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| Santa came!!! |
Last Christmas involved Katherine's first flight(s). By this Christmas she's a traveling professional. This trip marked her 7th and 8th flights on Southwest. It's the only airline she knows and continues to love her a co-pilot!
We started our journey on Christmas Eve (January 6th). The flight left mid-morning. The plan was to find our luggage, rental car and then some lunch - In that order. We accomplished all three and even managed to squeeze in a visit to the Philadelphia Pretzel Factor. (I was quite excited by this additional stop along the way.) Lunch, given it was a day of fasting where no meat is permitted, involved finding a pizza place. I used my trusted friend, Yelp. Were it not for the volumes of 5 star reviews there is not a shot in the dark I'd have visited this place on my own. Not.a.shot. There were no seats, only counter service (where you stood to eat) and it was seemingly about the size of a hallway. The pizza however was delicious!! And ginormous!! We had 3 large sicilian slices of pizza and (the worst) soda for $6. Gotta love Philly!!!
We then proceeded on to NJ. The next plan was to visit with my cousin Cheryl for a bit before heading to the Christmas Eve dinner festivities. It was a great visit. We caught up on the wedding plans (that Katherine and I are members of the bridal party for) and other family news. I was grateful for the hour we were able to spend together. Thanks Cheryl for leaving work early to join us for a bit!! xo
Onwards to Stephen's sister's house for Christmas Eve dinner with the family. Katherine wanted to bring a gingerbread house kit that we'd gotten to build with her cousins. We had a fantastic dinner prepared by Stephen's sister and niece. Thanks Tasha & MaryEllen!! Gingerbread house making followed dinner... Two words for the event: Fun. Messy. I'm not sure the latter was all that appreciated (particularly the accidental application of icing on Justin's dress pants) but Katherine had a blast. I'll be honest. I did too. :) Tasha, Justin, Fatima, Katherine and I built a house fit for... well... A gingerbread person. We hope he/she enjoys the token candy that fell into the house versus remaining on the roof. Oopsie.
After dinner & construction we had present time. Katherine had lots of fun opening presents and showing us her latest gadgets. We were all excited about the cake pop machine. That'll be a fun weekend adventure! =)
We had a late night and an early morning approaching so we headed to the hotel for some rest. On Christmas morning Katherine awoke to some presents Santa had left for her at the hotel along with a note promising that he'd make a special trip to Raleigh after she got home. He thought it would be a little much to bring all of her presents to the hotel and then have to fly home with them. This Mommy is pretty grateful for Santa's consideration and willingness to come all the way back out for our family! Wow!!!
We went to Church and Katherine was able to sit with Grandma. We sat right up front so that after the services were over we had a great seat for the Christmas pageant. A fantastic event put on by the children of the church. Katherine was (literally) on the edge of her seat for most of the pageant. She broke out a little bag of pretzels as her snack during the "show". (Sorry Father!!)
After church we went to breakfast with Grandma where Katherine had her share of pork roll... for the year!!! She ate my pork roll and her own. Six slices in total. And she was looking for more. I had to reel her in from her crazy quest for more. Eeeep!!!
After breakfast we went back to Stephen's sister's house for the family party. Our cousins from MD traveled in for the day. With Christmas on the weekend they were able to make the journey to NJ to celebrate with everyone. We were pretty excited and grateful that they were able to come! Katherine had a great day partying with her cousins and causing a general ruckus around the house. By 7pm she was tired and ready for sleep after two very exciting days!
Sunday we had a slow morning getting our things all packed into suitcases and getting checked out of the hotel. We got on the road at around 11am heading to the Philadelphia area. My sister and her boyfriend met us for some brunch in Philadelphia, not too far from the airport. Lots of giggles and a couple of mimosas made for a great morning. It was nice to spend some time with them as we didn't make it to FL this year for the 25th.
Sunday evening we arrived home and prepped for Santa's special visit. Katherine left out the chocolate chip cake that Santa requested along with some carrots for the reindeer. She was quite concerned that there was no snow and that Santa wouldn't come if there wasn't snow... Fortunately, Santa, always thinking, brought his own with him!! So cool!!!
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| Santa's footsteps that he left on the hearth |
Katherine had a great visit from Santa and all of her wishes were fulfilled. Baby doll, Barbie dolls and dress up stuff were among the treats left by Santa.
We were very fortunate this year to be able to visit with so many family members during our trip. Thanks to all that made the holiday trip so special.
xoxo
Darlene, Stephen & Katherine
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