Just like our multiple wedding celebrations, we had multiple Christmases this year.  It was a perfect way to spend our first married Christmas together.   Christmas 1 was at the Merrick household.  The long standing tradition is Christmas Eve at the Merrick Grandparents house and we followed it up with a bit of an adventure....

On our way back from Christmas Eve dinner we were impressed with how the snow drifts were building again -- even without any fresh snow.  Cole decided it was time to bust a few more drifts and to take me out for some fun.  So off we (Me, Lee and Cole) went in his pickup.  We came close to getting stuck a time or two but worked our way out into the fields and continued on, UNTIL we came to the curve in the canal.   The snow had drifted such that the inner curve was drifted into the road and the wide turn lodged the front left tire into the drifted edge of the canal.  What looked like the road was really just accumulated snow drift.  And tried as we might, we couldn't get out.  Cole called home for Connor to rescue us, but Connor's attempt to rescue us only put us at a steeper tilt and didn't move us forward at all.  So off they went to get the tractor.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  The tractor also worsened the situation.... but the time they stopped pulling with the tractor, the front left side of the pickup was up to its headlights in snow and we had to have been at a 30 degree angle.  So off Cole went to get a bigger tractor... but got himself stuck in another drift with the Samurai.  Connor came to the rescue (again) and picked up Cole and left the Samurai to sit for a different day.  All the while Lee and I were freezing out in the pickup, wondering what could be going on and watching it get windier and windier.  It wasn't snowing but the wind sure did blow the snow enough that we couldn't see past 15 feet in front of us.  Then... coming down the canal lane was a super huge tractor plowing snow.  (I sure couldn't tell you what make or model, just that there were 4 tires in the back that seemed larger than I am tall).  Their Uncle Allen came to save the day, plow the road and pull us out.  It was no easy matter - damaged Cole's license plate and a thing or two under his pickup in the tugging.... but out we came.  It was a very memorable Christmas Eve!  :)

Christmas day was relaxing and wonderful.  We enjoyed a delicious Christmas meal and time together before Lee and I headed to La Grande.  We are grateful our families are so close in distance that we were able to be at the Merricks til early evening that night....

Christmas Eve #2 (at the Kalembas on Dec. 25) was a LATE night.  Abbie and Lani didn't get home until 2:30am.  And of course our Christmas Eve traditions weren't to be forgotten, so it was 4am before we all headed to bed in our new pajamas after having received the coolest Christmas book (also in line with Shiny's theme this year and published by CAMFED (my new favorite charity)).    Christmas #2 was also very slow and relaxing.  It was fun for me and Lee to do Christmas all over again.  This time with Babka and Kielbasa.  Only we didn't finish our Christmas breakfast until 5pm.  That's a record for sure!  We've since been pretty mellow, running in the rain/sleet/snow, napping and being LAZY.  La Grande has had more snow this Christmas than I've seen in a long time.  More than once we've woken up to 5 inches of snow....  What a wonderful week it has been!