Saturday, December 31, 2011

Christmas Time in Indiana and Michigan




WOW! What a great trip, a whirlwind but great! Our first lesson came shortly after landing in Cincinatti. We had a four hour drive to Ft Wayne and planned to stop part way there, get out of the car and have some dinner. The one thing we forgot about was that is was Christmas! Nothing was open! Luckily Zander had plenty of food and I sat in back and fed him. He slept for part of the trip but was very excited to get to Gram's house and crawl. Bryan and I were also glad to be there and Denny and Cindy cooked up steak and fries...we were starving and delicious!




On the 26th, we had a relaxing morning and then headed to visit Bryan's grandma. She was excited to have visitors and see us. We stopped at the winery on our way home, picked up pizza, and Jody, Jason and Heather came over for dinner. After dinner, Gram's watched Zander and Bryan and I went to visit Seiss.







On the 27th, we headed to Michigan. We had lunch at my Uncle's Mikes with Quinn, Grandma and Uncle Don. Unfortunately, Uncle Ken and Julie had to head to Indiana to pick up a part for the milkhouse. Zander got to visit with two Great-Grandmas in 24 hours!! He is a lucky little man! After a great visit and delicious lunch we headed to Novi to stay the night with Aunt Sharon. Eric, Katie and Cooper came over for dinner and we celebrated Eric's birthday. Zander had his first Spaghetti and Chocolate Cake...he LOVED them both! He was orange and needed a bath before bed time! Zander continued to be spoiled, getting gifts everywhere we went!





































































On the 28th we headed back to Indiana to celebrate Christmas at Jody's. We were waiting for Nick and Emilee to make it home from Norfolk. It was great to have everyone there, delicious dinner and great to visit with the whole family! Zander continued to be spoiled with new clothes and a Tonka truck! That evening we went to Taylor Seiss's basketball game, unfortunately they lost their first game of the season but it was fun to watch the girls play.








































































On the 29th, Bryan had a work meeting and Cindy and I went shopping. That evening we were suppose to have dinner with one of Bryan's friends from high school. Unfortunately, she had to cancel because of work but we spent the evening with Denny and Cindy. We headed to Buffalo Wings and Ribs for a great dinner...it didn't set great with me and reminded me that spicy food and pregnancy don't mix!



The 30th was our last day and Bryan had lots of people he wanted to see. Unfortunately, many friends and family were working but we stopped by Seiss's Shop, visited with Bishop and enjoyed lunch at Steak n Shake. That evening, Jenny and Jon were nice enough to host a party so Bryan could catch up with many of his friends from High School. Zander went with us and played with all the kids. All the way home from the party, Bryan kept telling me how much fun he had and how nice it was to see everyone. This was an awesome way for Bryan to catch up with everyone (Jimmy, Weasel, Jon, Wolff, Seiss, Joseph, Carper, and Baily) and the best part was I didn't have to go to a smoky bar....a GREAT night!!











On the 31st, we went out to breakfast with Cindy and Denny. We invited the rest of the family to join us but we had to be at the airport too early!! After breakfast we started the long drive to Cincinatti for a very long travel day. We were happy to be home on time and my dad picked us up at the airport. Grandma and Grandpa missed Zman and were happy to have him overnight so Bryan and I could get ready for our party the next day. We came home, unpacked, cleaned a bit, and headed to bed for an early bed time. You know your old (and pregnant) when you don't even make it up for the ball dropping on the East Coast!!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve














Zander, Bryan and I celebrated Christmas together on the morning of Christmas Eve. We had a great morning with bisquits and gravy and kicking it. When it was time for Zander's morning nap, the craziness began and we finished cleaning and packing so we would be ready to leave for Indiana the next morning!










































In the evening, we met up with my family for dinner at the Golden Hotel. It has been our tradition for many years to go out on Christmas Eve so no one has to cook or clean up from it. The Golden Hotel was new this year and it was great. Plenty of room to visit and great food. After dinner, we went to my moms for dessert and the craziness of opening presents!












Zander was VERY spoiled by everyone and didn't even get to play with his toys before we got on the plane for Indiana. But have no worries, he has checked them all out since we returned and is loving all the new toys!



































Sunday, December 4, 2011

Merry Christmas!







I always joke with Bryan that he has about 10 "Favorite Days of the Year!" The Indy 500 is probably the real favorite but when it's happening, the Superbowl, St. Patricks Day, Opening Day, Oktoberfest, and a few more drinking holidays all rank too....My favorite day is truly Christmas Tree Hunting. I love it! I have joined the Hoffmeyers for at least the past 10 years, when I met Bryan he started going and didn't love it quite as much as me, and this year I was excited to have Zander go for his first year.







Well, to my disappointment, it was canceled. When I told Bryan, he just grinned and said "I didn't even know that was a possibility!" The weather was cold and snowy and the roads weren't great. It would have taken forever to get there and the best idea was to cancel but I was still dissappointed. We decided to go to Home Depot that evening for our tree and Bryan built a stage in our stairs for it. It is beautiful and Zander will get his chance to tree hunt next year.











To make up for it, we bundled Zander up and got some great snow pictures and then Bryan had a great idea to go downtown to see the lights and visit a little German village they had set up. We got some Christmas shopping done, saw some beautiful lights, visited the German village, picked out a Christmas tree, and then headed home for the MSU vs. Wisconsin game for the Big Ten Championship.











































On a Zander note, he started a new daycare this week. It was a tough decision but he loves it and I am very happy with everyone at the new daycare! Right now he loves clapping and he loves the Singing Santa that Grandma and Grandpa brought over!