Some Afternoon Snow

Driveway before (left) and after shoveling.

All We Want For Christmas ... Is Good Health

We managed to get everyone up off the couch for one Christmas Day photo.

Christmas 2012 will go down as the "year that we were all sick." Well, not all of us were sick - but most of us. Julia (fever, cough and sore throat) was worse off. Veronica was also saddled with a fever. Lauren started feeling bad at some point. Not long after that, Olivia was down and out.

So Emily and I were pretty much the only two "doing fine." This explains why no one wanted to go swimming in the hotel pool this morning. Well, Olivia wanted to, but she said it wouldn't be any fun if there was only one or two of us there.

It wasn't long before the 11 a.m. checkout time started creeping up on us, so Emily and I began cleaning and packing up. Though not pictured here, getting the luggage cart from the lobby is always a fun time and Julia and Olivia were up to the task.

Upon our arrival home, we found Santa had visited us overnight. His note answered Julia's question about what time he arrived.

Santa's note. He enjoyed Olivia's cookies.

Poor Olivia. She fell asleep like this in the living room.

So we moved her to this chair.

Lauren made me this terrific piece of artwork. Nice foil background.

Emily made cheesy potato casserole (with help from Aunt Bridget.)

Merry Christmas.

Lauren is more than just unhappy. She's one of three girls who are sick.

Clever Lauren

Check out Lauren's unusual use of stirring straws at the hotel breakfast.

Busy Christmas Eve

Saddled with a fever, Veronica probably won't remember much of Christmas Eve 2012.

The day before Christmas didn't seem like Christmas Eve to a lot of us this year. It might be because we haven't had much snow this year (and the first measurable snowfall in Omaha of 2012 didn't occur until last Wednesday). But we can attest that while it might not have felt like Christmas was just around the corner, it was an extremely busy day.

A sundae cone had Veronica feeling a little better.

We had Emily's sleepover guest, Shari, with us through lunch. While she and Emily made video greetings to their friends and posted them on Facebook, I made scrambled eggs, toast and Brown and Serve sausages. Breakfast also included the telling of the Brown and Serve sausage story of how Uncle Paul was a connisseur of them when he was growing up and spending Saturday nights at Aunt Jean's house.

We also squeezed in our second movie in less than 24 hours. This time it was "Rise of the Guardians." I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone with children younger than 10 unless you want your child to 1) take a nap; 2) be annoyed; 3) be left wondering why Santa Claus looks so strange (and almost evil).

The afternoon was spent getting ready for afternoon church at the Veteran's Hospital. The 4:30 p.m. Christmas vigil mass typically fills up well before it starts. In this case, we arrived at 4:10 and, thankfully, Grandma YD had saved us a pew. We squeezed in – minus Julia and Veronica, who stayed home sick – and enjoyed the 25-minute service.

Lots of little pizzas.

Our original plan for the afternoon had us checking into the hotel before mass. But with people being sick, we changed things up a bit. So after mass, we ate dinner first (pizza, pictured at right), then headed off to the hotel around 6:30 or so. The drive across town took about eight minutes, but Veronica was asleep before we even halfway there.

Emily took on her usual role as "mom" of the family (since I list her as an adult on the reservation), carrying Veronica inside. We were given bottles of water at check-in (because of my premium status with the hotel) and hustled to the elevator to check out our room. On the elevator, another guest saw Veronica asleep and asked us if we had a "long drive" to get there. Funny!

The rest of the night consisted of two things for everyone but Veronica and me: swimming and (NORAD) tracking Santa. Veronica slept the night away, with only a 1 a.m. wake-up call (for her and Julia) for more medicine.

Here's the text of Olivia's letter to Santa (pictured below):

Dear Santa Claus,

Sorry we aren't here! We are at a hotel! Holiday Inn Express! By the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS! We will be going to our mom's house on December 26, 2012! You can leave some presents here and some at mom's house. If you can control the snow, I would be really happy if you could give us more snow!!

Sorry we don't have a Christmas tree but you can just leave them on the floor. I baked you some candy cane cookies. They are probably the best cookies you have ate tonight! (Because I made them!) I don't really know what I want but I like Maverick Hockey! My favorite player is Zahn Raubenheimer #13! What time were you here?!?! You know I got an IPod touch for my birthday?!?! Maybe you could give me a new case!!! or an ITunes gift card. Or a new 5th generation IPod touch!! Just kidding!! I like Build-a-Bear workshop too! I actually have a bear that's name is ZAHN Rubenheimer!! I also have a hippo named Dubbie. I'd like some new books!

I love snow and Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday! I also like drawing! And I like slippers.

Love,

Olivia Weide

Merry Christmas!

More in photos.

Julia's letter to Santa was clear and concise.

Olivia's letter to Santa was quite extensive this year.

Olivia (left) and Emily seemed to be the only 100 percent healthy ones.

Our two-bedroom suite was already looking "lived-in" five minutes after checking in.

Lauren helped Emily suit up for her life-guarding of her sisters.

Veronica was out like a light. (And didn't sleep all night in her jacket.)

Julia suggested we use a picture of "Boo" for this post about seeing "Monsters Inc."

Lauren and me before the movie.

The girls and I – with Emily's sleepover friend, Shari, in tow – went to Aksarben Cinema tonight to see "Monsters Inc." on the big screen.

