A Christmas miracle & fun times at home

Thursday and Friday of last week were pretty stressful. Not only did Brian and I have busy weeks at work, but we were also concerned we wouldn't be able to travel home due to the huge winter storm getting ready to hit the Eastern Seaboard. We were scheduled to leave Saturday at 3:30 p.m. PT, which meant that our flight wasn't scheduled to land until midnight ET in Newark. By Friday night, it seemed that our chances of making it on time were pretty slim. You might find this hard to believe, but I was actually the calm one! I didn't lose hope, even though it looked doubtful.

Saturday was Brian's birthday, so after a nice breakfast and packing, we headed to the airport. All he wanted was to make it home. We couldn't believe it when our flight took off on time...

...or when we landed on this snowy runway at Newark on time! Unbelievable.

The most difficult part of our travels? Getting a cab to Dale's house. We didn't want her to risk it on the road, and we ended up sharing a cab with a flight attendant who told us we were within 5 minutes of being diverted to Buffalo or Albany. Whew! Here I am waiting in the cab line...it's fr-fr-fr-freezing out there!

It was so snowy, the cab had to drop us off half a block away. Brian plowed the streets with our suitcases. We were just happy to be home - a Christmas miracle!

On Sunday, we went to Erin & Jeff's to celebrate Christmas and do our gift exchange. Here's Momma Neal with her babies.

Here are Erin & Jeff with Mr. Belvedere (in the Santa outfit) and Fifi (in her pink Snuggie).

Fifi wasn't the only one wearing a pink Snuggie. Momma Neal got one for Christmas, but I think it looked awesome on Nicole as she modeled the Twilight series she received for her birthday. Don't forget the book lamp!

We really have to pose our family pictures better, but at least everyone's smiling and Jeff's eyes are open.

The next day, Tim, Nicole, Momma Neal, Brian and I caught my first Broadway show: Next to Normal. It was incredible - the topic was quite heavy and emotional - but it was really amazing. Check it out if you have time when you're in the city.

Since our visit was short, we missed the big family get-together, but several family members met us halfway between Kearny and Pennsylvania. Here's Zak, Brian's cousin, with his grandparents. Zak's 2-month old sister Zaylee also met us and slept through lunch.

Zak looks a LOT like Brian did when he was a toddler, and I'm convinced we're going to have all boys someday. I'd be pretty happy if our sons were as cute and as smart as Zak!

Speaking of babies.... Though we didn't have time for much else in the city, we were able to meet up with Mike & Jen at the last minute. Look at Jen! Don't she and Madelynn Rose look great for 24 weeks?

After that, it was time to head to Kentucky for round 2 of our trip. We arrived after an uneventful flight on Wednesday and enjoyed a quiet evening at home with my parents - just what we needed.
The next day we met my aunt and my great uncle for lunch near the farm, followed by our first trip to my Dad's new cabin. After my grandfather died last summer, Dad didn't really have anywhere he could just chill and come and go at his leisure on the farm, so he built this rustic man cave. I was actually pretty impressed, both with its size and its construction.

I couldn't help but have a little fun. Dad brought up a ton of trophies that previously hung in his office (pre-retirement). I thought it would be fun to snuggle up in the bunk bed with the once-cuddly black bear.

Unfortunately, due to flight prices and scheduling, we had to leave on Saturday vs. Sunday. That meant that we missed the annual Paris girls' (and now boys') Christmas party. Luckily we got to visit with Lauren, Todd, Amy and her family. I miss my girls!

This year's Christmas theme was Asian. Here's Dad with his hand-carved Balinese wind chimes.

And here's Mom with one of her gifts, a palm wood mortar and pestle from Malaysia - just perfect for this pharmacist's collection.

Brian's favorite gift? One he gave himself. He has searched far and wide - practically all sports stores in the Bay Area and New York City metro area, in addition to online shops - in vain for this one particular baseball glove. Guess where he found it....Maysville, Kentucky. Since he couldn't find it online, we figured it was out of production but the sports store in Maysville must have had some left over. He was pretty pumped, as you can see!

The annual picture. Mom said it looked like I was wearing Santa's belt!

Granny K. and Poppy came over on Christmas Day. Jake helped Poppy unwrap his presents.

Granny K. modeled her new scarf from Thailand. Doesn't she look pretty? The coasters beside her are also from Bangkok.

We had a wonderful trip, but it was all too fast. Since we've been home I've unpacked, cleaned, cooked and done just about everything domestic in an attempt to avoid one of my least favorite tasks of the year: taking down the tree. For now, I'll just continue to enjoy it. Happy New Year!