Christmas 2009

I know I have been really bad about this whole blogging thing but now that things are starting to get organized I thought I could squeeze in a moment to catch up on my blogging. This post is only two months late but hopefully I can get caught up soon.

For Christmas this year we almost had the whole Mark and Lois Mansius clan together in one place. We were just missing Lee who was able to come and visit Mom and Dad but only before the rest of us got there. We got to come and visit Mom and Dad's new home in Texas and Mom has decorated it so that it looks great!

First off in order to get there we took a two day train. The kids thought that was a blast. We got two rooms that had chairs that turned into beds. The kids thought it was a lot of fun to eat and sleep on the train. The kids even made a new friend while waiting at the train station. If you ever have the time to travel the train is a nice way to go. You don't have to worry about driving or cooking. You can sit back and relax. It was a lot of fun!



They kept us busy the whole time we were there. I'm sure I'm going to miss something but in San Antonio we saw an old mission, the Alamo, Riverwalk, Natural Bridge Caverns, and a Wildlife Ranch. At the Ranch we all got to feed goats, zebra, and even ostriches (which are mean!) Plus the boys (Keith, James, and Neal) spent one night together watching a BYU game. I don't know who they were playing against but as you can see from the picture BYU won!

Once we got to Mom and Dad's house near Houston we saw NASA Space Center, Downtown Aquarium, the Houston Zoo, Children's Museum, The Health Museum (which at first didn't sound interesting but was really neat so don't miss it if you are in Houston), and the Museum of Natural History. All were a lot of fun!

The night before Christmas following Mansius tradition we all acted out the story of the first Christmas. I'm not sure I remember what everyone was but I think Mom -wise man, James - sheppard, Joshua - Joseph, Eliza - Mary, Neal - Inn Keeper, Aubrey - Angel, - Lilly - Baby Jesus, and of course (still following in the foot steps of tradition) Dad - the donkey. Rachel & I were the photographers whose important duty it was to preserve in memory this important event. That night the kids also wrote Santa and letter and left him and the reindeer treats.




Christmas morning we woke up to the smell of Neal and Rachael making everyone breakfast. HMMMM!!! Mom cooked a lot this week too and it was yummy!!! Then we all gathered around the Christmas tree to unwrap presents. I loved watching my kids open all their gifts. It was a fun and busy Christmas! Thanks Mom and Dad Mansius for having us all over and hopefully we didn't destroy your house too much. Just Kidding! I still have a ton more pictures so next time I get a chance I will post some more of them.

Dec 20 - Jan 1