Holiday Trip Part 4: Chicago B

So we made it back to Chicago safely and quickly and had plenty of time to prepare for Christmas Eve dinner. We actually fed the kids at the regular time and put them to bed before getting out the good stuff for the real dinner when Tom got back from work. That's right. Work on Christmas Eve. But before we put them to bed we let them open their new pjs and one gift from popo. They really did look adorable in their new footies.

I have to say that dinner pretty much rocked. The turkey breast was moist and bursting with lemony herb goodness. The Chinese ham rivaled our Aunty May's. And the roasted veggies were a perfect complement. While Iz's custard pies didn't hit his usual standard, my attempt to recreate a childhood memory for Tammy worked rather well. She's a sucker for the no-bake cheesecake/Nilla waffer/blueberry (only the can--she hates fresh) thing. It was too much Coolwhip for my taste but I'm glad she got to relive the good ol days.

We spent Christmas morning opening gifts and picking away at leftovers while the Burton's traditional breakfast casserole finished baking. Wouldn't it be great if every morning could be like this? We relaxed and watched Happy Feet and exuded a general contentment with the world. Some highlights of Christmas presents included:
-Keilani's immediate fear upon opening Popo's Christmas Eve gift (a vibrating cuddly pink pig--Keahi loved the vibrating cow back in Laie). She's also deathly afraid of the small cow flashlight her parents bought her a while ago. She likes to take it out of the cabinet and then run away from it when it moos. I think she's got a hang up about barnyard animals. Luckily, Popo's other animal gift (a calico cat pillow with a blanket tucked into it) went much better.
-Jarom ignoring all other presents after opening the Thomas train track set from Aunty Tammy. He even started running a loose train over the picture of a bridge on the box cover. He couldn't wait till we let him open it up to play with the actual track pieces inside.
-Opening my awesome present: an ice cream maker attachment for the kitchen aid mixer Iz got for me. So awesome. We've made cookies, bread, ice cream, and flourless chocolate cake. Yum! My biggest Christmas present ever.
-Keilani's eyes following the candy wherever it went.
-Jarom and Keilani hanging out in a box learning to say Melekalikimaka.

Then for our last day in Chicago we headed to the Museum of Transportation which was a big hit with the boys. Life sized trains and massive farm equipment? What little boy wouldn't be giddy? The boys kinda crowded poor little Keilani, raining down too many affectionate kisses and hugs from rowdy little boys. Afterward, we picked up Tom from work and ate at an awesome Cuban restaurant. Everything was amazing and I loved mine especially (though Kervin's oxtail stew made me realize I'd been missing out on ambrosia all these years). I also really enjoyed the drive through hazy Chicago at night. You can understand why they filmed The Dark Knight here.

I feel like I'm missing plenty of amusing annecdotes but I guess that's what happens when you wait this long to record events. I'll edit later if I recall anything.

We really enjoyed our visit in Chicago--even though we nearly lost some fingers and toes to the cold.