A Washington Family Christmas Visit - 2024/12/23-29

Well everyone made it to Washington safe and sound! We're all together at my brother and his wife's house in Washington to celebrate Christmas and hang out together. 

Every day, Jess had fresh bread for us every day! Awesome! 

And many evenings were spent in front of this beautiful fireplace. 

The tasty food treats were non-stop. This large charcuterie board made an appearance. 

Something everyone can enjoy, especially the truffle cheddar 

And I got to make my yearly holiday treat. This year I made soft peppermint butter mints. They were a light peppermint flavor and very tasty. 

Who wants to paint their nails? Patrick, Sheila, and Emma do! 

Emma - Uncle Patrick copied me! 

Sheila used a toothpick to draw holly leaves and berries on her thumb. 

A few weeks ago Jon installed this silks swing in the workout room. 

Our little Alli is always stretching, flipping, and cartwheeling, so her and Avery just fell in love with this room. They would create "routines" of different poses on the swing and run around the house to find people to come back with them to the gym to show them off. 

Alli has gotten quite flexible, able to do the splits in all directions and curl her feet all the way over her head. 

It's nice to have such a musical family! Holiday songs abounded while we were hanging around the house. I tried multiple times to get "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" started while they were playing, but no one continued it. Finally Ian went over to the piano, picked it out by ear, and then I was satisfied. 

Normally on Christmas Eve we'd read the Polar Express together, but this time it's playing in the living room. 

Time to wake up! It's Christmas Morning! 

With a fake fire on the TV, everyone gathered in the living room. 

First all the stockings get passed out. 

Lots of candy and small presents. 

Even the grandparents got a stocking to share with some of their favorite candy treats. 

And then it was time for gift. Emma is really into art and she framed some of her artwork for Gram. 

A Pokemon binder for Avery from Ian and Alli! Right now she just holds all her cards together with a rubber band. 

It's fun all being together for the holidays. 

One picture of the whole crew together. 

Oh, cats. 

It's almost lunchtime and it's sure to be a treat. Jess has bread that just came out of the oven. 

Listening to it crackle and pop as it cools. 

And Jon is making tri-tip steak for everyone! Yum! 

I see some rare pieces in there too. It's looking great! 

Mmm!

Dad has been in the kitchen all morning, slicing potato after potato to try out a new dish that he wanted to make for everyone. It's looking delicious! 

And no wondering it took so long! That's something like 14 layers of potato, with a cheese layer spread between each of them! It was pretty scrumptious though. 

Oh, cats. 

While everyone is letting their food settle and relaxing for the day, where are Theresa and I? Working out, of course! Luckily the Anytime Fitness here doesn't have to be staffed. You just scan your phone at the door and it unlocks. Not too busy here today though on Christmas. Two other people here when we arrived and no one there when we left. 

Maybe all that working out was so that we don't feel guilty for eating Jess's famous sticky buns. While those cook, we'll move on to one of the things Ian asked for on his Christmas list. 

The saran wrap ball game! It certainly takes a while to create (thank you Gram and Patrick), and there's lots of little toys and treats you need to fill it up (thank you everyone else too), but all the kids enjoyed it. 

And nearly 20 minutes later all the bartering began, trading off the things they didn't want for things they did. Alli made it a point to try to get things for a taste test, which we'll eventually feature here. 

Looks like they're ready! 

Looking good Jess!

Definitely a treat we all look forward to. 

For another special treat, on December 26th, Gram and Pop Pop said that they would watch all the kids and let all the parents have a night out! Ian and Alli's Christmas gift to everyone was a Chipotle dinner for those who stayed home. 

There's a few places we could choose, but the last time we all got together, we really enjoyed a taco place in Vancouver Washington called Little Conejo (rabbit in Spanish). 

Thanks Patrick and Megan for buying everyone dinner! 

The tacos were just as good as we remember. A little pricy ($4-$5.50 each), but still tasty. Theresa and I really liked the beef tacos. I'm used to seeing Al Pastor tacos (pork), but here, maybe because it's the Little Conejo (rabbit), they have a Carrot Pastor taco with marinated smoked carrots. We didn't try it, but maybe next time. 

