Tail end of 2012

Christmas vacation is over. We are happy to be home, but miss family and all the chaos that went with it. I now have to plan meals, bathe Addison, entertain her til Dave gets home AND be productive! It was nice to lounge around and catch up from what seemed like an exhausting December. I wish I could say that we scraped by this trip with no illnesses, but such is the life of traveling in the Winter. We spent an expensive Christmas Eve in an Urgent Care with bronchitis and asthma. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and will make my mother proud and always remember to bring an inhaler when traveling. We were lucky to be able to see both sides of our families this holiday. My sister surprised everyone and drove in for New Year's Eve
 (it truly was a Christmas Miracle!) so our whole family was together one last time.

Addison did pretty good on the 5+ hours of flying to Idaho with a lot of licorice and a few too many dum dums. The cousins had a blast learning each others names and  following each other around. I still hear a few Halle? Emree? as she is playing with her toys. We went down to Brigham City to see Dave's Grandparents and it was really nice to see them. Dave "threw" out his back the morning we were trying to get ready to go see them. Poor guy couldn't get up for 3 hours! He toughed it out and we continued on from Brigham City to see the lights at Temple Square. My friend Megan drove up from Provo and met us there to say hi! It was absolutely freezing! Addison's hands were ice cubes and my ears felt like they were going to fall off. We called it a night and headed to a hotel. We were able to fit in a lot over the ten days that we were in Idaho. We went to the temple while Andrea was the trusty babysitter. Christmas was nice and Addison enjoyed her new book and caterpillar toy from her parents. Grandma and Grandpa Michael gave her some pretty new outfits and a fluffy pink poodle that she is in love with. She just happened to name it, "Harley!" Addison also got a gift card to pick out her own new toy. I think she might be getting a fancy toilet seat instead:) Dave and I exchanged a gift of a new sight for his bow and a Vera Bradley travel bag. Neither of us felt great , but it was still a really nice day. We headed out to Island Park in the evening for a few days of snow mobiling and staying up too late playing games. We took Addison sledding for the first time. She was a little confused on what to do since her Dad told her snow was "Ice Cream". All she wanted to do was sit and lick the snow! We made a traditional stop at the Ashton Abode and ended the day at Big Juds. Addison sure misses her Grandma and Grandpa Michael and can't wait to see them again in the Summer...wink wink:)

We made it back to Cincinnati late, but in one piece. Addison befriended the man sitting next to us on the plane and continues to prove that she prefers the male kind:) It was my parents big 40th wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate! We got all dressed up and dropped Addison off at a babysitters to head down town to Jeff Ruby's. It was a little fancy for Dave, but we both loved our meals! It was great to reflect on what my parents had accomplished and what the future will bring. We fit in skyline and Chinese for New Year's Eve. The boys went pheasant hunting and came back with a little too much to show for it. Dave has requested pheasant for dinner with a little side salad to go with it. Addison enjoyed playing with her other cousins for a few days before we headed back to the snow covered Buffalo. 17 days later we are home and still recovering from a whirlwind of traveling! We feel blessed to have been able to celebrate this holiday season with the people we love! Here's to a healthy, safe and prosperous 2013...