Christmas in July?

Did you know that at the Gates Home we like to make plans? That's right, neither Jenn nor I are exactly spontaneous with big events, especially when it comes to traveling. That's why over the past week or so we've been talking with family and setting our Holiday Season schedule. (For friends visiting here, feel free to skip over this post. I'm only mentioning this here so our extended family can know what we'll be up to and when.)

First of all, the philosophy behind our plans: (1) Lincoln won't be as into Christmas this year as he will be next year. (2) There's a decent chance Lincoln will have a brother or sister at Christmas 2010 (no, we're not announcing anything right now). Making big trips with 2 kids, 1 being very young, will not be nearly as easy (and will be more costly) as traveling with 1 this year. So...

We're spending Christmas in Scottsdale this year. Jenn and Lincoln will fly out in mid-December and join Great-Grandparents Mullen out west. I'll fly out on Dec. 23 and we'll spend Christmas in the desert. We'll then come back to (hopefully) some snow on Dec. 27, and a GGH Christmas sometime between Christmas and New Year's (I understand the Hopwoods are still working on this one).

We understand that most extended, out-of-town family will want to see Lincoln this year, and we're sorry that this isn't going to work out for everyone. Beginning in 2010, it will be the priority in the Gates Home to have Lincoln and future little Gateses at their home on Christmas morning, and our Family Christmases will be planned accordingly. So for the out-of-towners who will be coming to NE Ohio... we'll be here.

On the subject of travel, Grandma Paulette and Grandpa Doug have agreed to watch Lincoln for an extended time so Jenn and I can go on a vacation together. As we were thinking about long term plans, it became clear to us that the best opportunity for the two of us to travel without kids is at the end of this year. Vacationing when Jenn is pregnant or after there are two kids will be very difficult (Grandparents watching two little ones will be an even bigger task, too). We're hoping to schedule a cruise in the next couple of days for the first week in November.

Finally, it's looking as though Jenn and I will be staying in northeast Ohio for Thanksgiving this year. Work primarily is keeping us here, but we're not disappointed... this will just be a more low-key Thanksgiving for us this year. (Recall parts One and Two from our Thanksgiving fun at the Hopwood Home last year!)