Made it home minus a leg...lamp that is

We went through the rain, wind and snow and made it back to Georgia after an amazing trip up north for Christmas and New Years. While we are certainly glad to be back in the warmer southern weather we are so happy we were able to make it up to see family and friends for the holidays and we are already missing everyone!
Christmas morning began early with chores out at the barn and holiday peppermints for the ponies...the never ending chores of horsey life:) Then I ran off to see Lou pony while Mike caught up on some much needed sleep for the trip. I have to say that Lou can put a smile on my face no matter what stresses are surrounding me and Christmas morning was no exception. As soon as I saw him cantering across the field to see me I knew it was going to be a good day. After lots of Lou kisses I headed back and Mike and I packed up our bags, gifts and puppies for the long drive up to New Jersey. 15 hours later we arrived in chilly Jersey at 4:00am. Thankfully a nice warm bed was waiting and we promptly passed out! The next 2 1/2 days were filled with family and great food. It was so much fun to see how much all of the boys have grown, especially Henry who is now running around on his own! There is just something about Christmas with kids that brings all of the magic back to the season. That pure excitement on their faces is something you just can't find anywhere else. Saturday morning we packed up all of our new gifts (yay for new dishes!!) and the puppies and headed out...whoops I guess we "forgot" that leg lamp from Mike's room:)

The next leg of the trip took us through the snow, quite literally, to grandma's house in Alexandria,VA. Thanks to good ol' Betsy...for those of you who don't know Betsy she is my 2000 Ford Explorer that I've had since high school, she has been through college and the many moves since graduating and is well over 200,000 miles at this point! But Betsy never missed a beat through the snow and rain on the trip and we arrived Saturday afternoon without any hiccups, we didn't even get lost!

Once we got to VA and got the puppies settled in Mike and I headed off to the metro to see the national Christmas tree. First stop in the city was a date night dinner at La Tasca, an amazing tapas restaurant in China town ( be sure to stop there for sangria and tapas if you find yourself in DC!). Then we started the trek to the tree and surprise surprise we found ourselves all turned around and had to ask for directions. As often as I get lost you would think I would be used to it but still can become a tad frustrating but Mike is perfect at making me laugh it off. We finally made it to the tree and have now checked a second year off the list and the first national tree during our engagement.

It was just a tad windy!

The next day was family Christmas with the Dailey side of the family which is always full of laughs and amazing baked goods. It was so nice to be able to see my sister and cousins who are all off in different sections of the country for college. I'd say we are all a far cry from those little girls on the slide so many years ago for Christmas cards!

The night ended with the search for the pickle on the Christmas tree and with a little "tipping" of the tree in the direction of my poor Aunt Monica, I found it! It is now on our Christmas tree in Georgia, which yes is still up and on the list of projects for the week. New Years day Mike and I met up with Gray and her fiance Wade for a sushi lunch and wedding chat. I am so excited that I will be a bridesmaid in their July wedding! This coming summer is shaping up to be quite full of wedding fun with Gray and Wade's wedding and then Richie and Mandy's wedding in September. We are so lucky that we were able to end the year with family and friends and ring in 2013 with family and a celebration of Omi's 82nd birthday! We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and we can't wait for our next trip up north! Hopefully next time we will have more time to see everyone we missed this trip and so that I can force Mike to listen to more N'SYNC during the crazy long drive!! Ha!