Holiday Hangover

 

Now that the Christmas holiday season has passed,

I'm feeling the back-to-work-blues.

(yes, that is a legit thing)

To add some cheer back into my grumples,

I've been looking through pictures of the happiness and laughter 

from the last couple of weeks.

 

 

I was lucky to be able to take a week off,

so we packed up the wagon

and headed to the midwest for the week.

(a lot of caffiene was consumed)

 

 

And now, prepare for a giant picture dump, friends.

It's a big one ;-)

 

We went to Posey County first

because my grandpa was getting married.

It was great to be part of the celebration!

 

 

My other grandpa, Bob,

is pretty famous around town

for his peanut brittle.

He makes upwards of 100 lbs of peanuts for the holidays,

and tins of it at local auctions

even went for 36 bucks a piece this year!

 

 

One morning we were lucky to spend it with him,

learning the fine art and drinking out of frosty mugs.

 

 

The peanut gallery enjoyed telling us what to do.

Har Har ;-)

 

 

 

 

Very serious operation over here.

 

 

We also made the mandatory Turoni's stop.

Thankfully my family still indulges me in this request.

 

 

Jax also enjoyed the always filled food buffet at my parents house...

 

 

....and the constant acess to all outside goings on.  

 

 

To combat all of the treats,

we also did a lot of running while we were home.

 

 

 Southern Indiana is truely one of my favorite places to run.

 

 

 Before we knew it though,

it was time to say good-bye and head north.

 

 

 Oh Indiana,

you sure do know how to make pollution beautiful.

 

We also downloaded one giant book for the trip.

Because well, 30 hours of driving can get boring.  

(thanks Game of Thrones!)

 

I'm not as good at paying attention as Anth,

so I had to put my Education Degree to good use

and create a giant character map.

 

 

It got pretty out of hand,

but was totally useful.

 

In no time at all (thanks book!),

we had made it to Michigan just in time for fondue!

 

 

And although he hates cold weather running,

(I happen to looooove it)

I convinced Anth to go on a run Christmas morning.

 

As we left, it immediately started snowing.

I took that as a cue to blare Christmas music.

We even passed a guy in a truck dressed as Santa!

 

 

Seriously, it could not have been a more perfect morning

with my two favorite guys.

(yes, Jax is hidden in there)

 

The rest of the week was spent

playing games, clowning around and cooking with family.

So blessed to have joined these monkeys. :-)

 

 

 

 

 The kids sure do love their Poppa Bear.

 

 

As you can tell, the lake house in Michigan

is one of his favorite places too.

 

 

He snuggled in his bed with anyone who would indulge him.

 

 

...even his human friends ;-)

 

 

And again, time sped up and it was time to head back East.

 

And although it's hard to see,

here are even more great pics from our trip,

plus one oldie but a fav of mine -

(our first photo together at camp catching crawdads).

 

In which, Anthony looks normal

and I like an idiot. hahaha

 

 

Kara got me this great camera for my bday,

and Anth and I have been toting it around wherever we go.  

 

Cheers to great trips and two awesome families that we love dearly.



It's the most wonderful time of the year!

As I previously mentioned,

I'm not really crazy about all things Fall.

However, I realized that other day

that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas

are continually my favs each year.

 

Between tree hauling, trimming and snuggling,

holiday parties and first snows,

I just love love love this time of year.

 

Along those lines,

this past weekend we had

all of the Anthony's art buddies

over to the house for a prefinals food fest.

 

It was so nice to have a house filled with friends and laughter.
 

 

Also, cooking for 20 in a kitchen the size of a thimble

is an art-form in and of itself :-)

Ah, city livin.

 

And speaking of city-living....

We made a quick trip to NYC on Sat for an art opening.

I got to see one of my all time favs too!
 

 

It also dumped tons of snow on Sunday and today,

which means working from home today.
 

 

Couldn't.Be.More.Blessed.

 



Christmas Cheer

What a great holiday season it's been. 

I've always loved spending time 

with family during the holidays,

but now that we're far away, 

both Anthony and I (and JDog), 

really cherish any family time we get. 

We're pretty stoked having Jamey, Kate and the kids

so close now (they're in DC)...

and we hit the dusty trail last weekend 

to spend the holiday with them. 

Here are some pics from our weekend! 

JDog quickly making himself at home...

and Weber isn't so sure what he thinks about this. 

HUGE thanks to Jamey and Kate for letting him 

snuggle in for the weekend with us :-) 

Lindsey and Lucy

Hoosiers and Hot Chocolate

A very attentive audience. 

There was also lots of great snuggling going on....

Jax just couldn't help himself. 

Christmas Eve....

Lindsey and Nick are two of the coolest kids ever. 

I'm not partial, I swear :-) 

Shoe twins.

And photodogbombs. 

Nick was super excited that his new 

globe had South Sudan. 

When in doubt, 

two ducks is always better than 1 duck. 

Nothing says dedication like grilling in the rain! 

Christmas dinner. 

 What a great trip...

I can't wait to go back! 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

(a little late)

Happy tree trimming!

Like most of you hot doggers out there, 

making me most happy this week 

was all things Christmas...

And more about our trip to DC soon, 

but first a quick little happy side note.  

Now that we have a tree, 

to our overjoyed surprise, a lot of people 

sent us ornaments as gifts to help us trim it. 

I've never really been 

much of a sentimental person, 

but having these pieces of family 

puts a smile on my face whenever I see them.

Now, instead of just candy canes and lights, 
we've got hand-painted trees from our nieces, 

a special family ornament from my grandma Sue, 

one from the White House,

and some great furry creatures from 

Jamey, Kate, Nick and Lindsey.

I know it may seem cheesy, 
but this makes me really really happy, 
so I don't care what any Scrooges think.

What traditions do you have with 

your family around the holidays? 

I think I just discovered mine. 

:-) 

Merry Christmas to all!