Friday, December 24 and Sat. December 25th, 2010 - 15th and 16th Day

The day before Christmas is always one of my favorite days.   I got up and did some last minute shopping, then I went home to get dressed for a bike ride with Mike Anderson, Clair Buchanan, Kerry, and myself.  It was 50 degrees out and beautiful.  I was so grateful to be out riding again, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it.   Then, I came home and played some games with my family, and we had a great ham dinner.   We then had our Christmas program, which consists of singing songs, opening our Christmas gift (pajamas), opening white elephant gifts, re-enacting the Nativity, and watching Luke II on video.  It's one of my favorite nights of the year. The spirit of Christmas is like no other.  That night, Hunter decided to try and stay up all night by watching episodes of Psych until Christmas morning came.  The rest of us went to bed.  At 6:00, we all woke up and found Hunter asleep on the family room couch, with the T.V. blaring in the background.  He had made it until just after 5:00.  Needless to say, he wasn't very happy that he was less than an hour short of his goal!   We then all opened presents and began a day of playing games and sleeping a lot from the lack of sleep we received the night before.  I then got to go on another bike ride with Chelsea, Kerry, and Debbie and Brian Bowling and it was 60 degrees outside. We went slow and had a great time talking about everything.  Sometimes the slow rides are the most fun because you get to enjoy the other person's company, rather then just seeing their backside as you race down the road, panting like a big dog running after a squirrel.   We got home and enjoyed leftovers, visited my brother and his family, and then came home and went to bed.  It was a good day.  Things I learned today, 1st, It's much more fun to see people open your presents then it is to open your own.  Seeing Hunter and Logan open the PS3 I surprised them with was priceless, I thought Logan's head was going to explode the way he was holding on to it and screaming.  2nd, it's really nice to have my entire family home.   The older I get, the more I realize that my kids won't be with me forever and I need to cherish them.  3rd, Orange rolls and yummy, but if you eat 6 of them, you are going to feel anything but yummy.  4th, Bike riding on Christmas day in 60 degree weather with friends and family  - it doesn't get much better than that!