Falling behind yet pushing ahead

I have 2 blog posts started, however, I have had trouble uploading pictures, so it may be a week or so until those entries are finished. We have had a lot of fun these last two weeks with the kids being off school. We visited the Wausau area (Athens) for a long weekend over Christmas. We always enjoy our time with Justin's parents. The company is wonderful, the kids enjoy time with grandma and grandpa, Justin and I enjoy time to just relax, and the food is delicious. After the long weekend, we came home unpacked and then seemed to repack for a night at the Holiday Inn for New Year's Eve. We stayed with 3 other families at the hotel, which is near our house. They had a package deal which included the room, unlimited pizza buffet, ice cream sundae bar, movies, snacks, drinks, games for the kids, scavenger hunt with prizes, extended pool hours, and breakfast for everyone in the morning. For less than $100 for a family of 5 , it was worth it!

New Year's Day we arrived home and got ready for company. Our friends from Minnesota stayed with us with their 3 kids for two days. We always enjoy their company and the kids have a lot of fun playing with their kids. The ages match up well, so everyone is happy!

We are now busy packing for our next trip. We are headed to LA this week to enjoy a trip Dana won this past spring. She and 6 girlfriends will be flying out on Tuesday. They will be pampered and attend the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday. Justin and the kids are flying to LA on Wednesday and will join Dana at the hotel. We are extending our stay until Sunday so we can spend time with Dana's brother and sister in law and the kids for the weekend. Dana's mom and step dad will be flying down from Oregon on Thursday to celebrate a belated Christmas with everyone. We are especially looking forward to a trip to Disneyland on Friday. The kids are excited to see their cousins and their Aladodo and Papa. They are also excited that they have had the last 2 weeks off school and will only have to attend 2 days of school this week.

Dana received a letter from Republic Airlines, the company that purchased Midwest Airlines, this week. The letter stated that they have decided not to honor their original agreement of providing travel benefits for 2 years from the day she and many others were furloughed and that they will be terminating all travel benefits effective January 15. It will be an exciting trip to see family, but a sad trip knowing this will be our last free flight on Midwest airlines on Dana's travel passes.

We look forward to sharing pictures from our trip this week, including pictures on the red carpet at the People's Choice Awards!

May God bless your New Year!