Oh, Ohio. One of my least favorite places. But, there's all those people there that somehow haven't figured out it's way more awesome to move to Florida, so I have to go visit them.
Calib, Peyton, Hayden and I left Thursday afternoon. And the airport was pretty empty.
We hate flying Spirit. The leg room is non existent, and you have to pay for every little thing. But, it's often the least expensive, and it's always a direct flight. So, we usually end up with them.
Everyone had told me how warm it was going to be Ohio. However, it was 84 degrees when we left Tampa, and it was 34 degrees when we arrived in Detroit. Kind of nuts. And we were freezing. (Calib actually minds it the least).
Mom picked us up, and we swung by grandma's house to visit before heading into Fremont to pick out a tree for mom's house. She toyed with the idea of going artificial this year, but I convinced her she could get the tiniest of real trees, and I would put it up and take it down before I left. We found this beauty at Lowes. It was the top of a 7 foot tree, and the bottom trunk rotted, so they just cut it off.
After getting the tree, we went out to get Chinese food, a tradition that dates back to when I was a baby. I've only missed it a few years.
The boys did the penny fortune.
And then we headed back to mom's to put up the tree. Calib is there for size comparison.
A string of lights, a box of ornaments, and a moose tree topper and we called it a day.
Meanwhile, Hayden was excited about the color your own wrapping paper.
The next day, we had to help mom with all things Christmas. She has been gone so much and helping with grandma, so she didn't have very much time on her hands. Peyton went down to Koeb's corner to get some things for all the kids stockings.
Then we were off to lunch at Chuds, and to the grocery store.
Then, it was marathon cookie baking. (Even though I had just had one of those here on Wednesday- but I'll post all the Florida happenings in the Christmas blog on Saturday).
We did see a little tiny bit of snow. Peyton wasn't thrilled with the cold, he'd never survive there.
Friday night I went out with Ben. We hung out at his house, and went out to eat, and Ben ended up with the weirdest dinner ever.
I'm so glad I got to see him though- my schedule was super jammed packed.
I got back to mom's about 12:30, and got lectured by Peyton and Hayden for staying out so late. Silly boys. The next morning, we were up and headed back to Toledo. We had some more errands to run, and some things to do for my grandma, so mom took us to lunch at Five Guys. (Fun sidenote: At least Peyton and I got to wear our cute hats!)
After that, we were headed to grandma's for the annual Cookie Day. Cort and Holly came up from Cincinnati.
Cort spent his time training a new batch of rollers.
And in a fun surprise, my cousin Joanne, her husband Ray, and her boys Max and Henry decided to come last minute. I was really bummed I wasn't going to see them- we've missed each other the last few times I've been up- and they are just one of my favorite families- so I'm super grateful they made the drive all the way from Pittsburgh.
Max was helpful on the roller. Joanne mostly embraced the new idea of "Beer AND Cookie Day." Which was all Cort's idea.
Hey, you gotta do something when you make this many cookies. It takes a LONG time.
After cookie baking, we put up the tree for grandma.
Then we celebrated Max and Henry's birthday- which was only the day before. (Making it all the more awesome Joanne and Ray drove all the way from Pittsburgh to hang out with us!)
It was Holly's idea to have them cut their cakes, and it was fun to watch. Their skills might need a little refining though.
We also celebrated Sean's birthday, but apparently I missed any pictures with him, or Sarah, or Lt. Chubs (their adorable new puppy!) But, they were there for the record. My cousin's on my other side- Jake and Nate stopped by too. Jake is the one responsible for the weird cookie cake cutting.
Anyway, thanks to Nate for coming over to visit with us.
And to Jake who drove all the way up from Columbus, even though he had to drive back the next morning- and then come back for Christmas. Really, it's pretty awesome I have all these family and friends taking that much time out of their weekend for us.
For dinner we ordered some pizza.
And then it was time to divide up all the cookies into cookie boxes to send all over the country. Again, we've got a new generation in training, and they were all pretty helpful.
Although you see that box on the end? The one that you just know is going to get knocked over and fall on the floor? (We for real said "that one is going to fall, it's just a matter of when". Well, that's my cousin Tim's. (He threatened me with the most awful cookie box last year when I wasn't there for cookie boxing, but he was)
Obviously, it fell. Somehow I took a picture of reactions, but not the box on the floor. Probably because I was being my usual helpful self and helped pick it up.
So, I tagged Tim in this picture. But, the one on the floor would have been funnier.
All the cookie boxes were loaded. This is usually where the adults take over.
Unfortunately, in this scenario, Cort, Holly, Joanne and I were the adults. (When did that happen?)
And our foiling skills could use some work (Some more than others).
As always, the kids had lots of fun together. And they didn't even trash the upstairs *too* much. Of course they all cleaned up after themselves. And nobody got *too* hurt. So, we call it a win.
Apparently, they had spent their evening making a movie on the Ipad, which Gwen showed us all. Pretty good work if I do say so myself. The fight scenes were a little intense though, I wouldn't take young kids.
As always, Gigi was pretty happy to have her house bustling with activity.
Oh, and Aunt Pattie was there too. She flew all the way in from Seattle, because it was the 50th Cookie Day! Plus, she wanted to see me of course. I don't know how I missed her in all the other pictures, but I wanted to make sure I got one with her!
I tried to take a picture with Ray and Joanne, but well, Ray doesn't photograph well.
(Much better, am I right?)
That's it from cookie day!
Cort and Holly came back to mom's with us, and we all spent the night. When they headed off to church the next morning, I offered to watch Garrett. Keeping a six year old busy is a little more work than I remember. But, we did already. We sailed our boat (the couch) to Disneyland.
And we went Whale (Hayden) watching on the way with out Binoculars (Taboo Buzzer).
