To make a long story very short, we flew in from Houston this morning after missing our flight in to Lubbock last night after a monster delay out of Rochester. We ended up at Hotel Scary down the way from Houston Intercontinental at about 12:15 a.m. last night. After we showered and were tucked into our cozy little double bed, a member of the cast of the Fast and Furious spent 20 minutes revving the engine of his crotch rocket right outside our window. Lovely. I was actually so beat down at this point that I got the giggles.
Our five days of Christmas with the Buchanans, Coles, McCauleys, Panzicas and Minemiers were completely worth our 24 hours in travel Hades. Here's a recap of the memories we made with our dear, dear familia...
Christmas Eve in DC with the Buchanans and Coles featured delicious Pioneer Woman cinnamon roles lovingly prepared by Dee and Jess, a trip to the Spy Museum, lunch at Rosa Mexicano (ole' mole), touring monuments in the snow, and dinner at The Prime Rib.
DeVito and Arnold are ready for their appearance at The Prime Rib.
On Christmas Day, we loaded up and trekked to the home of Dee and Jessica's friends for the day. It was so lovely. Matthew had the best seat on the way.
Mike Cole introduced the Buchanans to milk punch. We were surrounded by milk mustaches.
Classy B saw the business end of Linus the Attack Cat. His total cuteness masks the heart of a forearm assassin.
The rock stars and groupies enjoyed some serious Guitar Hero action.
Jessica masterminded a delicious Christmas dinner crowned with this. Notice Dee trying to hone in on the culinary glory.
On the day after Christmas, Jared, Little C and I headed out for Rochester where we were hosted by the lovely Panzicas. We met the McCauley clan for Sunday brunch and were, as usual, spoiled rotten with gifts. Little C received some darling stuffed animals and adorable clothes. Grams looked so pretty. This was Jared's first Christmas away from his family. I was so glad we were able to get the traditional cousin picture with Jared, Grams and Kerry, even if we were a couple of days late.
We stopped in Dansville to see the Minemiers and again were showered with gifts. We had a lot of good laughs with Grams, Gramps and Jared's Uncle Ron.
This is one of my favorite walls in the world. It's like a visual Minemier family history. Silhouettes of children, a sweet portrait of Diana, a drawing of the Mitchell family home and a map of Dansville. I could stare at it all day long. It is just perfect.
I always love spending time with Jared's family. They are all so sweet. And they have all of these little tidbits about Jared's childhood that I absolutely eat up.On our final morning in Rochester, we woke up to this complete beauty.
And Aunt Diane sent us off with this amazing french toast cassarole. She and Tony are the most welcoming, gracious hosts ever.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for our loving families and for a beautiful holiday week. We talked a lot about the fact that we'll likely be making the trip east with an eight month old next year. How crazy exciting is that?
No comments:
Post a Comment