Ohio/Mass

PCS Leave was great. We spent a few days in Ohio before picking up Morgan and Susan and heading to Mass. During those days we got quite a snow storm and Grandpa showed him how to throw snowballs. He got quite a kick out of throwing them at Grandma.








Grandma and Papa took Maddox to see Santa. He ran out of the house really excited and kept saying "Santa! Ho, ho, ho!" Once he got to the mall he was a little reserved and took a while to warm up to the big man. Thankfully noone was waiting so they let him take as much time as he needed.

The drive to Massachusetts was long, around 11 hours. The six of us were packed into the truck like sardines, but we made the best of it, singing along with Christmas Carols on the radio and picking on Susan. Nancy had a big pot of turkey soup waiting for us when we got to their house. Famished from the trip we gobbled it right up while visiting with her and Tom. The next day Nancy had arranged for Ben's close friends and family to come over for dinner. We got to see all of the relatives on that side. I enjoyed getting to know them better, and the kids had fun playing with thier aunts, uncles, and cousins. Sadly, I forgot my camera so we didn't get any pictures. We relaxed for most of our time in Mass, the kids went sledding, Susan went horseback riding, and Morgan learned how to play Cribbage from his dad and grandpa. On our last day there we finally got up to New Hampshire to see Ben's friends Jill and Damon. They invited more of the crew over and pretty soon we had a packed house, filled with toys, and turned into a Barber Shop by Susan. Here are some pictures that Jill took that night.

The novelty of traveling had worn off and the drive back to Ohio seemed to take forever for all of us. We arrived the night of Dec. 23rd to a full house(14 people staying at my mom and dads) and a brand new niece! Alex and Kristen had a little girl on the 22nd and named her Destiny Christain. Christmas Eve and Christmas day were insane, as you can imagine with so many people and so many babies/toddlers staying in one house. As a teacher and military wife you learn to "embrace the chaos". As long as you stay calm, remember to breath, and know how to laugh at life's absurdeties you can get through it. Maybe someday I will write about the events of the Brininger Christmas of 2010, it would make quite a story.