Amber's Personal Idaho: The Chaston Christmas Experience

Last night we went down to Lawrence to the Lembert's for Christmas Eve Dinner, Dominican style!

They had SO much good food!

RIP Porky Pig ='(

I hate eating new foods, but they had lasagna so I was safe even if I hated all the rest of the food there.. which I didn't! Yummm!

On the drive home, I sat in the way back of X-tera (seriously, they should think about putting padding back there.. bumpy roads were not pleasant for my badonky!), and made sure that we were planning on keeping my childhood Christmas traditions. Putting out stockings out the night before to set our places for opening Christmas presents; all the kids sleeping in one room watching movies until we fall asleep (we watched Kung Fu Panda, and I fell asleep 15 minutes into it), while "Santa" and apparently German Chocolate Cake brings us presents. (Yes, my Mom labeled a present 'German Chocolate Cake' for me. Who knew they give you more than just delicious chocolatey goodness!?). Then the kids all get up at 5 and play with their stocking stuffers, and wake Mom and Dad up at 6. We all ended up getting up at 6, because I'm not little anymore, and Christmas morning isn't as magical as it was when I was little.

So when we woke up, after Steven updating us all night: "Guys, it's 3!" "Hey, it's 4:30!" "Holy cow it's only 5!" "It's 5:30 guys!" "Listen, it's 5:40, can't we go down early?" "Get up everyone it's 6!" we go down the stairs to find:

that all the presents had disappeared. All that was there was the tree, a big red empty bag, a Dr. Seuss anthology opened to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and a piece of paper with a poem lying across it that said:

"Oh no! A Christmas mystery!

We hope this lack brings you no tears.

If you were wise you'd check the place

where other stockings disappear!"

So we sent Steven down to the basement, to check the laundry room and the dryer for the next clue.

The inside of the big red empty bag.

The poems were just too cute not to share, so here are the rest of them

(try to see if you can figure out where we were sent on our Christmas present scavenger hunt):

"You found the first of your holiday loot

good for you! Away with dread!

If you want the rest you'll work up a sweat

why don't you clean off first instead?"

"I think you're on to how these clues work

So let me riddle you another:

You want your gifts; don't chill your buns

Why don't you heat them up, my brother

s (and sisters)?"

"If you hadn't been so anxious

When you had first beguns

You might have looked a little closer

'hind where you seat your buns"

"By now it isn't quite so chilly

you're probably quite warm.

But if you want the next set of gifts

You might have to brave the storm"

"Okay--you're doing pretty well,

why don't you take a break?

You could sit down and eat some food

So you don't lose a lot of energy and get really tired, whiny, and weak"

"Two more to go, but where's the next?

I'm sure you want no flab in it

If you want to collect the next set of gifts

Why don't you check a ___________?"

"Come on folks, you've recieved quite a lot

It's clear that in that each of you has won

Instead I think you should do something else --

Go and get some studying done"

So if you didn't catch it, we went to:

-the laundry room

-the shower

-the oven

-behind the red chair in the living room

-the front porch

-the dining room

-a cabinet

-the office upstairs.

I have to tell you, my stocking is my favorite part of Christmas morning, and when I got downstairs to find a box of cereal and a lunchable, and NOT my stocking I was pretty sad.

It was a pretty cute idea though, and it brought in some of that lost Christmas magic.

And here are some of my favorite presents! I'm getting a big shopping trip out in Utah, but my parents thought I should open SOMETHING on Christmas morning.

A Mighty Mouse! Seriously, I love this thing! My computer is really only on so that i CAN use it! This is what I got from German Chocolate Cake! It really does give good gifts!

Sleeping Beauty I knew I was getting because I made my Mom buy it for me. She's my favorite Disney Princess. Anastasia is another one of my favorite movies of all time, and it was really my only Christmas surprise!