So the whole reason that I started this blog was to keep track of what we do in our day to day live – to keep the memories alive so to speak. So, with that goal in mind, here’s a brief recap of the awesomely long Christmas break Jason and I enjoyed.
My last day was the Wednesday before Christmas, so that night we loaded up the Highlander to the max and set off for Atlanta to meet up with my uncle, aunt, and three cousins who were visiting from Houston. It was really great to see them, even if it was only for about 24 hours- then we were off to visit Jason’s family in Starkville, MS – home of Mississippi State University. We did pack a lot of fun into our brief 24 hour visit by hiking up Stone Mountain, eating burgers at Fuddruckers, and just hanging out at home. Here’s a pic of us at the top of the mountain- freezing cold!
Then came the long drive to Starkville – about 4 1/2 hours. I know I shouldn’t be complaining because there were lots of people who had to fly to see their families over the holidays and I am definitely thankful that I didn’t have to. However, I am so used to driving the 2 1/2 hours back and forth between Atlanta, that for some reason it seems like it took forever! Well, finally we arrived. It was GREAT to see Jason’s family who we hadn’t spend quality time with in quite awhile. While we were there I enjoyed:
- Christmas Eve Service
- Eating Chinese Food on Christmas Eve – the only restaurant open! (another great idea, since you don’t have to spend the whole day in the kitchen!)
- My first Christmas opening gifts on Christmas Eve- a Baareman tradition
- My first Christmas only opening stockings on Christmas morning – a Baareman tradition
- SNOW ON CHRISTMAS DAY! Just a sprinkling – but still!
- Christmas morning breakfast at Waffle House – Yum!
- Lots of game playing including: Settlers of Catan, Trails to Rails, Balderdash, and some other random games that Jason and Chris remember from way back when
- Relaxing by reading and playing the piano (I esp. loved playing my Messiah and Nutcracker songbooks)
- Watching some home videos from Jason’s early years
- Shopping at Walmart the day after Christmas and stocking up on outdoor Christmas lights for next year! *Side note* the whole spending money thing kinda stresses Jason out – see flip video below.
- Shopping in Tupelo and grabbing some other great sales!
- Lots of great food and fun hanging out with my in-laws and brother-in-law!
- Lots of awesome presents! We got spoiled rotten this year! Just to name a few:
- Rails to Trails game- tons of fun
- Fireplace tools
- Fishing Pole for Jason
- New Bike for Jason – can’t wait to go on rides together when the weather gets warmer! Since I had just gotten my Flip Video Camera, I couldn’t resist taking videos of virtually everything over Christmas. Here’s one of Jason opening up his bike…
After spending some fun days in MS, it was back to Atlanta again to spend the week in between Christmas and New Years with my family. We had lots of fun here too. Our fun times included:
- Playing dolls with my little sisters Stormy and Summer
- Going to the infamous “American Girl Doll Store” for the first time
- Going to the Apple store to try to fix my iPhone – to no avail. At least I now can get it with Verizon!
- Baking Paula Deen’s Caramel Cake for New Year’s Eve Party – with help from the kiddos of course!
- Playing Settler of Catan with my sis Kristen and her BF Matthew
- Visiting my sis at the her place of employment – that Grand Hyatt
- “Shop til We Drop” session with my mom an Lenox Mall
- Building a train with Lucas – I wasn’t a huge part of this – but wanted to post the pic!
- Playing Clay with my sibs
- Going to Mexican food with my parents, Jason, Kristen, and Matthew
- Seeing True Grit with my folks
- And getting spoiled rotten yet again with these amazing gifts:
- Nook Color and books to go with it
- New blush brush
- Stella Jeans from Express
- Cute ornaments
- J. Crew Necklace
- Settler of Catan 5-6 player pack – yes this was the Christmas of games I guess!
- Clothes and pj’s for Jason
- North Face Fleece for Jason
How was "True Grit"? I haven't had the chance to see it yet.
Hey Matt- Thanks for reading! True Grit was a pretty good movie- not the best I've seen, but definitely worth a watch. Hope you are doing well!