What an AMAZING Christmas we had! We decided this year that instead of us buying 3 plane tickets and flying all the way to Charlotte, or the Nuzum clan buying 5 plane tickets and flying to TX that we would all drive and meet at a central location. Thanks to Gerald's sister, Merry, we were able to get hooked up at an AMAZING hunting lodge just outside Tuscaloosa, AL. It's called Zidon Avisha and owned by an the sweetest couple you could meet. We were truly blessed by them.
So our journey began on Thursday, Dec. 22nd around 8:30 a.m. We were COMPLETELY loaded down.
We didn't even care that we had such a LONG drive ahead of us, we were SO EXCITED to FINALLY be with family again after a long 7 months. The first day we drove from Lubbock to Shreveport, LA (with a stop to stretch our legs in Mesquite) where we stayed at a hotel for the night. This was our first hotel stay with Jake and he did GREAT. We all slept surprisingly well. We got up, had a yummy breakfast and got back on the road around 9:00. Jake was such a trooper in the car. He is NOT a fan of sleeping in the car so he never got much more than a 45 min. nap each day. It never phased him though, we brought along plenty to keep him busy, plus the DVD player, of course.
So, we all arrived at Zidon Avisha within 20 min of each other.... pretty good considering we were all coming from 3 different directions. It was SO GREAT to be together again. It was a little chilly when we arrived, but not too bad. We were all in awe of this beautiful house we were staying in. (Mom and Dad stayed in their RV right outside, not that there wasn't PLENTY of room for them inside).
The first 3 days it was cold and rainy outside so most of the fun was had inside, where there was PLENTY to do. There was a pool table, ping-pong table, two huge TVs, a sun room where the kids could run and play, we brought our Wii along, and of course, just good 'ol cousin fun.
Once the weather cleared up, though, out we went and pretty much stayed for most of the day. We did a lot of fishing, walking, exploring, rock collecting, and "tractor" (golf cart) riding. We all loved being outside, it was BEAUTIFUL, and there was PLENTY of room to run.
Dad went fishing for a little more than fish... a basketball, and the end of a fishing pole to be exact.
Christmas morning was a blast with all the cousins together. We listened to Tonya read and Josh recite from memory the Christmas story. Our family has always made it a priority to remember what CHRISTmas is all about. The reading of The Christmas story has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Then we got to open presents, Jake really got into it this year.
As you will see, there were plenty of presents to be opened.
A fun time was had by ALL! I couldn't ask for more. We are so incredibly blessed. I just wish we didn't all live so far away so that we could get together like this more than once a year!!
By the end, we were wiped out, but our hearts were full!!
