The 12 Days of Christmas

I (sort of accidentally) decided to completely check out from "real life" and have a real vacation over Christmas break...which is why the blog silence! Here are our 12 Days of Christmas, in no particular order (and we didn't really have 12 days in SD...that just worked out better with the song...).

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...1 (DeKrey) family evening for me!
Christmas with the DeKreys (mom's side) was as good as ever: oyster stew, lefsa, homemade fudge, salmon spread, a family Christmas program and a thoughtful $5 gift exchange (complete with aunt Kathy gift spy "kits" to the 5 guy names her family had...cousin Adam got 2 dates!...you know, the kind you can eat!).

Grandma's surprise at getting an iPad for Christmas (from all the "kids" - not grandkids! - so they could keep in touch with everyone from far away)!

Wyoming, Texas and SD...all on one couch!

All the grandkids (minus Matt and Seth, in Texas, and coming soon little Wyoming DeKrey) and two spouses!

Token Christmas Couple Pic!
(Now who can tell me how to flip this the right way?! I have it saved in the correct orientation on my comp, but when I upload it, it does this!)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...2 family meals!
It was really supposed to be one Christmas on Christmas even without Brian and Stacey (who were with Stacey's family) and one with them on the 27th, but snow kept them away for the evening, so we just got spoiled with 2 meals with mom, dad, Kay, and Lucas! Chili one night, lasagna another...homemade ice cream...garlic bread...cookie trays...so spoiled.

Always good to give confusing Christmas gifts.

And really exciting ones.

And unexpected ones.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...3 shoppers shopping!
Once a year, dad goes shopping and knocks out mom's Christmas gift, birthday gift (Dec. 25) and anniversary gift (Jan. 7). Kay and I always go along as his "assistants"...I think we've gotten more helpful as the years go on. This year, we shopped efficiently (only an hour!) and then had brunch at Josiah's. Yum. SF people, definitely go here! I believe my sister called it...snooty...I called it my kind of place. Take that as you will.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...4 days a-traveling!
Yes. We're crazy. 1 day (6hrs) driving to Sioux Falls. 1 day driving (6hrs) to the Black Hills. 1 day (6hrs) driving to Sioux Falls. 1 day (6hrs) driving to KC. Things we noticed on our car trips: heated seats are nice. BK is cheap. Sing really loud with the radio. Listen to crazy talk shows. Take a nap. Hold hands. Drive with cruise control (and without it). Heated toilet seats (we'll be going to that gas station again!). Ice cream. Energy drinks. Read to each other.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...5 big surprises!
My love language isn't gifts, but my husband's expression of love is giving me gifts. Quite the conundrum. He sees Christmas as his one time to really spoil me, much to my chagrin.

Background to the nativity he gave me!

I'm generally frightened opening gifts.

...or having a great (aka crazy) time.

I do love me some Pez. (Really. I love Pez.)

Also, Chai Tea. Really like that, too.

Even a love note from hubby with 10 "free" osteopathic treatments from him :)

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...6 battery jumpings!
The Prism revolts every time we try to go back to KC. This time it was the alternator. Luckily, I'm very spoiled, my dad is really awesome and had us back on the road in 30mins with a new alternator.

#perksofhavingamechanicforadad (can I do that here? lol. probably not.)

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...7 friends a-yapping!
I had a (too brief!) coffee date with 3 of my very dear friends from church...it was so good catching up with them and I miss these girls mucho! I also met up with 3 friends that I met through working at VistaComm. It felt like ages since we'd been together and we chatted it up for over 2hrs. Then Betsy (another Betsy, I'm not referring to myself in 3rd person) graciously let me tag along with on her errands since the hubs and I were sharing a car (and it was obviously not with me).  Last, but certainly not least, I met up with my best friend Chandra to hear of her life and experiences as a soon-to-be mom! So so so excited for her.

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...8 skiers skiing!
This was the trip to the Black Hills! The weather was perfect. Couldn't have asked for better. I escaped unscathed with no wipe outs. We enjoyed beers (Jordan and dad) and peppermint schnapps hot chocolate (mom, Kay and me) to warm up from the slopes. In the evening we ventured out for dinner in downtown Deadwood and soaked a bit in the hotel hot tub. A good trip.

Me & hubs!

Boyfriend & seester!

Friend, brother & dad!

Dad & mom!

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...9 days of no medical school!
Hubby graced me with 9 days of his presence...uninterrupted from medical school! He passed his first semester and is looking forward to the next. I'm so proud of him (and was SUPER thankful for stress-free, no-commitments days of togetherness)!

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...10 bites o'prime rib! 
Jordan's mom makes a mean prime rib for Christmas dinner, and this year was no exception. Spoiled doesn't cut it. We also played a game of Phase 10 and checked out the new garage his mom and stepdad are adding to the house.

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...11 minutes hot-tubbing!
We spent one evening with Jordan's friend, Graham, who was also home for the holidays...from St. Louis! We're hoping to get out there to visit him one of these days, after all, it's only 4hrs from KC - which is a heck of a lot closer than driving to SF to see each other (okay, only 2hrs closer, but still). Graham's mom and her husband have an outdoor hottub...and there's nothing like hottubbing outdoors in the SD winter!

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...12 Heibergers gifting!
Christmas at grandma and grandpa's is a favorite of the Heiberger cousins...nothing says Christmas like walking into grandma's house! Wine, meat & cheese trays, cracker baskets, homemade pies galore, cookie plates, grandma's corn (aka 1 whole stick of butter...yummmm....), turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, salad...need I go on?

Puzzle time! 100 chickens and a worm!

Heibergers!

These expressions pretty much explain all of hubby's and my interactions.

It was a restful holiday and we are so blessed to have the fabulous family that we do. We are so thankful for each of them! And so thankful for friends from home! We miss you all A LOT and if you'd ever like a short vacation, we have an open room, an open bed and would love to show you some good ol' KC bbq ;)