Christmas Visit in St. Louis

Is it just me or are introduction paragraphs hard to write?  I really dislike them.  I feel like I need to start with a general statement about how thankful I am I was able to go home, but no words would accurately portray just how grateful I am.  I feel like I should mention how kickass my family is, but words would absolutely fall short there.  And I feel like I should mention how much I miss St. Louis and my friends but again, no words.  

So let's skip it all and just dive right in, shall we?

This year we were only able to go home for a week instead our normal 10 to 12 days.  Nick's leave wasn't as long this year and I now have a job to get back to.  

We headed into town on Friday evening.  I know most people think we're crazy but we prefer driving through the night.  There is way less traffic and it's just easier.  

Anyway, the trip can be summed up with photos.  That's all most people care about, right?

So let's get on with it, shall we?


 We left Jacksonville and all of it's glorious 77 degrees with a packed SUV.  As we drove north, the temperatures continued to drop.  As the bottom picture shows, I am not a fan of the cold.  There are few things I hate worse than cold weather.  It's the one reason I hate going home for the holidays.

However, one reason we do love going home is the liquor laws.  Since we got married, we've lived in Maryland and Florida.  Both places were liquor is only sold in liquor stores.  Now, I know this makes me incredibly lazy, but I prefer one-stop shops.  Nick is seen here, in Target, Vanna White-ing their liquor.  You see, in Missouri, you can buy wine, beer, and liquor in Target, Walmart, all grocery stores, and all gas stations.  We have liquor stores, but I don't know why.  I've only been in one once.  And it was my 21st birthday, because I needed to feel cool.  And I've never gone back.  Why make an additional stop when I'm always at a gas station or grocery store?  Not to mention, the liquor store is always so much more expensive!



My Mama got me the tan faux fur vest for Christmas!!  I have the gray one and love it so she got me the tan one!
Nicholas and I went out with friends a few times, which was nice to put on real clothes instead of our jammies.

 I spent a few days shopping with my brother and let's just say it's far from boring.  He's the funniest person I know, and we always have such a great time!  (He's in my Granpa's old coat, not a fur sleeveless vest).


We spent most mornings drinking coffee with Bailey's delicious Red Velvet Cupcake creamer added to it.  AH-MAZING!
Anytime we were in the car, our Sirius XM radio was on channel 111 because it plays nothing but Bing Crosby's Christmas Radio.  You know, the old radio shows from back in the 1940's?  Yep, those.  It even has all the old commercials too!!  We listened to it one day with Grandma in the car and she got the biggest kick out of it.  This is a new tradition we started and plan to do each year: car rides with Bing.  It was my first time listening to them and I just love his old radio shows!!!
 Of course we had to FaceTime with our brotha from another motha, Julius.  Boy do we miss him!  It's hard with him being in California and us in Florida.  Hopefully at some point the Navy will bring us all back together.
Another perk to being at home is the pups are allowed on Mom and Dad's furniture.  Which means I get lots of cuddles with my dogs.  Yadi is far from cuddly, but when she's allowed on a couch, she's all about it!

Of course I got lots of snuggles with my little Sierra.

I just love Nicholas in deep purple but he does not like photos.  If you couldn't tell.  He refused to cooperate for me.  I was finally able to get a photo of him smiling, but if I remember correctly, I think I bribed him.  I also love that he now wears matching socks, thanks to my brother :)
He's so cute even when he's an uncooperative south pole elf.

The pups did lots of chewing on toys.  And Yadi did lots of pouting that she couldn't have Vino's toys.

Vino even got some loving from Nick, which is very rare since she makes him all itchy!

It was also nice to get photos with Nicholas that don't have half of one of our extended arms in the photo (aka The Selfie).  Or using a self-timer.   Thanks, Mom!

During our trip home, I also did some wedding planner for my sister by meeting with some potential vendors.  I cannot tell you how excited I am for her to get married and to be her Matron of Honor (I don't like how old that sounds.  Can I rename it to something much cooler?  Help me think of a new name.  The ____ of Honor.")
We both got to visit a few friends and we spent a lot of time with my Grandma.  Those moments are even more special to me now that Grandpa is gone.  I have some regrets about not spending more time with him, (even though I couldn't because I live so far away).


Basically, our trip home is summed up by lots of family and friends, too many laughs, drinking, shopping, wedding planning, and cuddling with pups!

Like always, leaving was incredibly hard.  And I was ready to get back home to Florida and use my remaining vacation days to settle back in our normal routine and celebrate our own little Christmas.


Did you all travel for the holidays?  Do you, too, feel you need a vacation from your vacation?  A few days to destress and unwind?