Bad Blogger

I have abandoned the blog for 2 weeks. Not a good thing. As a result, you might want to grab a small meal, and beverage for this post...it is going to be a LONG one.

The holidays were BUSY for Scott and me. All of a sudden I was back at work and Christmas was over...it always seems to go too quickly.

Before flying to St. Louis on Sunday, I demanded one last trip over to the Strand Fam's house. As you all know, I try to see them as often as possible!

After a walk and trip to Pier 1, Scott and Kayla caught up on a little reading!

Sunday, we were off to St. Louis at the early hour of 6:30am. I just love flying on frequent flyer miles...always the best flight times.

It was all worth it when I walked in the Christmas Wonderland that is my house. I mentioned the decorations so I thought I would share a few with you (this does not even scratch the surface):

The stairs/backyard

Just in case you didn't notice, she decorated the lawn furniture!

Living room. Note the little Christmas trees and Christmas frames (that are there to replace the standard Jan-Nov frames...oh, wait, there are also Halloween, and Easter frames in their respective months).

The Christmas tree in my room. Note: greenery on top of the window...pretty much every window or picture has a nice little green topper!

Book case in the living room.

You get the idea...It is pretty special and really amazing!

In no time we were unpacked and settled in for a week of craziness. An unexpected first stop...The Awakening. This sculpture was just put in near my house. A little creepy at first but upon further inspection is actually really interesting and a definite conversation starter.

Scott checking for cavities.

There was also a nice one of Scott smelling his foot but I forgot to upload it :(

While there wasn't much spare time while we were in town, we found ways to occupy ourselves...

Family blood pressure readings! Official results, Scott is stressed, my mom is freakishly UNstressed, and Dad and I land somewhere in between!

To keep things really interesting my dad cooked a meal. I am pretty sure this goes down as the second meal my dad has ever cooked since I have been aware (and it is always the same meal). This particular recipe comes from at 1978 edition of Playboy (Farrah Fawcett is on the cover)...clearly my dad just subscribed for the recipes! HA!

Dad and his smock? He rejected the apron in favor of this fancy number!

The next night Bobbi, Doug and the girls came over for our annual Christmas Eve Eve dinner and game night.

Jordan with my mom's candy cane themed table.

Lauren and Jordan sporting their fancy new robes in front of the tree.

Scene It! Scott killed us all in the 80s version.

Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was upon us! Off to Toni's we went.

Scott carving the turkey...I think this is officially his permanent job.

Derek cutting the prime rib and me doing my best to avoid being asked to fill the water glasses!

Erin Eilene got stuck with the job this year. She even got to wear Toni's coat with a more than fancy hood!

After eating, drinking, and more game playing we headed to await Santa's arrival!

Good news, no one was on the naughty list and we all got presents!

Belle and me awaiting the opening frenzy

WHOA! Pretty impressive gift. A stocking! But, he didn't have one and in my opinion that is not ok!

Dado with his new scotch glasses.

Ornament for mom

Apparently I was extra good...I got a new iPod! Perfect for my New Year's resolution to start working out again!

The fun didn't stop on Christmas. The next night we headed over to the Reppy's for a visit with Allie, Justin and Eli.

Eli and Maddie waiting by the door for visitors

I thought about stealing him and bringing him back to California...

It was so great spending time with them and I really wish we lived 20 minutes away all the time! Maybe some day!

In an effort to make sure we never stopped during our 8 day trip, Scott and I headed down to the brewery on Sunday.

We started out by going to beer school. I am not really sure how much I actually learned but we got to try four kinds of beer!

Then it was off on a tour. Note to all those considering a brewery tour in December in St. Louis...wait until spring! Walking around outside in 25 degree weather leaves something to be desired.

Each one of these casks holds 200,000 six packs. If you started now and drank a beer an hour it would take 122 years to finish one of these tanks.

Scott made it to two!

Monday morning brought another 6am flight. We arrived back in San Francisco groggy but happy to be home. Our little black dog was also pretty happy to see us.

Hope you enjoyed the holiday recap. I'll try to be a better blogger in the new year!

*ps-excuse any typos, I didn't feel like proofreading :)