Christmas Countdown

In honor of that age-old tradition, the Advent Calendar, I am going to present to you a selection of my wonderful tree ornaments. These ornaments, which I curse every year because they are so much work, really mean a lot to me. There are many memories tied up into these cheap little trinkets. So counting down to Christmas, I present to you one per day. The good. The bad. The ugly.

The first one is a favorite of my oldest son. He is a saxophone player. We got this on a trip to New Orleans in the summer of 2002. New Orleans was a stinky, simmering, sweaty mess of a city in the summer. I am, however, glad that I got to visit before the catastrophe of Katrina.

After a couple days in New Orleans, we went to Panama City, Florida, for five days. Stayed on the beach in a nice little motel with efficiency rooms. Then we went to Disney World for four days. And then the long drive home to Texas.

I would have to rate that as one of my top five vacations ever. The only thing I would do differently is to go to Disney World, and then spend five days at the beach. I loved the beach because it was really peaceful, quality time with the boys. Disney World is hectic and exhausting. I could have used some quiet time at the beach after that!