Christmas 2019

The 2019 Christmas season was a very nice one.  In terms of time, we had less based on how Thanksgiving fell on the calendar, but I always enjoy the lead up to Christmas.  It can be a busy time with gifts to buy, preparations to make, committments, etc., but it’s definitely one of my favorite times of year regardless.  

 

One thing Nina was really looking forward to right before the kids went on Winter Break was the 8th grade dance at school.  On a very random school closure (for what turned out to be just rain), the dance which was supposed to be on a Friday night, was canceled/postponed until February.   Nina and her friends were SO disappointed.  They had bought dresses, shoes, accessories, made plans, etc. all for that night, and to have it rescheduled when the weather was perfectly fine was a bummer for them.  To make the evening a little fun, we had two of Nina’s friends over, they still got in their dresses, had a fun dinner at our house, danced and hung out in the basement, and ended up having a really fun evening.  I hope when the rescheduled dance rolls around in February, it will have just as much excitement around it as this past one did.

  

With some of the time at home on yet another day off school for what turned out to be just rain, Nina and Lyla got into making some yarn wall hangers and had a homemade gift exchange with neighbor friends.

  

In addition to the baking they did for friends, they helped me make our annual cookie plates for family and friends.  One special plate Nina wanted to make this year was for her high jump coach who is a fellow JMU alumni, and a BIG fan of JMU still, so Nina made him a special JMU themed cookie plate.  My kitchen is always a royal disaster after all the baking, and it seems like every year I ask myself why I bake so many cookies, but it makes us happy to give them to friends and family who enjoy them.  

  

This year was our turn to host the family for Christmas Eve dinner.  We had 12 adults and 5 young people for dinner, so there’s a lot to prepare, but we enjoy the night we always get to spend with our whole family and the Bland family.  It’s been a tradition to do dinner together on Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember!

 

After a moderately late night on Christmas Eve, the girls were up and excited for Christmas by 7:30 that morning.  They open stockings first, but Cayenne is the one that opens presents first.  She LOVES to open presents.  In fact, she’s the reason we can’t put gifts under the tree early.  She’ll try to open them thinking they are gifts for her.  She was actually standing down at the tree whining and barking to get the wrapping started.  She’s some dog, that’s for sure!

 

  

After Christmas at our house, we went to Mousey and Poppy’s house for a delicious brunch and more presents as a whole family. 

 

 

 

  

 Normally after a big night on Christmas Eve and a busy Christmas morning/afternoon, we just hang for the rest of Christmas day, but this year we had some fun plans with the siblings.   Well over a year ago, we were having dinner with Shen and G when the topic of when/if Bo would get engaged came up.  Garland had us predict the month and year we thought the proposal would take place, then he logged our predictions into his phone, and we shelved the bet and waited to see what happened.  The terms of the bet were such that the winner of the bet got to hand pick his/her special dinner complete with nice wine, all prepared by the losers.

 

Bo had no idea of the bet, but once he proposed to Brittany, Mark emerged as the winner of the bet, we filled Bo in our attempts to predict his moves, and invited him to join in the dinner.  The Williams hosted us for a fabulous meal on Christmas evening, and Garland had prepared a fun wine tasting game for us as well.  He got four bottles of wine, and with the bottles masked, we had to try to pick which one cost $10, $15, $25, and $50.  It was a fun game to go with a delicious dinner, and while no one got all four bottle amounts correct, Mark was the closest, so he won again!!!  

 

While we had some fun joking around trying to predict Bo’s moves, it was a great evening to spend together as siblings, and we are all very happy for he and Brittany.  It’s the time together as family, the laughs, the enjoyment of great meals together, and the memories made that really make for some of the best gifts this season.

 

  

 

 

Thanksgiving 2019

This past Thanksgiving was another great year at Hartfield with the family.  We truely felt this year we had a lot to be thankful for in our family, so this was a special Thanksgiving.  Seeing the Mouse getting stronger every week and feeling and acting more and more like herself was awesome.  The last time the whole family was at Hartfield over the summer was the start of her discovering her appendix cancer, and after a rough several months, we were all back again with a much brighter outlook and a lot to be thankful for.  

Thanksgiving morning started off with the family Turkey Trot (or walk).  

While Pops wins the most patriotic Turkey Trotter, out family cross country runner (Emme) easily cruised home at the fastest speed.

  

Also a tradition is the shucking of a bushel of oysters.  Having oysters for Thanksgiving became a tradition from the first year we went to Hartfield for Thanksgiving (16 or 17 years ago), and oysters with the traditional Thanksgiving staples has become a mainstay for our Thanksgiving meal.

 

We had a chilly but sunny Thanksgiving, and our family snapped a quick picture after all the majority of the eating took place.

 

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a traditional golf day for the guys, and in the past all the girls have gone into Urbanna for a pizza lunch at our favorite spot and a little local brousing around the waterfront and River Birch Gifts.  However, this year, Shenley and Emme ventured to the Williamsburg outlets for some Black Friday shopping.  All the non-shopper girls came with Mouse and I to pizza and River Birch (as Mouse and I aren’t big shopper either).  

 

It’s a full house with seven adults, five girls, and three dogs, but before things get too nutty, everyone is packed up and headed back home for school and work the next week. I truely feel so blessed to have a wonderful and loving family, and this year we were especially thankful for the Mouse’s renewed health and all that she means to our family.

  

 

A Big Day

A few weeks ago we had a big day in the family.  Bo proposed to his girlfriend of several years, Brittany, and we were all invited to be a part of the celebration.  To say there was a lot of excitement around this day was an understatment!  We got word from Bo a few weeks prior to the engagment date to “save the day” and he told us why.  As part of the engagment celebration, he wanted to arrange to have our family and Brittany’s there to celebrate after he popped the question.  Brittany is very close with her sister who is living in England for work, and he flew her in to surprise Brittany, had Brittany’s parents there from Philadelphia, and our family was there as well.

 

He proposed at La Grange Winery in a room he had reserved in the manor house, and the families were very excitedly waiting downstairs.  We got the call to come up after the proposal took place, and we all got to enjoy seeing them both, hearing all about it, and getting the celebrating started. After spending some time at La Grange, we all went back to my parents’ house for some great food, wine, and more celebrating.  Bo and Brittany continued the celebrating that night at their place with a bunch of their friends, so I think it’s safe to say they had a full and memorable day.

 

We are genuinely so happy for them both.  They make a great pair and compliment each other so well, and we love Brittany and are thrilled that our families are joining hers in the near future.  I’ll refrain from all the sentiment about our baby brother getting married, but you can imagine the feels. We’re super happy for him!