Here's a revelation from Olivia: "The movie really goes fast when you fall asleep." And a few people did: Lauren, Olivia, Veronica, me and Emily (who "drifted off," she said). Julia did not. Shari didn't fall asleep either.

Before falling asleep, we were looking for the other large pop that we bought before the movie. No one seemed to have it, but they all said Lauren had it. Lauren didn't have it. So I went down to the front (there were only four other people in the theater watching with us) and asked loudly, "Where is the other pop?" Finally, someone told me, "Hey, Dad. There's still a pop out on the counter in the lobby." Yep, Lauren had left it there when she went to the restroom. I had forgotten that she left it there.

Lauren slept across three seats in the back row.

Holiday Concert 2012

Aunt Jean was a surprise guest at the Jefferson School Holiday Concert.
Photo by Bridget Brooks.

 The girls had their holiday concert today and Bridget made sure there was a surprise guest on hand. She picked up Aunt Jean and brought her there. With Grandma Weide also being on hand, it was nice for everyone. Afterwards, Aunt Jean got to stop by her house and enjoy some time there as well. Here's an account of the day I received via email:

Photo by Bridget Brooks.

Today was the Christmas program. We watched the three Weide girls sing with their classmates. Nice program. The girls looked very cute and were glad to see us.

Then we drove her back to the cottages. As we passed F street, I mentioned that we should have driven by her old house.  Bridget got off the Kennedy Freeway on L street and we drove back to 4109. We drove down the alley and through the school grounds and by the front of the house. We parked in front so Jean could check everything out and the front door opened and a girl looked out.  We waved and she went back in and got her sister and they came running out.

They were so surprised to see Jean and fussed all over her.  Bridget took a picture of them with her and then the school bus stopped in front of the house and the little brother got off and came over to see Jean and then went in the house.

Bridget forwarded the picture to Patricia's phone so she could prove to her mother that Jean was really there. She has kept in touch with Jean ever since they first moved back to Texas and then back to Omaha. She said they love the house. It is so big! Her dad is going to put some rooms in the basement.

Jean said it was one of her best days.  She called tonight and said she was tired but was so glad she got out to go to the program and her house.

The Making Of The Christmas Letter

As Emily and Veronica worked on the Christmas letter, Olivia posed for this photo
while Lauren tried to show me a video on her phone. And there's no sign of Julia.

The YD Christmas letter is out and it's likely the earliest it has hit mailboxes. And, for the first time, it does not include personalized messages. For that, I apologize. The letter's production timetable had to be moved up considerably since I'm headed off to Europe for a few weeks. The girls and I set up an assembly line Saturday (in the van, no less, on the way to Lincoln) to fold, stuff, address, seal and stamp the letters for mailing.

As for the content of the letter itself, Olivia and Julia noticed a few typos (can you find them in your copy?), so some of the letters were re-printed. Julia took advantage of the situation and changed her favorite movie from "Hotel Transylvania" to "Wreck-It Ralph." Veronica also changed up her favorite place from "Bounce U" to "Aksarben Cinema." And even with all the re-writes, there were still wasn't room for Lauren's entire letter to be included. So here's her prose that wasn't included:

I went down to see the ruins of the Titanic quite a few times this year. They have a new attraction where you try to save Jack. The soundtrack of the movie goes on all the time. It's quite soothing. I've learned to hold my breath for about 27 minutes straight! Cal tries to beat you up, but you have to joust and fight him off. It's all underwater, so it's really challenging. Then Rose comes over and she's all like, "When you win this game, I'm getting off with you!!!" But I punch her in the face and say "Gosh Rose! I'm trying to save a person here! Move out of my way! I'm saving your man for you! But since I'm saving him … he's mine now! Ta Ta!" *Rose cries and dies*

If you aren't on our mailing list, you can download the Christmas letter as a full color PDF here.

Those of you who are new to our Christmas letter might be wondering about the title. It's always a nautical theme. Here are the titles from past editions:

• 1993: Staying Afloat
• 1994: Treading Water
• 1995: Learning To Swim
• 1996: Making Waves
• 1997: Plunging Into Parenthood
• 1998: Diving In Deeper
• 1999: Waterlogged
• 2000: Another Splas
• 2001: Underwater Views
• 2002: Rockin' The Boat!
• 2003: Weathering The Storm
• 2004: Docked At A New Port
• 2005: The Score: Gulls 6, Buoys 1
• 2006: (No Christmas letter)
• 2007: Missing The Boat, But Still Afloat
• 2008: Torpedoed
• 2009: Up In The Air
• 2010: Smooth Sailing
• 2011: Casting A Wider Net
• 2012: Full Steam Ahead

The Christmas letters, moments before they hit the mailbox at the main post office.

The Girls Have Been Busy...

It's clear they've been practicing down in the basement.

Lauren ... The Burger Queen (or Princess)

Lauren enjoyed looking through old Christmas letters, now in a spiral binder.

One nice benefit to being home is being able to not only walk some of the girls to school, but also to drive Lauren home from school now and then.

Most recently, that has also meant a quick stop at Burger King for a little snack. Today, Lauren enjoyed some chicken nuggets and fries while perusing past editions of our Christmas letter.

Christmas Is Coming...

...And so is the YD Christmas letter.