Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa

Christmas Eve! Carrie and I drove to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick up Shane and celebrate. When we got there, Grandma and Grandpa were hand-making pasta. And they wanted Shane to help!

Only Shane saw Loki and immediately went to pet him. He couldn't help until after he washed his hands (Sorry, Lokes. You're not that sanitary!).

I've never made pasta by hand before, but it's a lot of work.

So why not add some youthful enthusiasm to the process?

It was a family tradition for Grandpa. He said his mom used to drop a large bowl of dough on the kitchen table and start pasta production. Carrie told me she used to help make homemade ravioli when she was younger, too.

I prefer to eat. Grandma and Shane had made some "Japanese style dough" which got turned into homemade cinnamon rolls!

I took Loki outside to burn some energy and mark the yard with deer repellent (He's very thorough). 

One of the neighbors walked by with their dog while I was distracted on my phone (That doesn't happen on a farm). Loki was halfway to them before I noticed. Thankfully, both dogs were friendly and I talked to Bob for a little bit. His grandson was only a year old or I would've set up a playdate!

Loki would've loved a playdate himself. Bob's dog was a lady. For the rest of our visit, Loki kept trying to direct me to the garage door! 

When I did go out with him again, he wanted to sniff the road where his new lady love had rested her keister. 

While I was on my dog escapades, Carrie got drafted into cooking Christmas lunch! "I did not come dressed for this!" Carrie said as she leapt into action.

Carrie took care of the salmon and asparagus while the pasta makers switched from ravioli to spaghetti. 

It doesn't require that much effort to turn the crank, but my dramatic son wanted everyone to know just how hard he was slaving away.

He momentarily stopped complaining when he saw the dough turn into spaghetti! That was his new favorite thing. When Grandma and Grandpa switched to linguini later, he kept asking, "Why not more spaghetti?"

Carrie told him she was proud of him for helping. 

Shane took a break to go upstairs and show me the model osprey Grandpa built with him (If you recall, Shane told Grandpa that was his favorite at the Air and Space Museum). 

Shane had a favorite story from the week. I heard it on the phone, but it was so good he just had to tell me again (or he forgot he told me!).

Grandpa drove Shane down to the naval base in VA Beach to show him all the boats. "There were destroyers, cruisers, science vessels, aircraft carriers, and floating hospitals!" Shane said. 

But the best moment was at the gate.

The soldier who was checking IDs at the entrance was bored and distracted when Grandpa drove up. The guard mumbled a request for ID and his countenance changed when he saw Grandpa's rank (Captain O-6). Suddenly, his posture straightened. He threw a salute and tried to make up any past disrespect with gushing new respect!

Shane loved it. If he decides to join the military one day, the soldier's snap to attention will have been the initial seed of it!

Grandpa came up shortly after Shane's story. He gave Shane a brief explanation of his Navy career, showed him the boats he sailed on, and cleared up some confusion points ("Grandpa was a Captain! He had his own boat!" Shane said. I replied, "No, he became achieved Captain rank after he was land based.")

We were about to go downstairs when I noticed some high school yearbooks.

Carrie's high school year books.

"One of two things is going to happen if we shows those to your mom," I said. "She'll either laugh or be horrified."

Shane was eager to find out which.

It was definitely horrified!

Which brought lots of laughs and some great pictures!

Like the motto for Sour Patch Kids candies, first Shane was sour, but then he ran to be sweet.

He ran downstairs with Carrie's stuffed Chilly doll and said, "Look what else I found, Momma!"

After that we all sat down for food. Shane was a fan! 

We had salmon, ass-pa-grass, and potatoes. 

Loki really wanted to help eat. He doesn't whine, but he did follow me into the kitchen whenever I went for extra helpings. I *may* have dropped some salmon bits on the floor, but you'll never find the evidence.

Presents were next!

Gift giving is definitely a love language on Carrie's side of the family. They personalize the wrapping paper and write messages on the tags.

It's a fun ritual and it makes everything more memorable. I appreciate the effort all the more, because I would never take the time for it myself (My idea of wrapping is to throw a gift in a bag and say, "Here!").

Shane looks forward to the catharsis of ripping packages open and discovering what's inside. To make an analogy, if presents were cupcakes Shane would eat the whole thing in one bite and spit out the wrapper as he moved on to the next!

We started with a gift presentation from Shane to Grandma. He'd picked something out with his own money while he and Carrie were picking up fish equipment in Wal-Mart.

It was Donut Shop brand coffee! 

Shane was set loose like a shark at a feeding frenzy afterward.

Carrie had requested practical gifts like clothes for him.

He got new shoes, new clothes, a baby Yoda doll, and a Navy hat.

Shane handed me a present and I could immediately tell it was books. Grandpa discovered a new author over the summer and he was eager to share!

While we were still talking, Shane ran down with another "Will Mom be horrified or laugh?" find. He tried to cover it up for a dramatic reveal, but everyone knew what it was from the frame: 'Middle School Carrie!' 

Carrie got nostalgic instead of bouncing off either extreme. I commented 'Middle School Mike' would've made a pass if he could've worked up the courage.

We were going to head out, but Shane told us excitedly about a new Shaun the Sheep holiday special. He turned it on before we could get up! 

It was short enough we could still make church service (albeit with less of a time cushion), so we watched and laughed before heading out.

Grandpa and Grandpa walked us out and to the street.

When we got home, I opened the trunk to unload and realized all my help had disappeared. Shane had run inside to see if Carrie had added more fish to the tank.

She had! There were guppies! Carrie and I had picked them up from Loki's groomer on our date day.

Several of the females were pregnant and Shane was overjoyed that he may have even more fish after a awhile!

I was able to pry Shane away eventually to help unload. We were going to go to the 6 PM service at our normal church, but I called an audible when it looked like people would need rest and food after the drive.

Shane and I went to the 7 PM service at Scottsville UMC instead. Carrie turned on the stream from the couch and didn't move from there for the rest of the night.

Shane enjoyed signing all the carols. For a kid who likes to hum so much and can remember notes, he can't seem to hit them or match a group when singing aloud! It's a good thing the Bible emphasizes making "a joyful noise" and not a "key, timing, and pitch correct" one!

Shane was overenthusiastic with his glowstick for the candlelit portion of the night. He snapped it back and forth until it cracked and started leaking all over his hands!

We got home a little after 8 PM. Carrie was still awake to wish us a Merry Christmas, but asleep soon after. Shane really wanted electronics, but I told him he was done for the night. He got to sit and talk some at the kitchen table with me instead. 

Shane went to bed without issue a little after 9 PM. He was tired and said he hadn't slept the best at Grandma and Grandpa's. I went outside and checked on the horses after he was asleep to finish off the night myself. 

Tomorrow was Christmas!