Christmas #1
First stop was my dad's for a couple days with the Grandparents in from Ohio and, of course, Colin in from Arizona. We lasted just a little while Friday night then Saturday was a fun-filled day of hiking (Malloy loves big sticks!) and our annual "Christmas Eve" dinner of steak fondue, Heintzelman hashbrown casserole, salad and garlic bread.
Sunday morning was our "Christmas Day" with Grandma and Grandpa. First thing after we woke up it was time to begin the cooking prep for our annual "Christmas Day" turkey feast. Mom came over in the afternoon to enjoy dinner and the gift exchange with us. Great presents were both given and received and great company was enjoyed!
Monday morning - what was the date at this point? - right, Dec. 20th, Jimmy and I woke up to 17 degree weather and snow flurries, but still decided 2 full days of over-eating was enough to justify an early morning run. So we set out and did about 2 miles in the chilly and hilly mountains of NC. After a shower it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, concluding Christmas #1.
Christmas #2
Our next stop was Boone proper to spend a couple days with mom! Ali's boyfriend, Dieter, was in town with his 2 bulldogs, we had Malloy, Ali had Nala, my mom has Mikey - it was a show with all the dogs, but very fun nonetheless. We hung out during the day and then went out to dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. It was important to my mom to have us spend the night with her before we opened gifts, so we decided to do our "Christmas Day" with her on Wednesday, which made Tuesday "Christmas Eve".
Tuesday we went on a great hike where there was tons of snow, like feet of snow in some places. Dieter almost got Ali and I stuck in a snowy ditch. It was an adventure. Needless to say, the hot tub and a holiday-festive sneaky pete cocktail was just what the doctor ordered. That night we played our new game, The Game of Things, and had delicious heavy appetizer foods for dinner.
Wednesday morning we opened the majority of our presents, saving our stockings and a gift or two for actual Christmas Day. Again, too many wonderful gifts were given and received. Man, we're so fortunate. We then spent the rest of Wednesday playing games and hanging out. We made a great dinner of pork tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, asparagus and an incredible salad. My mom's friend Tim joined us which was an added perk! Wonderful Christmas #2!
Christmas #3
Thursday morning we woke up at my mom's, but quickly headed over to my dad's to spend the next two days with him and exchange a few gifts between the five of us. Thursday day was pretty uneventful and relaxing. We made a Mexican feast for dinner with "Taco Bell-inspired" double decker tacos, refried beans and Mexican rice. Friday morning was our "Christmas Morning" with my dad. Among a couple other things, I got an iPod shuffle. I've been running without music since my iPod died months ago and it's been torture. Yay for music again!
Friday night Ali made the family spaghetti and meatballs recipe and hit it out of the park. Great job Ali!
Saturday morning, actual Christmas Day, we woke up at my dad's to a WHITE CHRISTMAS and drove to my mom's to spend our last day in town with her. We opened our stockings and then went out to lunch at our favorite local Chinese restaurant. Yummy! We then went back to my mom and hunkered down for a great snowfall and soaked up our last day together...
Stayed tuned for our wonderful adventures in Maryland - Christmases 4 & 5!
Love all of the pictures!
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