What a busy, busy weekend!!

 Well the weekend just flew by and in four days Christmas will be here.  I hope everyone is ready.  I got up early this morning and Nick and I headed to the mall.. (it opened at 8am).  We got the shopping done we had planned and then met Jeff for breakfast.   Nick went back to the office with Jeff and I headed out to do more shopping.  It was still early, so I got most of my shopping done before it got too busy.  Met Jeff and Ashlee for lunch around 2pm.  After lunch, Ashlee had some shopping to do, so I went with her.  We finished around 7pm.  I took her back to the office and then headed home.  Now for the wrapping.  Think I will do that tomorrow.

Ok, as the title says..I had a very busy weekend.

On Saturday morning, Jeff, Nick and I drove to some land we own to cut our Christmas tree.  This is a family tradition that began in 1980 when Jeff and I got married.  We walked the around the fields looking for that perfect tree.

We finally came across the one tree that would go home with us.  Nick got the saw out of the truck and proceeded to cut it down. 

We drove home and sprayed it with the water hose to get the dust and bugs off and then put it in the stand.  The tree is left outside overnight to dry and  let the bugs find a new home.

We(Jeff, Nick and I) spent Saturday afternoon and evening with Jeff's brother, Jerald and his family(Danna, Brent and Marissa). Ashlee and her boyfriend, Dominic came over with a huge pan of smoked brisket and baked beans.  Danna(Jerald's wife)made cheese dip, guacamole dip,  and a vegetable tray. I brought cheese ball and crackers along with cookies, peanut brittle and chocolate haystacks. We feasted on good food all afternoon.  The guys  shared stories about things done in their younger years.  Lots of laughs.  We watched movies in the evening and finally headed home around 10pm.  It was a most wonderful time together with family.

Sunday came and we brought the tree in. 

I got all my boxes of decorations out in anticipation of spending the day decorating the tree.  Jeff and I had been told earlier in the week that plans had been made for us in the evening and to be ready at 4:30pm for a surprise.

We got dressed and were ready for our big surprise.  We had 5pm dinner reservations at Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse in Bricktown, followed by tickets to the Trans Siberian Orchestra performance at 7:30pm.  Nick was our chauffeur. He dropped us off at the restaurant and advised us to call him when we were ready to come home.   

We felt like two teenagers on a date.  I had chicken florentine; Jeff had salmon on a cedar plank.  The food was delicious.  We finished dinner at 6:30pm and took a leisurely walk through Bricktown.  There is a canal that runs through the area and it was all decorated for Christmas and was really, really pretty.  The weather was perfect for walking.  The Ford Center was about a half mile walk from the restaurant and we arrived about 7pm.  We found our seats...perfect location on the second level and great view of the stage.  The concert started at 7:30pm and was absolutely great!!! The music was fabulous and the light show and pyrotechnics were awesome!!  This picture was at the end of the show. I only had the camera on my phone but you can imagine what it looked like.  Soooo spectacular!!!! 

Nick picked us up around 10:45pm.  When we arrived home,  a little elf (Nick)had decorated the Christmas tree.  What a wonderful son!!!!

It was the best Christmas present our children (Ashlee, Nick, Ellena)could have given us.  I had the best time ever and told Jeff we needed to have date nights more often :-).  Wonder if I can get the children to pay for them...lol.

Well that is it for now.  I feel like I have overblogged this time....but just had a lot to tell and wanted to let everyone know how wonderful our children are.  We love them very, very much.

The weatherman is now saying we might have a white Christmas..of course he is using the ICE word more than snow, but at least we might see some white stuff.

Hope everyone has a great week.  Travel safe if you are heading somewhere for Christmas.  Stay warm and enjoy family time together.

Blessings.....patijane