A couple days away!

What a FUN few days, and so refreshing for the soul! Our really good friends surprised and blessed us in a big way a week or so before Christmas when they told us they had a free stay at a hotel in Baltimore and could not use it. We were shocked and so excited because we were totally able to use it. Because we went to NJ early this year and because we all have off the time time over Christmas, we had NO plans. The hotel was a Hyatt in Inner Harbor. Despite the many times we've been to Inner Harbor, we've never been to the ritzier Harbor East/Little Italy part, so we were really excited. I'm so thankful that we were able to switch the dates without penalty, too, when Carter got the stomach bug on Christmas! 

The kids were SO excited when we got to the hotel and Carter said "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

We had no real plans for the whole trip which is kind of amazing. We spent the afternoon at the pool (where else?!) and then headed right across the street to Dinosaur BBQ. It was really good! Then, we came back and played board games in the room and went to the lobby cafe for dessert. 

It was COLD on 12/29, the day that we decided to walk around Inner Harbor. But we bundled up and headed out. Inner Harbor is shockingly dead in the winter, so we really didn't see or do a whole lot. We looked at the ships, went to the gigantic Barnes & Noble, had lunch and Cheesecake Factory, went to the candy store, and looked in the Gallery shops. We then took the long way back, through Little Italy, to see parts of Baltimore we had never seen. So pretty! 

When we got back, Seth went out to try to find me authentic tiramisu and grab a drink at the brewery next door. The kids watched a movie and I RELAXED! Praise God! Seth found me tiramisu but it was not good at all. For being authentically Italian, I was super disappointed. For dinner we went right outside the hotel to Jimmy John's to grab subs and a light dinner and then checked out Whole Foods and got the kids dessert. And....we SWAM! Because when there is a pool -- even a tiny one -- in your hotel and you have two little kids, swimming is magical!

The hotel had an AWESOME hot breakfast included so we ate breakfast both days right in the hotel lobby. Yesterday (12/30), we woke up to snow and scary-looking roads. We grabbed breakfast and headed out for one scary ride home! We saw so many accidents and cars off the highway into ditches. I spent most of the trip home praying (seriously). But--we made it home a-okay. We had such a fun time, and even said that we'd love to make this a tradition (going somewhere, not necessarily there every time). 

Christmas Day 2017

Merry Christmas! We had a (mostly...more to come on that) fun and lively Christmas Day at our house, as you can imagine with a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old and a dog. We actually had to wake Carter this year, which is super rare. He's normally waiting (im)patiently for Addison to wake up. They were VERY excited to see the living room when we finally gave them the "go ahead." 

(Making them pose before we let them dig in!)

We managed to do gifts a bit slower than normal this year which was nice. As always, we had the yule log going on the TV for our "fireplace" and Christmas music. The kids didn't ask for a whole lot this year...they were pretty consistent in what they said they wanted, too, when they were asked by people. 

The big thing the kids wanted were fit bits!

In a total lapse of judgment, we bought our already boisterous peanut a real, live, working microphone! :)

Here are the gifts this year (Addison, Carter, Danielle, Seth)

After we did gifts, my parents and gram stopped by for a visit and to play for a little. We had appetizers for lunch and showed them what we got. Later in the day, we watched a movie cuddled on the couch and just took it easy. Which was a good thing because, at bedtime, Carter randomly threw up with no warning whatsoever. And that began the Christmas Day Stomach Bug 2017. The kids didn't know this either, but we had a trip planned to go to Inner Harbor 12/26-12/28. I quickly called and postponed the trip for a few days later because I had a bad feeling things were about to spread through the house.

Thankfully, my sweet boy was only sick for about 4 hours. He had a fever on the 26th and was really tired and mopey. He took two long naps and wouldn't eat much. But by 12/27, he seemed as good as new! More on our trip to come...

Thanksgiving (and the "after party")

This year for Thanksgiving, we were with the Ran family. It was the first time since I've been in the family that all the brothers were at Aunt Polly and Uncle Dirk's house at the same time. So things were lively and young! :) 

That evening, after Dirk and Polly's, Matt, Erin and the kids and Seth's parents came back to our house for the weekend. On Friday, we hit up Candylane together. It was chilly but not uncomfortably so, which was nice. Seth, Matt and Emily even did the new drop tower! We ended up getting on quite a few rides and having dinner there. I think the kids would have definitely stayed longer, too! 

Opa being silly on the antique car...driven by Carter! 

We had a really fun time!

"Thanksgiving" on the farm

Because we were planning to be with the Ran family for Thanksgiving this year, we had a little "couple days before Thanksgiving" day at my grandma's house the Sunday before. I made a TALL chocolate peanut butter cake which was delicious! :) I forgot to take pictures inside the house that day but we spent quite a bit of time out at the barn. 

A baby calf was born so while Pa prepped the bottle for the baby, the kids tortured the big cows with their hooting and hollering.

The kids took turns feeding the baby, and even got a ride on the quad with Uncle Seth/daddy!