Life With the Norman's: Christmas in Colorado

For the first time since we've been married, Isaac and I were able to spend Christmas with family. We looked forward to it for weeks and it was the perfect vacation for us. It was Curtis' first time meeting all of his Aunts and Uncles and his Great Grandpa. It was definitely a different way to spend the holiday, but I can't think of anything better than getting to spend it with family.

Of course, it was adventure filled from the start. Our flight was to leave at 0705 and we wouldn't be us without some type of flight drama. Being pregnant, I had to throw up shortly before leaving for the airport, which made us about 10 mins late. None of the check-in equipment was working, I nearly passed out in line, we almost got in a fight with the lady checking us in and to top it off, we just barely missed our flight but luckily they were able to rebook us, so we still made it to Denver the same day. By the time we got there and had dinner, this preggo lady was exhausted and ended up going to bed about 7, which would have been 9 our time, so I didn't feel as bad about it. We had a wonderful time with Josh and Reiko, and Curtis loved Reiko, crawled right up to her. Curtis had fun at his Uncle Josh's house, especially mastering going up and down the stairs, and he's now an expert at it. We made the four hour drive to Grand Junction and spent the next several days spending time with all our family. Curtis got to know his cousins, and was very intrigued by all the rough housing that I'm sure in a few years, he will love to join in on. Curtis eventually loved his Aunts, although it did take a few days, but by the time we left, we went to them and played with them just fine.We finally got to meet Isaac's best friend Nikki's little boy, Ryker, who is such a sweet little boy. It was fun seeing Ryker and Curtis together. While we were eating, Curtis kept grabbing his hand and trying to pull Ryker to him to play, although since we were at the table, that was a little hard. We were pleasantly surprised Christmas night with a visit from Schamus. We hadn't seen him since our wedding, so it was so nice to catch up for a little while.

Christmas was a lot of fun. I've never experienced it with a big family, so it was different, but very similar to what I've heard my sister-in-law, Melissa, describe all these years with her family. Isaac's family does a big Christmas breakfast with the best waffles I've ever had. Curtis ate half of mine, so I know they were good if he ate them. Christmas morning, we all opened up gifts. Curtis napped through most of that, but did enjoy the boxes and paper once he woke up. It was fun to watch Isaac's nephew, Malakai open his gifts. He was genuinely excited about everything he got and spent the rest of the day playing with his new toys. Then came Christmas dinner and an amazing ham cooked by Isaac's mom and bread pudding for dessert. One thing I love about going to visit Isaac's parents is that Lisa is one of the best cooks I've ever met, and while I always feel like I've gained 5lbs after being there, it's such a treat to get to sample all her wonderful food.

All in all, the trip was so much fun. Curtis did well for having his world turned upside down every few days with travelling back and forth. Nights were rough, he didn't really want to sleep, but thankfully Isaac was there to help. With most people, he did eventually warm up to them, although it took a few days, but I was so thankful he seemed to enjoy spending time with every one.
I'm so thankful we got to make this trip. I'm thankful Curtis got to meet everyone and we got to spend time with our family. I love getting to know Isaac's family and seeing the life that he grew up with. It was a wonderful trip.