What should we do next? 

Good suggestion Patrick. 

Just down the street within walking distance is another coffee place we enjoyed the last time we were all together. 

Brewed has coffee and pastries and a place upstairs where we can all hang out together. 

Mushroom coffee? Jess ordered a Chaggachino, which is made from ground chaga mushrooms. I tried it and while it's a little earthy, if you mix it with enough sugar and milk, it would be okay. Still, it reminded me of the movie Sonic 2 where Dr. Robotnik is trapped on the mushroom planet and still tries to make coffee with them every morning. 

It's always nice to get away for a little while and just hang out. 

Our time all together is starting to draw to a close, and there's one thing that was requested I make. I got to work in the kitchen as soon as we got back home. I was asked about 5 times by different people what I was making, so when my mom asked I just gave a laugh then told her. She wondering why I was laughing and I said it's because so many people were asking about it. 

She said she'd make me a sign and put it on my back so that everyone would know and I wouldn't be interrupted anymore. 

And the person who requests them from me the most (along with Jess). 

Avery - These are way better than IKEA.

I sure hope so! Enjoy the Cinnamon Rolls! 

With everyone out and about, just doing their own thing, (after the gym), Theresa and I decided to go hang out at the coffee shop in town. I love all the holiday themed beverages. 

But my cinnamon rolls looked way better than that one in the case. 

Normally these are served in paper cups, but I requested their real coffee mugs. It always tastes better when it's out of a real mug. Theresa got the cute looking Candy Cane Kiss Mocha without whipped cream. It looks pretty adorable, and that candy cane melted completely into the coffee by the time Theresa finished her drink. 

Instead of going with the holiday menu, something else caught my eye. The Honey Bear Latte. Made with honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon, I thought it was really good, and I could definitely taste the honey in every sip. 

The only thing about small town coffee shops is that anyone could come in. While T and I were sitting by the fireplace, another group of rowdy people came barging in. Just kidding, but it was funny that without planning to meet up, we still ran into Jess, Megan, Emma, and Josh. They tried their best to not look over at us and ruin our "date" but it didn't go too well. They still tried my honey bear latte, while I took sips of their Gingerbread Chai and North Pole Nog latte. 

Dinner time! Gram has been making the sloppy joes we all grew up with (everyone else's tastes weird) and hot swiss cheese, ham, potato soup. So good! 

It's after Christmas, but there's a few Christmas movies we haven't watched yet. Like A Muppet Christmas Carol. It's the favorite Christmas movie of the season for many of us. 

Isaac learning to make fried rice with Pop Pop. 

For being Christmas break, we sure have been out to the gym a lot. And Isaac expressed an interest in joining us! Theresa, who has been doing this for a couple years now, walked him through her workout routines and showed him the different machines. 

Get those big gains! 

It's sad that Patrick, Megan, Avery, Gram, and Pop Pop left earlier this morning, because it means they're missing out on pizza night! 

Jon made up 8 different pizzas for everyone, but one of the favorites has to be this white bechemel sauce with potato, and bacon. It's really good! 

And just for an experiment, on the last pizza, he put down a layer of swiss cheese, with mom's leftover sloppy joe meat. 

That's actually really really good! 

It's been great to be here, but it's time to head back to the East Coast. Thank you for hosting us Jess and Jon! It was great to be with everyone for Christmas! 

Flying from one side of the United States to the other. It takes a while! 

Connecting in Atlanta and getting to see this cool ceiling as we walked from terminal to terminal. 

Munching on the loaf of fresh bread that Jess sent along with us! Thank you! 

Our flight ended up being delayed, so we didn't get to Orlando until 11:45pm. From there it was a shuttle to the long term parking lot to pick up the car, then a drive to the RV storage lot where the Beast is kept. After getting the RV hooked up, then driving to our campsite, it was 2:30am before we got parked, and 4am before everyone settled down to bed. Coming from the other coast, that was more like 1am for us, but it still felt really late. 

After going to Michigan, Colorado, and Washington for the holidays, we're finally home.