Rich, Heather and Alana’s Blog

My family has done it again.

For the past month and without my knowledge, Rich has conspired with my parents to fly Amber to Fort Lauderdale for Christmas as a surprise to me! Since her in-laws were flying out to spend Christmas with she and Jonathan, I was told that they would be staying in South Dakota and we wouldn’t get to see them for Christmas at all, which I was very disappointed about.

To ensure that it would remain a surprise, Rich offered to mail Amber and Jonathan’s Christmas package that I had prepared. Knowing that Amber would be able to open her gifts in person, he planned to mail the package to Fort Lauderdale. But I complicated the process when I asked him to get a tracking number, so he proceeded to stuff a box with old magazines (as a “fake” package for me to “track”) and mailed it to Amber and Jonathan in South Dakota. Then he mailed the real package to Fort Lauderdale. I was none the wiser. I had my little tracking number and Amber even called when the fake box arrived and told me that she’d opened it and put the presents under their tree. Ha. So much deceit

When we showed up at my parents home and Amber came out and surprised me, I freaked out and spent the rest of the evening trying to sort through all the lies. So fun! Rich hardly had time to get the camera out and obviously, this picture didn’t turn out well, but it definitely conveys my utter shock!

The only way it could have been better was if Jonathan had been able to come as well! We love and miss you, Jonathan!

Siblings Reunite!!! Amber and I could not BELIEVE how much Shawn had grown since we’d seen him last summer. At 13, he is now the same height as me at 5′9″ and growing quickly. He only needs another inch or two to have Amber beat, and we know that in a few years we will all be looking up at him.

It was also a little surreal because I just turned 26 and will be twice his age this year! I was 13 when he was born!

Picking up where we left off…

My lovely Am!

Here is Fred, Shawn’s pet lizard-thing. I think he is called a “Chinese Water Dragon” or something like that! We all like him because he’s cool and low-maintenance and because it is completely entertaining to watch him eat his crickets and worms!

Christmas shopping!!! Since Fort Lauderdale has several great malls, we started at one of our favorites, The Galleria, and had a lot of fun. We did some Christmas shopping for the family, and mom bought Amber and I cute silk tops from Express. Amber cracks us up talking about the lack of good shopping in South Dakota, so whenever she comes to Florida, she gets all excited about the great stores.

Rich took this shot of us girls in the Galleria food court, truly the best food I have ever had in a mall. It rivals most restaurants! I had some rotisserie chicken and steamed veggies for lunch!!!

Mom and her girls. The girls and their mom.

Mom had organized a birthday party for me on the 21st as I turned 26 and dear friends came to visit! Here is my longtime friend Lisa and her wonderful husband Matt…along with their adorable son, Ethan.

This is Amber’s dear friend Lauren and her sweet husband, Justin. It was so good to see them again!

Opening gifts…

I LOVE being with friends and family…that is definitely when I am happiest!

Lisa and I actually share a birthday on December 21st, and are one year apart in age. So, here we are with the beautiful birthday cake…

We had two Christmas celebrations this year, since Amber flew back out on Christmas Eve. Amber opened her gifts from us and we all opened our gifts from her on the 23rd, and then we had to celebrate without her on Christmas morning. It was so sad to see her go, but I was SO thankful I got to see her.

Dad recently bought a used boat and he and Shawn will be fixing it up and using it to go fishing, so we all went in on a cooler with a bunch of snacks and a gift card for Bass Pro Shops for the boys to go pick out what they want for the boat!

Here is my super cute dad with a Planters collection we got for him.

And here is Papa Bear, my dad’s dad. He came over to help us celebrate and gave us thoughtful gifts that our Granny Bear had purchased before she passed away about 2 years ago.

Last Christmas, Rich started what would develop into a goofy family tradition: rubbing gifts that we really like on our faces. Nevermind. You had to be there. It was hilarious, I promise Here is mom expressing her excitement at receiving “Over the Hedge.”

And Rich really liked the money from Amber and Jonathan! I couldn’t believe he actually touched his face with it, though, tradition or not!

Mom surprised me with two of the greatest stuffed animals of all time. We saw these last summer at Disneyworld and I was temped to buy them (for when we have kiddos) but didn’t. Mom is so great.

Mom and dad totally surprised Shawn with his dream Christmas present: an XBox 360. His reaction?

My sister is the cutest girl in the world. No contest. Here she is with a pink sweatshirt from Shawn. Contrary to the face she is making, she really liked it!

Binoculars from mom…

And so, those are just a few of the pictures we loved from Christmas vacation 2006!

As Rich mentioned in his previous blog post, we had an amazing time at the Calvary Chapel Christmas Celebration, and one of the highlights was Calvary’s “stomp” rendition of “Drummer Boy.” Well, that video has been uploaded to YouTube, so we thought it would be fun to share it with all of you! Turn up the volume on your speakers and enjoy! And HAPPY NEW YEAR!