Since we were not going to be in New Jersey visiting our granddaughters on Christmas, we had them open the presents we bought them to see how much they’d enjoy them. Calendars and dates don’t mean much to a two year old and a five month old.
Anabelle ripped right into her gift bag and pulled out her presents.
Mom Amanda and Anabelle looked over the Leap Frog Learning tablet we bought her.
Dad Corey opened the box and got it all set up for her. She found it fascinating and she didn’t even realize she was learning things with the games on it.
Lizzie was wondering what this thing was we got her.
Turning it on, it showed all kinds of lights and played music. She really liked it and had a hard time taking her eyes off it.
The gifts were a success, we’re glad we got to see the girls enjoying them. Sadly, we had to kiss them goodbye when they went to bed, because we had a 4:45 am wake up for our trip to the Newark, NJ airport.
Just our luck, we had to drive our rental car back to the airport in driving rain, the temps were just above freezing and with the wind, the cold was downright bitter. The area was being hit with a winter Nor’easter (of course!). We are not used to that piercing kind of cold anymore.
We made it to the airport after a slow, soggy ride and turned in the car. We thought we got a good deal on a week’s rental at $159. When I got the total bill, it had some additional strange charges on it like $25 “Security Fee” and a $23 “Airport Fee”. Taxes, state and county plus a “Rental Tax” added almost another hundred bucks to the rental. That would have bought a lot of diesel for our motorhome!
We can’t drive the Journey up to NJ in the winter because in the area where our kids live, there is only one campground and it is closed from 1 November until 1April every year, so we have to suck it up and fly/drive a rental. Not the way we like to travel, but seeing the girls is so worth it.
Getting off the plane in Augusta, GA, we shucked off our coats and enjoyed the sunny weather in our shirt sleeves. A welcome conclusion to our trip.
We are taking tomorrow off from COE work to catch our breath. We burned a lot of energy keeping up with Anabelle and Lizzie. :c)
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
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Here you're complaining about a 4:45 AM wake up call. Our alarm is going to be bellowing at 4:00 AM tomorrow. Those airport fees sure can up the car rental fees. We always tell our kids that celebrations and get togethers are important. The dates on the calendar aren't so much.
ReplyDeleteGood way to do it. All those gifts at once can be overwhelming for little ones.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are great grandparents in picking out perfect gifts for your girls. Don't envy you that trip or that weather but I can see how worth it it is to you two. Gold star for superb grandparenting. Oh BTW did you get the "kids" any presents or are they too old. :-)
ReplyDeleteYup, they wanted a nice full pot coffee maker because they've been overworking their Keurig coffee maker. We got them one with a lot of bells and whistles to help feed their caffeine addictions... ;c)
DeleteIt must be something about the rentals in the northeast. I had the same experience in Baltimore, but not Florida or Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness the only rentals I've had to do were business related, so I didn't pay. We know all about early mornings. 4:30 comes mighty early!
ReplyDeleteGotta love the family get togethers. We get ours all done in the summer back home and call them what we want.
ReplyDeleteThose grand kids will wear you out! I am sure they had fun.
ReplyDeleteHow Special!!!
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