That is not going to work out. The trip is eight hours minimum if no weather problems happen. :(
My parents keep hoping we'll be there Xmas day again at some point, but we're still in the "believing in Santa" phase and also have my M-I-L staying overnight Xmas Eve now because she can't drive anymore and wouldn't be there Xmas morning otherwise.
I've emailed the one sister with alternate suggestions...
I'm trying to do online gift-research, and the older my kids get the harder this is! I think it's because older kids' toys suck, as opposed to Fisher Price and V-Tech stuff from the past. My daughter is borderline on the Littlest Pet Shop stuff-- i.e., dolls are almost dead to her but she likes those. Can't give her endless gift cards! My son is more flexible, except that toys for boys his age are awful: cars, boring action figures, cars, Transformers that become cars, etc. Might be time to consider Pirate Island LEGOs while I can, now that he's no longer ditzy enough to mix alllll the different kinds of LEGOs together (yes, on a playdate with a friend they dumped about 10 Bionicles into a single container. So much for those).
I looked at hedgehog toys on a whim (his weakness), and discovered that the lamest part of his collection might not be a dog toy but a Beanie Baby instead. It's not even fuzzy. :0 Someday I'll post pics of his hedgehog family. ;)
Running: THIS year I'm running 4 miles, as opposed to last year when I was just starting to run again after 1 1/2 years of being sidelined by plantar fasciitis. I love running in the cold, and really love running at night during Xmas light season-- which has started! \o/ Also hit my fastest time last night-- 36:40 for 4 miles. Three weeks ago, I was verklempt over a 40:40 run over that same distance. Big improvement!
