school homework assignment; writing a story on what you did over Christmas break. Since it's been ages since anyone asked me this question and it sounded intriguing, here goes...

My Twelve Days of Christmas

by Sandy Lane

1st Day of Christmas - Celebrated an early Christmas with the boys. No wrapped gifts, just a shopping mall and Barnes and Noble with money in hand. We ended the night at Outback for dinner and then caught the movie, The Hobbit. Note for next year: avoid shopping malls the weekend before Christmas. Second note: my kids are fun, no matter what we do.

2nd Day of Christmas - Creighton vs. California for a Sunday afternoon game at the Century Link. Kori joins us as we celebrate Robbie's birthday. The night didn't end after the Creighton win. Happy Birthday, Robbie!

3rd Day of Christmas - Last day of work in Omaha before the holiday, ending with Christmas cheer. I met my running girlfriends later at Roja to celebrate my upcoming nuptials.

4th Day of Christmas - A Christmas Eve flight to Denver and an afternoon church service to start our celebration. Garrett and I enjoyed the Walter Mitty movie and then a delicious Italian dinner. I  hadn't a clue that so many people went out to eat on Christmas Eve. We were not alone. A fun night.

5th Day of Christmas - Christmas Day was an anticipated movie marathon for Garrett and I. We made it through two...Wolf of Wall Street and Saving Mr. Banks. The Wolf was shocking and Mr. Banks made me smile. Note that 9:00 a.m. on Christmas is a good time to go to a movie. We didn't have much company in the theater. Our Christmas was completed with homemade chili and our watching the first half of Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation (couldn't stay awake any longer).

6th Day of Christmas - Ski day. My first attempt to ski post-ACL injury. I will label the day "combating fears", but I did it. I am going a bit too slow and hesitant. Next go around, I am going to take a half day ski lesson. But a step forward and a beautiful day in the mountains! And we caught a movie before we went home. "The Dallas Buyer's Club" with Matthew McConaughey is a must see.

7th Day of Christmas - Work day and work on the Denver house day. Our house in Denver is coming along nicely. We picked tile and paint color, met a carpet guy and put final plans together with the basement contractor. Lots to do as we want to move in with all of our upgrades and new work complete. Garrett and I make a great team on house renovations. I have the design eye and he works the details. We are both quick to make decisions and are almost always on the same page (if he's not...I sway him to the right way of thinking :))

8th Day of Christmas - With Lily and Jake in tow, we drive back to Omaha. Although the temp on the rear mirror reminded us of the frigid air, it was a nice drive. With one stop for breakfast at Village Inn and a later stop for gas and relief, we made it in Omaha in time to watch the Broncos game at Buffalo Wild Wings with my boys.

9th Day of Christmas - An Afternoon of the Nebraska Crossing Outlet Mall with the kids and then my bridal shower/party. Bags of goodies were had all the way around!

10th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve was filled with some football and some wedding planning with an evening split off between kids and adults. Kids ate out and went to a movie. Garrett and I enjoyed the Creighton Big East kick-off game. A win. A new year. And one sweet rendition of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" with 17,560 of our closest friends.

11th Day of Christmas - New Year's Day. Two pots of homemade soup with fresh bread. Football, football and more football. The night cap was a trip to Lifetime to work out.

12th Day of Christmas - Back to work for Garrett and I. Zach took the crew of kids out to bowl, eat and play games. Obviously, they can entertain themselves in our absence. The feedback was that is was "a lot of fun". We finished the night with dinner at Kobe Steakhouse. Everyone caught a shrimp, except Ben. He told the chef he was allergic. Probably for the better.

Well that's it. A fun Christmas vacation. And now for the big kahuna....wedding day tomorrow.

Happy New Year!!