Anyway, my last entry promised a summary of my trip back east to see family.
I had a wonderful time. For me, I don't think it would be - could be - the holidays if I didn't go home and see my family. I don't know if it will seem the same when we have kids and it costs too much for us to go out. I don't think about that part too much.
For me, the season is all about smells, sights and being together. My sister did loads of baking while I was home. It seemed like every time we went to Mom's house she ended up in the kitchen baking some sort of cookies. Peanut butter were my favorite this time. I think my all time favorite were the lemon bars Mom use to make.
We went a couple of places - to M's local community center for swimming, to the new Please Touch Museum Philadelphia's Fairmont Park, to Hershey Park's Candy Lane and Drive-thru Light Display.
At the Please Touch Museum, I couldn't believe the stuff ("exhibits" I guess is the correct word) available for the kids to play with. My favorite was the water room complete with a duck stream with plastic smocks for the kids and plenty of ducks and rubber floor mats. I won't lie. I thought it was expensive, but Maddie had a wonderful time and that's what counts.
Hershey Park was fun. I've never been there for their Christmas Candy Land before. Mom said they started it up after we were "older". Yeah, I think it celebrated it's 25th anniversary this year.... or maybe 20th. Anyway, that made me feel old. UGH.
Mostly, I just spent time with Mom, M and Maddie. I saw J a couple of times and A even less - they were both working loads. Mom wasn't up for too much - she was still in a cast during my visit. Her leg is now in a boot but one of her screws started coming lose so the doctor has restricted her activities since I was home. Hopefully, she'll have better news next week when she goes back.
Coming home is always wonderful too. I flew through Denver both times and I can't believe the difference in only a week. From Sunny to snow. Luckily, I beat the big storms and didn't have much to worry about delay-wise. I got into SFO around 3 p.m. and took BART home. A first for me. T has always picked me up at the airport from other trips but starting a new job means no vacation/personal days - so I had to suffer alone. Ah well.
We spent Christmas Eve at T's parents. We had a lovely dinner soup, breads and desserts. Yum. The next morning we had breads, cinnamon rolls and other delicious snacks. Then we opened presents and dinner (another yummy meal) before heading back home. I know the cat missed us.
It was a wonderful holiday. T had the rest of the week off so we did some shopping and just relaxed. He's at work now. He only has NYD off but he'll probably leave early on the NYE because it's our anniversary - 3 years go us.
