OUR "CHRISTMAS VACATION"

I have been blog stalking and searching what other blogs have said or done for the holidays, and of course they are wonderful fun times with family and friends. But I have to say, I think the Chesnik-Tuckett clan had a pretty memorable holiday, ourselves.
I have not blogged for quiet a while so this may be very long. Just sit back and enjoy!!!
First I have to start with Thanksgiving. We had the whole fam damily, over to my house. You have to picture a cracker box house filled with a lot of corn balls and a few nuts. We had 5 families, including a great grandma, aunts, uncles, moms and dads, sisters, brothers, not to mention grandma and grandpa and a dash of very cute grandkids. The one BIG thing missing was my oldest daughter and her adorable family. (She had to work and couldn't make it).
I was the one who prepared the whole meal!! That was a amazing considering I never cook anymore. Everyone brought a little something extra to add to the meal.
It was great! I loved every minute of it. Football, turkey, pies and a whole lot of snacks...awe the noise and smells...it reminds me of when I was a child. Very cool :)

Our Christmas Holiday, that was something, else. It all started with our Christmas tree cutting, outing. It was a "Christmas Vacation" trip that Justin always wanted and got. I know,reciting the events would not give it justice. You had to be there to believe it. This story is far too long to tell, and so I will try to keep it short and sweet.
First, Matt was very kind to invite us to his cabin. Us, being Justin, Jen and their kids, Matt and Tricia and Me. Matt prepared a delicious dinner for us, a great fire in the fireplace, and a warm comfy place to visit.We watched "Christmas Vacation", played Yahtzee late, then went to bed. There is a whole lot more to this, but I will spare you the details. Just know it was so fun!






The next morning, we all got up. Matt fixed us the best breakfast, then we headed out to cut that Griswold tree. I am telling you, IT was a Griswold adventure, too. We left at 10:30 AM and didn't get back on the highway,until almost 5:00 PM.
This story is a long one too and I would love to recite every single minute, but you would probably kill someone, like Tricia wanted too.
To make a short and sweet story out of it. We searched all day looking for that one tree that makes our homes look festive. We were up and down and all around Cedar Mountain. The two trucks got stuck in snow packed streams, climbed steep snow packed hills. We tried the highest peaks and the lowest valleys, looking for that great tree! We found trees to small, too tall, too fat, too skinny, some had branches missing that were important to the "whole" look. Trees that cried "pick me, pick me", Trees that said "Leave me here, please".
Of course, me being the sweet, cooperative, easy going person, that I am, found my tree, 1/2 hour into the hunt. (Tricia and I had a quick prayer, for the now dead tree.




MY TREE IS THE LITTLE ONE IN THE MIDDLE

MY TREE IN MATT'S TRUCK

MY TREE ALL DECKED OUT

But Justin....now that was a different story. He really wanted that tree with the "golden rays" beaming down on it. (like the Griswold tree). We thought we found it several times.......but no......we searched and searched and searched. There were a few cuss words, expressed, a few dirty looks and alot of heavy sighs....to no avail. So we continued our search.
We were losing light, a bit. So being the Mom, in the party, I started to get a bit concerned.I thought we were a million miles from home. We only had a few bottles of water and a few snacks and some scraps of bread. "We will die out here", I thought to myself. But we continued on.
We finally went up this very steep hill. Tricia and I had to pee in the worst way. We were all hungry and we still didn't find that stupid tree. Matt kept telling us that SR 14 was just over the hill. But it looked like the Antartica, to me. I knew we were lost. When we got to the top, the road stopped. "Just Great!!!" "Now What?"
"Who gives a crap about a @#&* tree" were just a few of the things I heard.
Justin turned around. Matt followed. Then Justin stopped his truck. I saw his arm out the window...he was pointing to something. We all piled out of the trucks. Tricia and I ran to the nearest trees :)
They found a tree!!!!
Justin and Matt cut the first tree they came to, as we drove down the road.
FINALLY!!!
Now getting off the mountain is another long story. I won't bore you with the details, but it was the funniest and funnest thing I have been part of in a very long time.
At the end of this, there are pictures of out "Great Adventure". Tricia and Jen did a victory dance but I couldn't get it to down load.
I love you guys! Thanks for one of the best adventures I have ever had.

JUSTIN'S DECORATED TREE

JUSTIN'S TREE IN HIS TRUCK

JUSTIN'S GRISWOLD TREE (NOTICE THE SMALL WHITE DOT? THAT IS MATT)

I was so lucky to have all my kids with me on Christmas Day. The really sad part about it, was that I never got a family photo of it. The weather was so horrible and the time together was so short, we only thought about hurrying everything. Amy couldn't get here until very late. She left Vegas in the morning, but a flat tire and rain and snow kept her long.
Justin, Jen, Tricia and Matt were up late getting ready for Santa, so they had present wrapping hangovers. They arrived later, too. We ate and chatted and played with the kids, then the horrible snow came and came hard. The wind was awful. It blew so bad that it blew the power out. my kids decided to try and leave. Now if you know me, you know I worry, constantly. It made me ill that they were going to try to drive to Vegas and Hurricane. I was scared for them.
We had no power, the kids were scared and everyone knew Bob and I had to work. early, the next day. So they braved it. Thank you, Lord, for watching over them. They got home safe.
Tricia and Matt stayed with me, in candle light, to keep me company. Christmas came and went, very fast. But I have some super neat memories with my kids and grandkids. My only regrets were not enough time, with them, and I didn't have presents to open for Amy and her kids,(surprise visit) They only got gift cards. But having those precious arms around me and their warm kisses made me a very happy Mom and Grandma.