Christmas Joy

Christmas was pretty much amazing, and I think it gets better with each year.  Santa stopped in a big way at our house and didn't disappoint!   We started Christmas Eve by letting the girls open their presents to each other, a tradition we've had since the year Lane was born.  Ryan made chicken tortilla soup for dinner, another tradition, and we had homemade rolls and homemade Macaroni and Cheese for the little ones.  Egg Nog pie was for dessert.  We finished out the evening by watching Christmas Vacation and it was Addyson's first time seeing it.  Such a funny movie!  Christmas morning Ryan and I got smart and set our alarms at 6:50 so we could set up a few things before the girls came down at 7.  They always know not to come down before then Christmas morning, ha!  The fun began as soon as the girls rounded the corner.  I think Christmas morning is one of the best parts about being a Mom for me.  It's so magical to see those priceless looks on those sweet little faces.  Addyson's favorite gift this year was her Star Wars Lego Ewok Village, and Laney's was her Flutterby Fairy.  Ryan and I filled each other's stockings and it was fun.  He got me a Happy Light, something to help lift my mood during the dreary North East Ohio winter days!  I also got Ugg boots, very much needed in these parts.  I got him some memory foam slippers, a Playstation game, socks, a tie, and some of his favorite things to munch on.  Since moving to Ohio we don't get to see our extended family on Christmas anymore, but we for sure make the best of it with our little family of four.  We are blessed beyond measure.

G and G Fackrell Visit

We were so excited to welcome Bud and LeeAnn to our house for a pre-Christmas visit this year.  Always such a treat for us to get time with them.  They flew in on Friday and stayed until Tuesday, but while they were here we needed to take it easy for Bud's sake; he'd just had his gallbladder removed.  I was impressed they made the trip at all!  While they were here we saw Regan and his family, played games, Bud and Addyson had a Star Wars marathon, we watched the Texans game, shopped, cooked and baked.  I loved having them here since we haven't had visitors in so long.  Can't wait until they return to Ohio next time!

Christmas Card 2014

Our card for the holidays this year-

The Polar Express

Since moving to Ohio, we've wanted to include a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley County Railroad's version of Polar Express into our holiday plans.  The first year we were here we waited too long to get tickets so they were sold out, last year we had company throughout December, so this year I was finally on the ball and got tickets the day they went on sale in October.  We met Regan and Andrea and their family there and it was lots of fun.  A great way to really get into the holiday spirit!  

Pittsburgh

The week before thanksgiving we decided we wanted to take a fun weekend trip away and originally thought Columbus.  We then decided to head to Pittsburgh because we'd not been there. It's only about a two hour drive away, so that made it pretty do-able.  We stayed in a hotel right in downtown(with an indoor pool of course!), we saw some fun sites including the Duquesne Incline, a pretty neat candy store called Grandpa Joe's Candy Store, a yummy hole in the wall pizzeria and the Carnegie Science Center.  We managed to pack all of it in in about 24 hours.  Pittsburgh was a neat town and I'm glad we got to go!