Home for Christmas

When I asked my mom what she wanted for her 70th birthday, her response was to have all 3 kids home for the holidays. Even though there has been numerous trips home, it had been since 1998 since we were all there at the same time, for the holidays.

We figured that since we were driving, that we visit as many parts of our family as we could. So in 13 days, we covered 7 states (x2 due the round trip), 3 homes, 3 hotels, 18 hours of driving one way, then 5 hours another day, 4 1/2 hours another day, then 15 hours back home, all to see 1 set of siblings, both sides of parent(s), and 1 set of aunt and uncle with a bonus of 2 cousins and 4 second cousins. Totally worth it!

So we loaded the car and headed to Kentucky.

   

We started in Bowling Green to visit my family and spend Christmas with them. It was a week full of family meals, games, and relexing. 

Game Night

I was even able to squeeze in a brunch date with my best friend from high school!

Christmas Eve with the whole family.

     

Reminiscing where our wedding photos were taken.

All 3 siblings.

The family.

 

Family Dinner

Christmas morning casseroles...

                                 

Recipes

Hashbrown Casserole-

1 bag frozen hash browns

1 stick melted butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 bunch green onions

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix it all up. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.

Breakfast Casserole-Pinterest Find

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/baked-breakfast-casserole.html

We were ending our Kentucky part of the trip and getting ready to head to Ohio.

At the hotel, Sam likes to make himself at home.

Jeff and his mom.

Sam met the dog uncles and loved Max!

Off to our last stop in Illinois, for the extended holiday

Met Jeff's cousin's new puppy. Sam was not interested.

The boys schooled Jeff on Madden. He got beat twice by the six year old.

Game night with the kiddos and uncle Bill and aunt Cathy.

After one more hotel in middle Kansas, we finally made it home!

Aspen in October

A much needed road trip in October. Just Jeff, Sam and myself, in Aspen Colorado, just hanging out and relaxing.
We stopped the infamous road trip snacks, don't judge, we don't normally eat like that. Then we stopped in Glenwood Springs for a bite to eat and a couple of beverages and a short walk for Sam.
Finally, we got settled in at our hotel for the weekend. We parked our car and didn't drive the rest of the weekend. We were able to walk everywhere to eat, shop, and even found a dog friendly brewery.

Stopped in Glenwood Springs for a quick walk and a beer at Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co.

We stayed at The Hotel Aspen and enjoyed beers at Aspen Brewing Company

Random pumpkins that Sam and I found on our walk to downtown Aspen.