We have decided that we are not going to go to BC for Christmas this year as we had planned. The biggest reason is probably, that we really feel like we want to relax, and our trips back there are usually not very relaxing. They are definitely fun, but we come home feeling like we need a vacation!

It's because Ted's family is so huge and spread out everywhere, and then we also have a bunch of friends we try to see. Also, the fall has flown by so fast - we've both been so busy with work and house stuff - that we feel like we were just there (in August). So we are just going to stay around here - maybe drive somewhere in the RV or something - and relax.

I'm sad that we won't be going back, but relieved that I don't have to work out any petsitting arrangements for the critters. That is always really stressful at Christmas time.

It will be our first "just us" Christmas since December 1998, when we were supposed to drive to Lumby, but ended up staying in Vancouver due to a snow-storm.

So, we have to buy all the gifts we need pretty quickly, in order to ship them all to either BC or NL. We went out to do some of the shopping this weekend. Ted did really well for his family - he is so good at ideas. I didn't get anything for my family yet. We have a goal to get everything in the mail by December 1, so we'll see how that goes.