A White (and COLD) Christmas in Ohio

I had been worried for a while about whether or not Josh would be able to get ample amount of time off for Christmas this year. But the week before Theo and I were scheduled to leave for Ohio, Josh was informed that the project was ending on Saturday (December 16th) and wouldn't be starting again until the new year! Yay!

On Sunday (December 17th) we had our own little Christmas at home. 

After having the same MacBook for 10 years, I finally got a new one! Eek! It's so beautiful! I got Josh a super cool wooden (not ALL wood) watch. And we also opened presents that were sent to us by Jessi and Ally.

[Traditional pigs in a blanket]  

[Love cuddles with Theo]

On Monday, December 18th, Josh, Theo and I left the Raptor and headed south to Ohio. It was a long drive, but we only had to stop once to feed Theo.

[Starbucks pit stop!]

On Tuesday, December 19th, Luke, Andie, and Porter flew into Ohio. I volunteered to go get them from the airport since we were the only ones who had seen The Last Jedi and I was DYING to talk to someone about it! Plus, I had not met Porter yet! He was born shortly after I saw Luke and Andie in Utah and I wasn't able to go to the Stringam Reunion after he was born.

[Theo and Porter]

[Porter seemed VERY interested in Theo's hair]

In the week leading up to Christmas we spent time with the family, went to Newport to the Levy, went to the spa and got massages, and ate dinner at a German restaurant. 

[Cole LOVES babies!]

[Found a new nap place for Theo]

On Christmas Eve all the healthy people (a really nasty cold was spreading through the family) went to church for the Christmas musical program. 



After church Dad, Luke, Andie, Josh and I went to the Bengals vs Lions NFL game. 

[View from our seats]

[Snow and rain!]

[Yes! It was THAT cold!]

At half time we went and got hot dogs and hot chocolate. It was worth it! Even though the game didn't matter (the Bengals were eliminated from the Post-Season), it was still a good game, the Bengals won, and we had fun!

That night we gathered at Mom and Dads house for turkey sandwiches and games.

[Brady and Andie playing Twister]

[Traditional Monopoly game! Luke won!]

The next morning the whole family gathered at Mom and Dads house for our traditional Christmas breakfast (pigs in a blanket) and present opening.

[A white Christmas at Mom and Dads]

[Love this picture of Theo and Mom]

[Mom got all the Grandsons matching PJs]

[Theo with all his presents - books, a Porg, a handmade blanket from Grammy Suzi and great-grandma Judy, and a new rattle]

[We got my dad this chef jacket]

That night we had a great beef roast (prepared by Chef Papa) and played games that Brady had brought over.

The next morning Josh went to pick up Brodee. He left the house at 3:20 AM and drove to the Dayton airport to catch his 6:00 AM flight to Dallas. When he arrived in Dallas he found out that his flight to Midland was delayed. This wasn't a huge problem because he was going to have a long layover in Midland. He was finally able to get to Midland and that's when all the drama started. Josh called me and told me that their flights coming back kept getting delayed and that there was a chance they would get stuck in Midland. I told Josh that he needed to get himself and Brodee back to Dallas at any cost because it would be easier to get a flight to Ohio from there then from Midland (a super tiny airport). After a lot of waiting and panic, Josh and Brodee were able to get to Dallas on the last flight out of Midland. Once they got to Dallas they found a hotel and crashed for a few hours. 

 

The next morning they flew from Dallas to Dayton. From the airport Josh and Brodee headed to Top Golf to meet Brady, Dad, Ryan, and Luke for some golf and lunch.

While Brodee was here we played games,

[Jenga was a big hit!]

went to the EnterTRAINment museum, 

 

 

 

took family pictures (see more here), 

 

 

went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory,

got BBQ at Eli's, went sledding on Grandma and Papa's driveway,

[Even Josh got in on the fun!]

went to the Newport Aquarium,

[Brodee practicing the "two finger rule" for touching the starfish. He ended up not touching them though]

[The front tire of our stroller fell off at the house and we didn't notice it until we got to the Aquarium. So Theo had a rough ride, but we made it work!]

ate at Tom and Chee,

celebrated New Years,

[Playing Harry Potter Clue]

[Count down at 10:00 PM... Shhhh!]

[Cheers!]

and spent a lot of time playing with Brady, Dane, and Cole!

[Brodee helping with Theo's tummy time. He's such a sweet big brother]

On January 2nd, Josh and Brodee got up super early and headed to Dayton to catch their 6:00 AM flight to Dallas. The flight was delayed TWO hours so by the time they got to Dallas they had missed their flight to Midland. They were put on a flight for the NEXT DAY and also put on a standby list for a flight leaving shortly. Luckily, Brodee got the last seat on the flight and Josh sent him on his way alone (it's only a 65 minute flight). Josh then hung out at the Dallas airport for EIGHT hours until he was able to catch a late flight back to Dayton. He got back to my parents house at 2:30 AM and was exhausted!

The next morning we packed up the truck and prepared to head home when Josh discovered a problem: the truck won't start. Of course! After some panic, a few YouTube videos, and me researching how much a rental car would cost, Josh and Dad got the truck fired up! Yay! 

[We stopped at Skyline Chili on our way out of town... Classic Ohio!]

Even though most of us got sick (me with a double ear and sinus infection), we still had so much fun celebrating a white (and cold) Christmas and New Years with the Neilson family in Ohio! Thanks everyone for such a great time and all the fun gifts! And a special thanks to my parents for hosting us and for watching Theo so that Josh and I could have a date night at Ruth Chris. 

I’m already looking forward to Christmas 2019 in Mexico! I think this "White Christmas" thing is really overrated!