Christmas Vacation?

[Ken524]

Originally Posted by james

Ken,
The basic theme was that everybody had to sit down and eat a multiple course Italian lunch before the kids could open their presents. Hah. Eat your lasagna, then you can have Christmas. :-)

LOL... We'll definitely feel like we've eaten a multi course Italian meal before we get to the presents. My mother-in-law cooks SO MUCH food!

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by Les

Dave – did you see my attached picture? That white stuff you see tends to inhibit construction.

Les...

LOL.

I guess I glanced over the picture.

Don't tell me you will have to wait until spring!

[CanuckJim]

Les,

No way out buddy. Here's the scenario: insulated tarp enclosure, propane salamander, toasty mortar and mason. Get to it.

Jim

[Les]

Jim,

My neighbor already offered me the heater and tarps (I gratefully declined). There is the issue of mucking around in it and the incredibly painful clean up.

My studlyness goes out the window in regard to cold.

Les...

[SimpleMike]

We'll be hosting Christmas for the family for the third year in a row. We love a warm, full house. We'll cook too much & eat too much. We'll play with new toys and if there's enough snow we'll tie tubes to the back of our ATV's and drag the kids around the pasture. Life's good!

One of the best vacations we took was just after Christmas two years ago. We rented a car and drove around Costa Rica for 10 days with our 9 and 7 year old kids. Costa Rica is one of the best places to travel for families. You can drive from an active volcano to a rain forest to a white sand beach in a matter of hours, and the Costa Rican people love kids.

One of the biggest surprises was the Pizza! Outside of San Jose there was no fast food for the kids (a good thing, IMHO), but even the smallest towns had a pizzeria. In a few minutes we would be munching on a hot handmade pizza that was better than any "corporate" pizza in the States. We'll be going back in a couple of years. Anyone else been there? I'd love to share experiences.

Happy Holidays to all!

Mike

[Acoma]

Les, if your friend is willing to loan the insulation tarp, I will volunteer to use it. I will test my manliness with the cold. Once the tent and heater are in place, I will work diligently towards completion. Only snow storms will stop me.

[Inishta]

Last year, for the first time ever, we went to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. Roast Turkey and all the trimmings. In Muslim Turkey!

The reason was that we had just moved into our new house and were having a house-warming party for 125 people, complete with live Turkish guitar/sas music, on the 27th. It had become a tradition to have a party a couple of days after Xmas and before New Year but the work involved with it last year made us decide to be pampered. We were so happy with the experience that we have booked again for this year.

The after Xmas party will be further enhanced this year by the addition of our WFO and I'm working out the menu. It'll be great if we can cook everything in it. I haven't gotten to the stage of making my own pizzas yet so it will be based around what I know about main course meals. I will let you know the result.

I wish all of you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Inishta

[Acoma]

Inishta, the party sounds great. I am sure the food and entertainment will be fantastic. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

[jengineer]

Two years ago we trekked over 1000 miles with a newborn so the grand parental unit could see their newborn grandchild - my avatar. Last year we stayed in town and visited the in-laws. This year we are staying semi local a friend has a home/condo about 100 yards from the surf in Ventura. The wife has always wanted to open Christmas presents in the nude. Our friends are just as twisted so she may get her wish. I have been offline due to a new addition

[Acoma]

Christmas will definately be exciting if you get your wish Jengineer. Some bathe in the nude. Your family seems to get more exciting each year, and why not. With the additions you are getting, you seem to have great family traits.