Giant Christmas 2015 Recap: A St Louis Visit

Yeah, yeah, I'm a little late on this post.  But better late than never, right?  And as I said many times before (broken record much?), this blog is more so for me than anyone else.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm an over-sharer by nature so I obviously blog for others AND myself.  But these recap posts?  I know 85% of my followers could give a rat's crap about them and click that "mark as read" button.  I do them for myself.  I love looking back and seeing how I spent each holiday.  And seeing as this was the last one as a family of four (yes, I consider the dogs a part of our family), I wanted to make sure I wrote a post about it.

So here we go!  Christmas 2014 Recap:

Like every Christmas, we had plans to head back to St. Louis and spend the holiday with our families.  Since we're overpackers, Nick and I don't bring our gifts to each other with us.  We normally open them upon our return to Florida.  This year, Nick and I decided to open gifts before we headed home.  Really, Nick decided this because he knew he was getting a new NorthFace fleece jacket and he wanted to take it with him.

So Friday when I got home from work, we had our own Very Merry Obie Christmas and opened our gifts.

I am not really a coffee drinker.  Don't get me wrong, I love coffee but I try not to consume too much caffeine and don't want to be addicted like I was in college.  But I'm told I will rely on coffee once this little boy makes his debut, so I decided I was going to hop on the Keurig bandwagon and asked for one.  (I didn't want the new 2.0.  Read up on it and decided I wanted this one).
And a ROOMBA!!!  Can I tell you how much I love this thing?  Our dogs don't really shed, but what little they do, it picks it right up.  My husband is a little excessive though and has the thing scheduled to run everyday.  I think it's a bit much so I need to read how to change the schedule to make 2 or 3 times a week.  But for all who asked to tell me how I like it:  LOVE it!!!  It picked up all the Christmas poop; you know, the glitter, garland shedding, tinsel, etc that falls off your decorations.  Every single bit of it.  It gets up all my hair from every area of the bathroom, picks up the dogs hair, crumbs in the kitchen, and your normal dirt.  It has zero issues going from our tile to our rugs and back onto the tile.  Best purchase every!  It's definitely going to make life as a mama with a newborn much easier!

Your eyes are not deceiving you.  Nick is holding a box of Converse shoes.  I am Converse obsessed (if the three new pairs didn't give it away) and I was soooo happy when Nick finally agreed to get a pair.  He's holding a black pair but he also got a navy blue pair.  And he looks so adorable in them :)  As for mine, love them.  Now, I'm only one the hunt for two more pairs and I'll be set (for a while).

This was my favorite gift I got Nick.  And it's probably the only gift that he had no idea he was getting.  He's so bad about guessing his gifts (or he picks them out when we're together)

It's a challenge coin holder, in the shape of MH-60 Seahawk, which is the helicopter he flies.  (What are challenge coins?  They're coins, usually about the size of an old school silver dollar, and have various things on them.  Nick has one for each command he's been at, each squadron, different ships, he's been given some by superiors, he has one for every rank he's held, etc.)  Nick has so many of them from enlistment, through the Academy and the various trainings he encountered there, plus all of the ones he's received since commissioning and being in the aviation community.  They're just tucked away in bags and boxes, hidden away.  I wanted a way for him to display them and when I saw this, I knew it was perfect!  And he loved it!


Then it was in the car and on our way to St. Louis.  The drive wasn't too bad.  We only stopped once for a two hour nap around midnight  (and a few more just for pee breaks and gas) and after almost 17 hours of driving, we arrived at my parents house at 9:30am. These pups were happy to get out of the car and run off some energy, that's for sure!!!

The majority of the trip was spent resting, per doctor's orders.  Which was nice because trips home are usually so stressful with running all over, trying to see everyone and fit everything in.  But this time, we didn't have much of that, aside from the holidays.  I was able to spend a lot of time with my family, in my jammies, with no bra.  It was glorious!  And my family was happy to see this ever growing bump :)

And lots of cuddling was had.  With humans and dogs.

Oh but what's a trip home without a trip to the vet?  Of course, it was the Weim.  But more on that later.  It was nothing major, so don't worry.  (Because I know you totally were).

(Can you tell how excited these two are to be at the vet???)

So what else happened while at home?

My sister bought her husband a 10 pound apple pie, the "Mile High Apple Pie" from the Blue Owl in Kimmswick, Missouri (it was featured on Oprah's Favorite Things).  He's an apple-loving guy so he definitely loved this!
This was also officially our cheapest trip home with gas being so cheap!!!  I was amazing!
And of course, we couldn't forget Jack in the Box.  It's one of our favorites and we don't have it in the south so we make sure to eat it a few times while we're home.  (We also had Imo's pizza a few times but I was too busy stuffing my face with that amazing pizza to take a picture of it.  #bloggerfail)

What else?

