That's right.
TEXAS!!
Thanks to my amazing sister and her husband. So here's how that happened. The plane tickets to go to Texas were going to cost Chad and I an arm, a leg, and possibly our firstborn child, so we were just going to stay in Provo and work, chill, etc. A little before Thanksgiving, Erin (big sis.), gave me a call. She asked if we were still planning on staying in Provo for Christmas, and I said yes, we still couldn't afford the tickets. Then she asked if they could get us to Texas for Christmas, would we be OK with that.
HECK YES WE WOULD!
So, she and Jason used Jason's frequent flyer miles to get us to Albuquerque on Sunday Dec. 19. They drove up and stayed the night on Dec. 18, and we all drove back to Texas the next day. Isn't that so great??!!? Man. Best Christmas EVER.
Oh yeah! And my parents didn't know we were coming. So, we got back to Erin and Jason's house at about 3AM Monday, and later that morning Erin called my Mom and asked if they wanted to come over for dinner. So my Mom, Dad, and little bro (Alex), came over at around 6PM, still unawares that we were there. Chad and I hid in the kitchen and listened as everyone came inside. When we could tell that they were coming our way (bearing desserts to the kitchen for after dinner), we walked out into the living room. The look on my Dad's face was the definition of the best kind of surprise. I really wish I could have gotten a picture. I cried so much, which I really wasn't expecting to do. Mom and Dad cried too. My Mom said she couldn't figure out who I was for a second; opposing realities clashing with the result of shock and all that :D We all hugged bunches and talked and did a lot of explaining. My older brother came over with his little family a bit later, and we did more explaining to more shocked faces. It was great. Basically, Erin and Jason rock more than everyone on the face of the planet. Put together.
So yeah. Christmas was great. Chad and I really enjoyed staying at Erin's house, hangin' with the kids, and spending time with family. The night before we left for Texas, Chad and I had our own little Christmas, and received the following awesome loot from each other:
