Moving On

We arrived Thursday night, the 21st, around 10pm after a very smooth four-hour ride (which even included two stops!) and hit the ground running. Thursday was D's 27th birthday and we didn't do much celebrating, so everyone more than made up for it on Friday. My parents took us out to lunch at this authentic Italian restaurant that I'm sure we will be back to. It was soooooooo delicious and the atmosphere made it seem like we were somewhere in Italy. As if that wasn't enough, we headed over to D's house for dinner and a party with all his family. Here are Dave and his two birthday cakes:

Saturday: Today, Christmas Eve Eve, we went over Dave’s house to have Christmas with his sister Sara, her husband Tony, and their baby Ariana. This was the Christmas that kept on coming, considering we already had Christmas with D’s brother Steve back in November and we still hadn’t made it to Christmas Day. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. We (Sara, Mary-Dave’s other sister, and I) made a big dinner so his mom wouldn’t have to do it. I can’t remember exactly what we had, except that it was really good and everyone enjoyed it! This was also the day that Dad and I got up early to go shopping for Mom’s gifts. Mom always says that she’s glad she had a girl because this ensures at least a few decent gifts. Poor Dad, he really does try!


Sunday: Yaaay, Christmas Eve! Since it fell on a Sunday, we went to church in the morning. I like seeing the sea of red outfits that is always present during this season and I wasn’t disappointed, most people were decked out for Christmas. The afternoon went by quickly and then Keegan and my mom’s parents came over for dinner and presents. My parents’ newly extended and newly decorated dining room was filled almost to capacity and everything looked so festive and bright. After dinner we exchanged gifts with Keegs and my grandparents, who left shortly after. We had the remainder of the night to rest up for the next day.





Monday: It was a Merry Christmas, as it is every year. We always have the same routine at my house: we pile onto my parents’ bed, read the Christmas story, open stockings, go downstairs to open a few presents, break for breakfast, and resume gift-opening until it’s done. It’s so routine that we even sit in the same position on my parents’ bed every year. There was one slight change this year and that was in the reading of the Christmas story. I created a PowerPoint presentation, narrated and animated and all, from Luke’s (and some of Matthew’s) version. Dad helped narrate some of the slides, so it was a fun project put together at the last minute. Around one o’clock we all dispersed: us to D’s house, Ryan to his girlfriend’s house, Mom and Dad to get ready for guests, and Nick to…good question, I’m not sure what happened to him. Since everyone at D’s house already opened gifts, we were left to distribute ours to them and we opened ours from his parents. Both of our parents always go above and beyond what is necessary, throughout the year, and especially at Christmas. That’s the main reason we don’t exchange gifts with each other because we already get too much! We ended up back at my parents’ house for dessert. That’s when the house really got full with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and of course Dougie (my guinea pig). He was a big hit because he got so chunky due to the simple fact that everyone kept feeding him and he doesn’t know how to say no. Anyway, good thing that Dad added onto the front room because that’s where the Wii was and that’s where everyone gathered. We had to watch/play in shifts because the room just wasn’t big enough to hold everyone. Peter, Dave’s brother, stayed after his parents left, so D and I brought him home later that night, which ended our third Christmas together (well fourth if you count dating!)

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: These days are all clumped into one in my mind, so that’s how they will be written about! At some point, Mom and I braved the mall and some other stores for exchanges and maybe even an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. Ryan and Yana took us (Mom, Dad, Dave, and me) out to lunch at her uncle’s new restaurant called The Red Cabin in South Windsor. If you want great food and great service, try it! The guys and girls split up after that, we went to the Christmas Tree Shop and they went to CompUSA. Another time, D’s sister Mary and her husband Josh were leaving to go back home to Ohio so we made a quick stop at Coldstone Creamery with them before they left. D finally got to use his birthday coupon and I got raspberry sorbet with real raspberries mixed in, yum! I know it was definitely Thursday when D’s mom had surgery. We were able to visit her that night and the next day in the hospital. So many people were/are praying for her surgery and quick recovery. She was able to have the less invasive of the two recommended surgeries, so that was an answer to prayer. And she is recovering as well as can be expected, so the Lord is, of course, good. Oh yes, Mom and I also got our hair done, and I know that was on Wednesday. I got a gift certificate for Christmas for a highlight and a haircut. I just used the highlight, so I have the haircut to look forward to when I feel like doing something drastic. We also stopped by my mom’s friend’s house which is absolutely beautiful and huge and something I’d have to work really hard at keeping clean. I got the grand tour and this builder/designer just thought of everything. I’m trying to think if anything else happened on these days, but nothing sticks out so I will move on to the next cluster of days!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: On some of these days we were in a movie-watching groove and watched The Devil Wears Prada (A+), X-Men 2 (A), X3: The Last Stand (A), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (B-), and Chain Reaction (A-). I hadn’t watched a movie in forever, so it was a nice change of pace. I think I managed to stay up for the endings of all of them, which is a great accomplishment, just ask my husband. On Friday, Mom and I went into Hartford to have lunch with my aunt, her twin. We’ve been doing this the past few times I’ve been in CT and we always have a great time together. This time we went to a new restaurant called Joe Black’s (I think) which is in an old bank building with high ceilings and an elegant design. Delicious, delicious food – let me tell you. We tried each other’s entrees and were impressed all around. After that we tried to go to Cosi but soon found out that it was closed, so we ended up at Dunkin’ Donuts where we chatted for another hour. Saturday my aunt and cousin came over for a visit before we went to D’s house to check up on his mom, who was doing well her first day home. On New Year’s Eve, after church, we went out to lunch at Friendly’s with Sara and Tony while D’s parents watched Ari. I tried not to eat too much because we were going to a potluck dinner at church that evening and there is always soooo much food. That didn’t work out too well and I wasn’t hungry for dinner, but managed to pick at a few things. After the church service was dessert and I was very ready for that! All of us were back at my parents’ house in time to watch the ball drop. We all kissed our significant others into the new year (Mom/Dad, Dave/me, Ryan/Yana) and I promptly fell asleep. D said that he, Ryan, and Yana stayed up playing the Wii until 1:30am, crazy people. We left for PA on Monday afternoon. It was a successful vacation because we’re nice and rested and ready for D’s 12-week stint in surgery!

So now that I have written a small book about our 12-day vacation, I will finally end it by wishing everyone a very happy 2007!