Christmas in Wichita

Anson and I have traveled to Wichita almost every Christmas since and even before we were married. We always have a great time visiting with his Dad, Grandma (Mamo) and all of his HUGE extended family. To give you an idea on how big his family really is, every Christmas eve they rent out an entire Mexican restaurant and they pack it to the max. The dinner was set to start at 5. We got their at 5:15 and we had to settle for a table in a tight corner in the front of the restaurant. Anson's grandma is the oldest of 11 so we always have lots of visitors stop by our table to visit with her. The first Christmas I shared with the family, I was a little overwhelmed entering the restaurant, but his family quickly welcome me with open arms and lots of kisses. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful extended family! They also bring Santa in to visit with the kids. Last year Ethan wasn't so sure about Santa at first but this year he was thrilled!

It was also snowing like crazy this year. I think this is the most snow I have seen in years. After eating we went back to Mamo's to visit and open gifts. The kids had a great time. Ethan tested out his new rainboots in the snow with daddy.

On Christmas morning we woke up early and enjoyed a yummy breakfast caserole and opening gifts with Papa Jon and Grandma Sheryl, Uncle Jordan and cousin Ivy. Ivy was a great "babysitter" for the kids. They loved her!

After getting packed up, we got in the car and headed back to Dallas for Christmas dinner with my family. This was a bit of a scary trip. OK City was hit with 14 inches of snow the day before and the roads were horrible! We saw around 100 cars stranded off the side of the road. We actually saw one car skid off the road and get trapped in the snow. We pulled over and Anson attempted to help the guy get his car out, but had no luck. Our drive is normally around 5 hours. This time it took 7.5 and we only stopped long enough to take a potty break and get some food to eat in the car.