"Christmas is over!"

It was an eventful day. A very good Christmas. I got more lovely presents than I ever dreamed I would and everyone was in a great mood...until we hit the roads...

Five of us crammed into Dad's (4 person) truck to get down to Grandma and Grampa's because the roads were really rutted and nasty. It was a little wild, but we got there okay and had a great brunch and a good time seeing everyone open their presents.

We rushed out of Grandma and Grampa's to go to see Benjamin Button (which was a really fabulous movie) down at Southcenter. However, 2 blocks away, we got so stuck in the sloppy mess that we couldn't get the car out! Stu, Katie, and I had to get out and walk up to McClellan so that Uncle Pete could get traction. The rest of the way to the movies and then the trip home were mostly uneventful, except that we couldn't go over 35 mph because of the chains on the car.

When we left the movie, there were panicked messages on my cell phone warning us about the roads at home. My dad declared "Christmas is over!" and told us that we'd never made it to Ruth's. He was wrong. The car didn't make it to Ruth's but we did! We had to abandon the car at 13th Ave S. and S. Nevada for the night. Luckily, we had trouble right in front of 3 really nice guys who were outside shoveling. They helped push the car into a dry spot on the side of the road (where it still sits). We walked to Ruth's.

Later in the evening, Paula drove Stu, Katie, Uncle Pete, and myself as far as C&C (the gas station that isn't really called C&C anymore) on Beacon, and we walked the rest of the way home (Uncle Pete walked to his house). It was a chilly end to the day.

The last part of the adventure was in getting back to the apartment. Luckily, after 3 frightening blocks (back to Beacon), things mellowed out and we did just fine. Tomorrow we will reward the car with a nice tank of gas. Sometime next week (when the roads are better) we will give her a nice Costco car wash.