Christmas Day in Indianapolis

December 25, 2012

Surprisingly, the kids were incredibly patient and let us sleep in on Christmas Day. Liz and I were both pretty under the weather (I had a cough and a fever that wouldn’t go away, she was just starting to get sick with a non-stop headache). We slept in until around 10:00 AM and the kids were nice enough to wait for us to open many of their gifts.

Jasmine, showing off the sleds that she and Jahnu got. Their wish for snow would be answered in a few hours.

A photo of Liz’s cinnamon rolls, which the kids now look forward to each year.

Who am I kidding? I look forward to them each year.

Liz and I got a second dry ice bubble kit, and were planning on letting Jasmine and Jahnu experience the same thing Cameron got to experience, the day before.

Interesting side note: though there were originally two slabs of ice in the container weighing about 5 pounds, by the time we opened it up (about 26 hours later), the pieces were markedly smaller. Using smaller pieces resulted in a much slower and slightly weaker “bubbling” effect.

Jahnu, working on making a very large bubble.

Jasmine, doing the same. I love the look on Jahnu’s face – seems like he’s holding his breath.

Teamwork! Eventually, the kids took to placing the gloves on the table and trying to gently place large bubbles on them.

The mixture here was a bit more watery, and I think that resulted in the bubbles being a bit more fragile. The instructions suggested creating the bubble mixture first, and letting it sit out for a day to create stronger bubbles.

In the living room, Jahnu hanging out with my dad.

Opening the first of many presents, and the parents and grandparents look on.

There was a lot of really great stuff. Even though I’m a 38 year old man, on seeing a few gifts I was thinking Man, that looks like a lot of fun!.

Especially this guy. There’s a handle on the back, and when you pull a trigger… the ogre raises his arms up. The instant I saw this, I thought of Dug North’s automata.

A bit later in the afternoon, we all packed up and travelled over to Robin Run, a retirement village where my Grandma Phoebe has been staying. She had a fall a few weeks ago a broke her femur, and since then has been recuperating here while she undergoes PT.

My Uncle Corky and his family trekked all the way from Ohio, having left earlier in the morning, just to make a surprise visit. L to R it’s my Aunt Vicky, Grandma Phoebe, and Uncle Corky.

When Liz and I arrived, we saw that Grandma was signing a few hymns. My Uncle Corky had brought a device (on the table) that broadcasts music directly into my grandma’s hearing aid.

As she was listening to the music, she and my Aunt Vicky were signing along.

Nearby, Jordan was giving free spins to Jasmine and Jahnu.

Poor Jordan – I think he got a good workout, as the kids kept insisting on getting spun around and around.

Jahnu, dizzy and silly.

In addition to some gifts that people brought, my Uncle Corky brought along some chicken soup he had made himself (which my grandma seemed to really enjoy).

Our visit was somewhat brief, as we were occupying the main dining area. When the other residents were starting to appear for their dinner, we ended up saying our goodbyes.

From there, Liz and I made our way slowly back to Chicago. Since it was Christmas day, nearly every place we encountered was closed. Even the Starbucks and McDonald’s along the way were all shut down – so we settled on getting some snacks at a gas station, to last us for the ride.

Liz was in rough shape on the way back, and slept most of the way. I still had my fever, but despite that… got us home in record time. After a quick shower, we both kind of zonked out on the couch for the remainder of the night. A lot of family and a lot of miles, in the past few days.