My brother had to sleep on the couch (With only two spare rooms, the one who stays the shortest gets the shaft, so that was my brother and his fiance Randy.)  Kyle and I decided to make Ben into a burrito so he'd be nice and warm while he slept on the couch.
I bought my first pair of maternity pants.  I was dreading having to buy them but you guys!  Maternity pants are the most comfortable things ever!!!!!!!!!!  Now if only I could find some maternity jeans to fit me because the belly band does NOT hold my pants up.
We went to a family friend holiday party and not only did I feel large, but I looked large.  Not just pregnant large but I looked like I put on weight all over, especially that face.  Barf!


Us humans weren't the only ones to have fun.  The pups love coming to their grandparents house because they're allowed on the furniture.  You've never seen Yadi so mellow as when she is allowed on the couch.  This dog just slept and relaxed the entire week (and if you know Yadi, you know that's rare).

Then it was time for all the Christmas festivities.  Christmas Eve was spent with Nick's family and it was so great to spend time with them, especially our little niece!  She's growing up so fast is the most adorable little girl!!!

Christmas Day was spent with my mother's side of the family at my Grandma's house.  As always, it was a great time because this family, boy are they loud and fun and loving!!!

Grandma's tree, complete with her village has so many memories.  I miss Grandpa's train, but I understand why Grandma doesn't get it out anymore.  Probably for the best.  I don't think I could handle it being under the tree.

Speaking of Grandpa, Grandma handed each of us grandkids a bag.  I pulled out this box and just lost it. Inside the box from "Grandpa Santa", we each received some of his old silver dollars.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them just yet, but I want to find a unique way to display them.  I definitely don't want them tucked away in a box in a closet somewhere.  

And as usual, Teeny and I did our "acrobatics".  And then more present opening, because duh, it's Christmas.

That's my entire family!  Our large, crazy bunch!!!

Baby Obie also had a great Christmas!!!  I picked up this outfit below for less than $10 and I truly hope he fits into it next Christmas season!  Or in the fall when we take our Christmas card photos!  

That adorable outfit was a gift from family.

And I found this Mizzou football, turned Truman!  Baby's first Truman the Tiger!!! I saw it for $25 at Rally House and passed it by.  Then I saw it at TJ Maxx for $7.99.  Definitely wasn't passing that deal by!!

My family also celebrated Christmas morning and as always, we all wore our Santa hats (below Mom had taken hers off already since I snapped this after the present opening)

My awesome husband got me these giant Mizzou tiger paw slippers and I looooove them!!!

And somewhere in the mess we had pups!

Christmas was great!  Not for the gifts, but for the love and laughs with my family.  Words cannot express how much I love them all.  Being so away from the sucks!

Sadly, it was time to make the drive back to Florida just a few days after Christmas.  Drives home suck.  Badly.  I absolutely hate leaving home and wish I could say we're moving back sometime soon.  But nope, not for a very long time :(  At least it makes me appreciate my family and my limited time with them every more!!!!!!!!  And now here's to starting the next countdown until I see them again!!!

Are any of you this behind on Christmas updates?
Do any of you travel long distances each Christmas to spend it with the holidays?
If you live far from "home", do you find trips home just as stressful as fun??

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?

Recap: Trip Home to St. Louis

It's really hard for me to write this blog post because I feel guilty focusing on my time at home that was fun.  When I think about my trip home, Grandpa's passing is the first thing that enters my mind.  And it's hard to push that aside and remember all the fun I had while home.

My original intent for going home was not for Grandpa.  I go home every August to get my yearly surgery AND because my Dad would be turning 60!!!!  Grandpa going through chemotherapy treatments was just a perk for me to get to spend that time with him.  I know a lot of people think I was heading home because of Grandpa, but in reality, I had my August trip planned since well before we even knew Grandpa had cancer.

Leah and I headed home to St. Louis, with her dogs in tow, on August 2nd.  Here are some of the significant highlights from my trip home:

Cousins' Night Out:  Backstreet's Back!
On August 3rd, after spending the day at Grandpa and Grandma's house, we headed out for our Cousins' Night Out.  We decided to relive our childhood at the Backstreet Boys concert (Let it be known that we were all obsessed with *NSYNC.  Our loyalty still lies with them but who could pass up a boy band concert to relive the past?!)  We went out to dinner and then headed to the concert.  After the concert, we had a slumber party at my cousin Teeny's condo.  In the morning, we crashed her parents house for my uncle's infamous chocolate chip and M&M pancakes!!!

(we are not duck-facers.  This was done with the intention of mocking that ridiculousness.)

