well, i sure did take long enough getting around to this! and, once i did, it sure did take me a long time to prepare the pictures for this post. i should also mention that some of the photos are really not very good, but they still capture the memories. phew, here we go!
so christmas part II took place in cincinnati and dayton with our families and closest friends. we had lots of fun and also had lots of time to relax at heather and danny's house. i swear kevin and i watched more movies in the span of 10 days than we have in the past 3 years!
the day after we arrived in cincy we went downtown to see the trains. it was cold outside, but we warmed up afterward with a great family meal at mccormick and schmick's. it was pretty funny going in to ask for a table for 13 - 7 adults and 6 kids! we sure have multiplied in the past 4 years :)
the next night heather, mom, jennie and i took brooke to see cinderella at the ensemble theatre. it was heather's idea, and it was one of the best christmas presents i received. seeing brooke's face light up when all the actresses/actors stormed the stage for the opening number was so priceless. it was her first time seeing a play at a theatre. the ensemble theatre is very small and intimate, and we were in the first row. it was a great modern-day story of cinderella, and i'm so glad i shared it with the girls i love most in the world. brooke even got her picture taken with cinderella after the play :)
like i said, we also did a lot of relaxing. always a good thing, especially with family over the holidays.
i can't go without mentioning the newest addition to the family - boden - heather, danny and stella's new puppy. he sure is cute! he's also a really great dog. brooke doesn't like dogs at all, but she was forced to live with boden for 9 whole days. it took her a while to be comfortable around boden, but she did eventually warm up to him ever so slightly. i will say that she's been very into "pretend" puppies ever since we left cincinnati. i think she secretly has a soft spot in her heart for boden :) gavin was a much easier sell. he loved boden from the get go, and so did i.
christmas eve was wonderful. perhaps my favorite yet. heather and danny's new open kitchen made for a very nice gathering. everyone arrived early and stayed late. we ate, opened presents, played throw-back video games, ate some more, drank a little, talked a lot, played with new toys and finished the night with everyone (adults and kids) dancing around heather & danny's kitchen island to some great tunes. it was the perfect way to end the night. only for us, this year the night didn't really end there. since we were staying with heather and danny we got to stay up late and witness "santa" getting ready for stella. we also got cozy on the couch and watched salt. like i said, we watched a lot of movies :)
on christmas morning we got on the road and headed to dayton. we had a great brunch followed by presents, quality family time and a great dinner. it was nice for us all to be together and fun to see brooke, gavin and pierce play together and bathe together :) it was a little bittersweet to know that next time we're back in cincy/dayton, carl, mercedes, pierce and baby #2 will be in chicago. soon they'll know what it feels like to travel for the holidays :)
we spent the night in dayton and played a fun card game with bob and kaye that i always enjoy. the next day kaye's family came over to the house to visit. we used to get together with kaye's extended family every christmas evening; however, that tradition has passed and now we rarely see them. as a matter of fact, some of the family had never met brooke, let alone gavin. so, it was great to introduce brooke and gavin to family and really nice to visit with everyone. gavin was so wiped out that he put himself down for a nap on the couch, which ended up being right in the center of the party. no worries... he slept right through it and then awakened to join the party. brooke was so excited to meet new cousins, and she had such a great time playing with them. you'd never know it was the first time they'd met!
we also got to visit with my wonderful group of book club girlfriends and their spouses over a delicious dinner at nada. seeing them is always a highlight of coming home for me. i treasure their friendships so incredibly much. we saw randall and antje at dinner and also the next day at their house. it was the first time that brooke and gavin got to play with lexi and kenzie, and it was very cute to see the 4 of them together. antje and randall are so special to us, and it's wonderful to see them as parents. lexi and kenzie are so cute! so were the capes that antje and randall gave brooke and gavin. we had a house full of superheroes :)
i always love to spend time with the people that mean the most to us. i love that the kids' relationships with family and friends continue to grow even though we don't see everyone that often. whenever we come back, it feels like we pick up right where we left off. one of my favorite moments of the trip was watching gavin and stella grab pears out of the fruit basket and start eating them together on the kitchen floor. it was so precious. i wish we had these moments more often, but i think i appreciate them more because we don't.
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