We have been on the go for about 3 months now. The week before we left for New Jersey for Christmas, Brandon was working in Castle Rock on the helicopter job I told you about. We stayed in a hotel Sunday - Thursday night. Friday morning we got up about 4 and drove back to Sterling so Brandon could work Friday. Saturday we drove to Lochbuie so Brandon could go to class and then Sunday morning we flew out to Philly! We had been going so fast for so long we couldn't believe we were finally going to New Jersey for a week of fun, family and relaxation!
It was such a wonderful time as always but this time was extra special. There is just something about the holidays and being surrounded by so much family that just warms my heart. Sunday we arrived and it was surprisingly warm! Monday we had the Gingerbread house competition with the whole family. Brandon and I won in the "creative" category but part of me thinks they felt sorry for us. Brandon says ours was the ugliest "house" he has ever seen! It definitely took some work and there were a few moments I thought we were in big trouble and were going to end up with a pile of frosting and candy but somehow, someway we pulled it together and presented our "gingerbread camper" :)
Tuesday was Christmas Eve and we all went over to my mom moms and pop pops cabin for christmas eve dinner. We ate a delicious meal, took the traditional family pictures and watched the kids very creative performances. It was a wonderful night and such great memories. Christmas morning was so fun!! Bashlyn started to get the hang of ripping the wrapping paper (mostly because she was trying to eat it!) Great grammom, Adam, Jen and the kids came over for Christmas diner and it was by far the best prime rib Brandon and I have ever ate!
Friday was going to the farm in Maryland. It was fun to see the farm and have Bashlyn there but it definitely put a lump in my throat being there without gramps :(
Saturday was Philly with Adam, Jen and the kids. We rode the train and of course I had to feed and do a diaper change on the train. Hey when duty calls you do what you have to! :) We went to the Comcast building and got to see Adams office and building. Its so crazy, when you go up in the elevator your ears pop! We could see so far from his office building and it was really cool to see Philly from that perspective! We then went to Redding Terminal and proceeded to get pizza, cheesesteaks and of course chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookies for the train ride home! :)
Erin and I got pedicures and it was the first pedicure I had since way before Bashlyn was born. It was so relaxing and fun to just catch up with Erin and girl talk. Almost every day we were there we got to go see Uncle Tommy. Him and Aunt Connie sure put a smile on my face every day, they are so cute together! Bashlyn had a great time too, she showed Uncle Tommy her tummy time, standing up and of course smiling a bunch!
These are just a few of the highlights of our trip. There are so many more. It was one of the best Christmases I have ever had and one I had dreamt of for a very long time. It was so fun to have Brandon and Bashlyn there. I spent so much of my childhood there, running around my Aunt Seans house and to have my family there was pretty surreal. My mom got to come with, she actually met up with us in Denver! I am so glad she came and spent Bashlyns first Christmas with us there. It truly was so special Christmas morning to just look around and take it all in. We are so BLESSED with such loving, caring and fun family! Thank you to my Mom, Aunt Sean, Uncle Brian, Erin, 3 Mom, 3 Pop, Aunt Connie, Uncle Tommy, Chris, Kathy, Logan, Aiden, Jeff, Dawn, Alex, Eric, Lauren, Adam, Jen, Grace, Connor, Becca, Megan, Brandon and my sweet Bashlyn for making this Christmas one of the best ones yet. It was so special!!
When we got back from our trip we went to Castle Rock for a week for Brandon to work. We came back to Sterling Friday night to no furnace :( We tried everything we could think of to get it to reset and come back on but nothing worked. I knew we were out of warranty on our 5th wheel so I thought I had to go through the furnaces warranty which was two years. Well they were not open on weekends so Monday morning I talked to them. Our dealer called me back too and said we had an extended warranty and we should go through them instead of the furnace company. Turns out they are open 365 days a year and the repair shop that fixed our furnace WAS open Saturday so we could have had this mess fixed Saturday instead of TUESDAY!! :( It was a long, cold 4 days, bundled up in the bedroom with space heaters. Turns out the board went bad in our furnace but we got it all fixed up and I am so thankful for heat!! On a sad note though, when the furnace went out our pipes froze and now one of them is dripping. Frozen pipes are not covered under warranty either so thats just great :( Brandon is going to take a look at it on Friday and see how bad it really is, we're hoping its just a fitting that separated. Have I mentioned I HATE winter!!! :(
Brandon is turning 6th step in less than two weeks! I can't believe how fast it is going. One step closer to being able to decide where we work, and it WONT be in the freezing cold! Hawaii, Cali, Florida, they are all looking pretty good right now!