Endoscopy
This was the reason for my visit home and thankfully, all went well.  (I blogged about this while I was home so you can check it out HERE)

Chemo with Grandpa
In 2006, I underwent a very intense cancer treatment regiment.  I first started with radiation, which lasted six weeks and I went every weekday.  Following those six weeks, I had another six weeks to try to gain some weight (radiation knocked me down pretty badly and I was weighing in at just 101 pounds).  I finally began chemotherapy and my regiment was the most intense at the time, with two of the strongest drugs.  I went to chemo Monday through Friday every third week over a 15 week period (five total weeks).  My chemo sessions kept me at the hospital for almost 8 hours each day.  Because chemo was so long and so frequent, my mother could not attend all my treatments with me.  As I'm sure you know all know by now, I have an amazing family.  Aunts, uncles, siblings, friends, cousins, etc took off work and skipped classes to take me to chemo, sit with me, and bring me home.  During this time, I was pretty sick.  I slept the entire day...the ride to the hospital, in the waiting room, during my chemo infusion, the ride home, after I got home, and all night long.  I really was not awake during my chemo weeks.  In addition to this, I got so weak that I was wheelchair bound unless in my own home.  Grandpa, being retired and so awesome, was one of my regulars at chemo.  He sat with me, in those freezing cold rooms, all day long.  So caring and loving.  Always providing a smile and a laugh.  It was very important for me to get to attend at least one chemo treatment with him.  I could never repay him for all the love, support, and laughs he gave me during my cancer journey, but I wanted to do this with him.  I wanted to now be his chemo buddy.  Thankfully for me, one of his chemo treatments fell during my visit home.  This was his second chemo treatment, and it ended up being his last.  I drove Grandpa, Grandma, and Leah to chemo on August 8th.  We sat with Grandpa, having quite a few laughs, and I helped Grandma with feeding tube "lunch".  The next day, I took Grandpa back to get his white blood cell shot.
I am so thankful that I was able to spend this day with him.  Grandpa's love and support during my cancer battle meant the world to me and I'm happy I was able to repay him, even though it was nothing compared to all he's done for me.  I'm happy we were able to fill his days with smiles and laughs during such an awful experience.  I will forever be grateful that I was able to attend a chemo with him, as he did with me.

Sibling Weekend
The weekend of the 9th through the 11th, Leah and I headed to Kansas City (well really Kansas but who wants to admit they went to Kansas??  Not I!).  Randy moved to KC a few months ago for work and Ben just recently moved there after getting a new job.  It's weird to have him living 4 hours from home but I'm happy he's happy and finally back with Randy.  We had a great weekend seeing his new place, hanging out with friends (they started out as his friends but after my many years of living in CoMO, they've turned into my friends as well), and enjoying time with just us siblings.  We talked about our childhood, our concern for Grandpa, Grandma, and our own parents.  We talked about our fears and wishes.  It was a much needed mini-vacay for me and I wish my siblings and I could have this more often.

Of course we went out for some Kansas City BBQ

Ben & Mark found a video game-esque beer so of course they bought it.  And of course Ben drank it out of his Mario Brother's mug.

Ben bought an original Clue game at a swap meet but he'd NEVER played before!!!  Of course we broke it out to play a few games (while also watching the movie "Clue")

Dinner with Friends
I was able to squeeze in some really quick dinners with friends.  I hate that time home is so rushed but I love getting to see my friends.  I consider myself very lucky to have kept in such close contact with so many of them and I feel we're closer than we were when I was living in St. Louis.

Cardinals Game
Nick came in town halfway through my (what should have been) last week in town.  His aunt and uncle invited us to a Cardinals day game and of course we accepted.  We met them at a casino downtown where the guys gambled and Nick's aunt and I chatted.  We attended one freaking awesome game where the Cardinals made a ridiculous come back to beat the Pirates in extra innings.

Fireworks for the WIN!

Afterwards, we happened to walk by Jim Hayes and Rick Horton doing their post-game show.  We took some photos of them doing their broadcast and then Nick's aunt suggested that Nick and I pose with them behind us, at their desk, doing their show.  As she takes the picture, we see her laughing.  Upon getting my phone back, I look at the photo and see this:

They photobombed us!!!  We wanted them just sitting there, doing their broadcast but instead we got this.  Epic!! When I looked up, the two of them were laughing so hard and they asked to see the photo, upon which they laughed even harder.  They are Nick and my favorite sports talk show hosts because they always seem like such goofy guys, always laughing.  And this photo just confirms that!

Dad's 60th
This was one of my main reasons for coming to St. Louis.  Dad turned 60 on the 16th!!!!  My Dad is who I get the "big kid at heart" thing from so for his birthday, he simply wanted to spend the day at the Zoo with his family.  And that's what we did.

We had dinner plans but we got a call that Grandpa was being taken to the emergency room so we all headed there instead.  Sadly, this is where we spent the remainder of Dad's birthday, and Leah's birthday the next day.  Sunday was supposed to be a large birthday party for Dad and Leah, but we decided immediately to cancel that because of things going on with Grandpa.  (Which ended up being a good idea, because Sunday was the day Grandpa passed away.)

My amazing family, together, as we were for three days, in the waiting room.

Unfortunately, the rest of my visit home would be one of tears and heartbreak.  Grandpa never left the hospital.  All 16 of us stayed the next three days at St. Anthony's until Grandpa finally left us to be with Jesus.  His passing was very unexpected.  Many have asked what happened and I do plan to write a blog post about it.  I apologize in advance because it might be all over the place.  Friday afternoon through Sunday all seem to run together but I'll try to remember what I can.