Christmas catch-up

I didn't blog much when I was home for Christmas, so I wanted to do a little recap of the awesome two weeks I got to spend in Seattle...

I got in on the night of the 19th, right after the first few snowstorms happened. I have two funny stories from my plane ride home. One, I sat in front of a woman that was baby talking her lap dog the entire flight. Suuuper annoying! "Oh Clancy, it's okay schmoopie! We're almost there sweetheart! Clancy!" Two, the guy sitting next to me was counting on his fingers while he took a Mensa quiz in the American Airlines magazine. I snuck a picture of him and if you look closely, he's actually on the page of the quiz...



The weather was pretty crazy already, but my dad was able to pick me up and took Cheryl and I to her mom's house. The next night my family went out to dinner at The Met and it was awesome...the wedge salad is to die for, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I couldn't finish my steak.

It was snowing during dinner and didn't really let up for the next couple days. My dad was still able to get around in his Volvo, so it was kind of funny to constantly rely on him for rides. Living at Liz and Jean's house and relying on our parents for rides really made us feel like we were back in junior high.

Christmas came quickly and it they were great. I say they because with Cheryl's family, I essentially get four Christmases every year. So far, we have spent Christmas morning with my family opening gifts and eating breakfast and the afternoon is spent over at her mom's house with another round of presents and an early dinner. A couple days later, when Cheryl's brothers get into town, there's another Christmas at her mom's and then one at her dad's. Good times.



My family had a rule that every gift was supposed to be either used, homemade or under $20, but my sister was the only one that actually followed it for everyone. I made a really cool baseball scorebook for my dad, but it was too difficult to make or find used things for my mom and sister, so Cheryl and I cheated.

I got some really great gifts this year. Some of the highlights included a bike from my sister, a baseball bat pepper grinder, a vintage scarf and a really neat old baseball magazine from an antique store from my parents, some cologne from Cheryl, a new golf bag from Cheryl's dad, Entourage Season 3 from my cousin Erin and a lot of iTunes gift cards ($110, to be exact), which I had no problem spending!



The two weeks absolutely flew by and because of the snow and other commitments, I wasn't able to do everything I had in mind. I didn't see people I wanted to see, didn't go places I wanted to go, eat at places I wanted to eat or do things I wanted to do. However, it was still great to be able to come home for such a long time and be with Cheryl and the rest of my family for a bit. So, aside from big things like that, here are some of my more random highlights, in no particular order...

• The first time I saw my niece, Ali, she ran into the house, gave me a big hug and said, "I love you, Con Con!"
• Listening to my nephew Max sing songs, call his dad "Greg" and just be an all-around adorable two-year-old (video proof coming soon)
• Riding bikes in the snow with my dad on Christmas day
• Mike and Jenn got engaged!
• throwing snowballs
• Cheryl and I giggling ourselves to sleep
• awesome home-cooked meals
• "THAT IS FOR YOUR OWN HOME!"
• Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Home Alone with Cheryl and Meg
• Going to the last Thunderbirds hockey game at the Key Arena with my dad
• Playing a prank on my niece Madi by constantly hiding a picture of her sister Olivia around the house
• Watching my niece, Gabi, imitate Dan's awful Russian march from The Amazing Race
• Watching "Step Brothers" and playing Rock Band with my homies