The world ended 10 days ago and I’m pretty sure I’m in heaven. My heart is full, I am relaxed and I am excited about all that is ahead in this life.
We had a wonderful Christmas that included a lot of time with family, a little time with friends and more relaxing than we ever really allow ourselves. Carolyn was a bit under the weather the whole time which wasn’t ideal, but it was a nice excuse to let down, let our bodies rest and just enjoy being together.
I would love to do a really long blog, but I’m going to just stick with highlights:
-Eating Out: Nancy & Bob met us at Chuy’s the night after the Graf’s got in. It was a great & DELICIOUS way to start our trip. We went to Chipotle where Carolyn found something she actually likes. We hit up Applebee’s and it happened to be 1/2 price wine night…JACKPOT. I had On the Border with my and John and Lauren joined us for a bit before we headed back to Nancy’s for games with the Graf’s. We also had a dinner at iFratelli in Las Colinas with John, Steve and Marilyn. Wade and I also had a brunch with the Black’s, the Campell’s, the Parks’ girls, Holly and Mohon and his step-daughter at Smoke in Dallas. It was great! We also treated Bob, Nancy, Neal and Carolyn to Cheesecake Factory as part of our Christmas gift to them. It was awesome.
-Dave & Busters: Wade had been teasing me about a surprise for about a week and the next night he got me good with a trip to Dave & Busters. It was so much fun. Again, Bob & Nancy met us there. We had dinner and played games. I won the “big prize” on the stack ’em game and made a fool of myself dancing on a game where you are actually supposed to be pressing buttons. Neal had a run-in with an ungrateful 8 year old and I dropped a cigar ash tray in the ticket redemption shop. GREAT NIGHT…lots of laughs and many great memories that I’m sure we’ll talk about for years to come
-Dick’s Sporting Goods: We only made 2 trips to dicks and I didn’t go on one of them.
-Games: We played Apples to Apples, Dominos, Skip-Bo and had a fantastic time doing it. Our new addition to the game portion of the trip was Tiger Woods Golf. Thankfully, John and Nancy got to see how fun that was when Mike Weir played against Anthony Kim and Tiger Woods. I won’t go into details, but again, unforgettable and funny stuff.
-Other Food: We grilled and cooked and it was awesome! Wade made the best chicken and we did jalapeno cheddar bacon cheeseburgers with chipotle mayo as well. I made pumpkin bread and a bunch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
-Christmas: We had such a blessed Christmas. It was smaller than we normally do and it was so relaxing that way. I hope we continue these toned down holidays…at least until there are grandkids. As always, we celebrated early, but I think we at least waited until the 21st to open gifts. We made the annual trek to Fran & Alec’s on Christmas. The Graf’s came with us. Fran was on fire. The Graf’s had a great time and I’m so glad that they got to meet my family. There are some funny memories from this as well including, but not limited to Tom Brady, Subway Gift Cards, Lloyd (the dog) and voicemails from my Grandma. Our Christmas church service was actually on the 22nd, which I was not a fan of, but Bob and Nancy met us there and that was nice. To top it off, I had a small issue with one of the ushers who wanted us to move so the front of the church would look full on TV. My response, “Sir I understand that you have a job to do, but we’re here for church, not for TV. Respectfully, my family and I will not be moving and I thank you for your understanding.” YIKES! It worked and it was nice though.
-Wedding Video: We got our final wedding video. I can’t wait to share. It’s amazing. Truly. I don’t really have words for it.
-ICING ON THE CAKE: Neal had an impromptu meeting with a supervisor of the Southlake Parks & Rec department. It ended up being 2 hours long and the guy took him to all 17 parks in Southlake. We are really expecting a job offer and hope that this means Neal & Carolyn will be Texans before 2013 ends. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
On the last day of this year, today, we hit the gym and are about to go on an adventure and grocery shopping. We have reservations at Bob’s in Grapevine with 4 close friends and ring in 2013 with them. It’s a tradition we started last year and I’m excited about it. For 2013, I’m praying for family, health and happiness!
Adios, 2012! You were awesome (the best year of my life so far).
Blessings. See you tomorrow, 2013. HAPPY NEW YEAR!