We used our navigation system (Cincinnati Zoo map) to figure out where we were headed, and I used my motion sickness bracelet (a hair tie and a block) to make sure I didn't get sick.
While at Disneyland (the family room) we played Putt Putt and watched a University of Dayton basketball game.
Then, we sailed back home before anyone knew were were gone. It was a top secret trip, you know.
Peyton, meanwhile, watched Lilly.
Sunday was Christmas at mom's house. Clint and Jess weren't there (they'll be with mom on Christmas), but the rest of us were.
Minus Asa- but he was on his way. We decided that we would rent a car (which turned out to be a good decision), and that way I wouldn't have to take Asa to the airport, and we'd have some flexibility on Monday, when mom had things to do), so Asa flew in, stopped by Toledo to see Aunt Pattie, Joanne, Ray, Max, Henry, Aunt Judy, Uncle Warren and grandma, before a quick swing by at the Sattlers to see Aunt Sharon, Uncle Grant, Jake and Nate. Then- he was on his way to Fremont, while the kids waited to open their presents.
And we have an Uncle Asa sighting! Lily was happy to see him.
We opened our presents-
Cort said he almost got me this cup for Christmas (this one is moms). Somehow I don't think I would have used it very much.
Asa got mom's wooden bowl set he's been eyeing for the will. I guess she decided to give it to him early.
Ah, the Christmas mess. It's one of my favorites. Can't wait for tomorrows mess here!
We did stockings- there's too many of us to all open them at once.
I tried to get Gwen to put a pink bow in Uncle Clint's stocking- but she put it in Uncle Asa's instead.
Cort, Asa (and Clint) got a little Mexican tequila in their stocking.
We actually had a really nice day on Sunday, the kids played with their new stuff- Garrett got some fun trains.
And Gwen played on her pogo stick in her brand new dress.
My kids just had a few odds and ends- because our Christmas present is our Disney passes. Asa and I decided, we needed to head on out to get some coffee (there's none at moms- she isn't a coffee drinker). Peyton came along to check out the fun rental car.
Then we played some games, which is always a good time.
Hayden got one in which you try and find an item in the house that matches the card. He liked to use things in the kitchen instead of running around the house like the rest of us.
Then we played a Moose dice game- where everyone could play.
It was as intense...
...and exciting as it looked.
Mom offered to take us all out to dinner- so it was another meal out for us.
We were back at my mom's real quick after that to take a few pictures- and say goodbye to the Sattler's- who had to head back to Cincinnati.
Then mom took us out to see Star Wars! Which (no spoilers) was kind of amazing. Sometimes my ADD makes it a little hard to sit for a movie that long- but it FLEW right by. I loved it.
That evening, mom pulled out some drinks. Who knew mom had moonshine.
Monday morning, I packed up the best I could- and headed out to Sandusky to meet up with Amanda and her girls. I was like 20 minutes late getting there, and the girls were so well behaved and patient. We met at Panera, and they were pretty much done by the time I got there- so I treated them to dessert to keep them busy- but they were so great. (You're doing a good job with them, Amanda!)
I went back to Fremont to pick up everyone else, and we headed out to Toledo. Cort got us that ball for Christmas- it's a maze, and it's pretty great. It keeps Hayden busy and he really likes doing it.
Oh, Ohio. Can't I just see the sun once when I'm there in the winter? It's so depressing!
When we got to Toledo, we swung by to see Grandpa Sattler. I missed him the last time I was up, so I really wanted to make the effort to see him this time around. It was a quick trip, but I'm glad we got to visit.
We swung by my grandma's to pick up mom and then went over to the Toledo Zoo to check out the Lights before Christmas. Asa's friends from college, Allison and Ashley (and Ashley's mom) came to meet up with us. Again, they were so sweet to drive (like a couple of hours or more- EACH way!) to see us. These girls are awesome, and I so wish they lived closer. Hopefully they'll come visit us soon.
We finally got to visit the new aquarium, which is pretty awesome.
Santa was even scuba diving and taking pictures!
Mom treated all of us to a trip down the ice slide. (Even mom went down!)
We got to check out some animals, but some were inside where it was warmer.
The Lights are pretty, and we were there early enough to enjoy them without crowds.
It was a fun night at the zoo with everyone. We had a great time. And thanks so much to Ashley and Allison for driving all that way just to spend a couple of hours with us. We really appreciate it!
We headed back to Fremont, and had just minutes to spare before Jeff dropped off Calib- and we headed to dinner at Chuds.
There we met up with Flat Hayden...
and my friend from grade/high school- Melissa.
Mom wasn't able to come back to Fremont with us on Sunday night- so we took down the tree and stockings and cleaned up and packed up. Then, way too early the next morning we were back in Toledo at my grandma's house. Calib got his presents from mom since he missed Chistmas on Sunday.
Grandma had a few things for us too. She has been spending time doing those awesome adult coloring books, and so thoughtfully colored and framed a picture for us.
A rare Waterstraut 5 picture with gigi!
And, you're never too old for a self taken picture.
On the way out, I remembered I had promised Aunt Pattie I would take care of the cooler from cookie day- so we took care of that real quick.
Then, it was back to Detroit to head home. We were all exhausted. And the airport was NUTS three days before Christmas.
It was almost 2 by the time we landed, got our stuff, and retrieved the car, and we were all starving- so we stopped by PDQ and it was so warm, we were able to eat outside. Truthfully, it's still warm here every single day. I guess the high tomorrow for Christmas is 85.
That's it for Ohio, we actually have some big news to report - and I'm sure you guys all saw her on facebook but, I think our newest family member deserves her own blog, not a footnote, so I'll get to that hopefully sometime today.
Next Up: Eleanor Waterstraut joins our family! We're all so excited to have her. But, probably not as excited as she is to not be at the shelter anymore.
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