Josh, Evan and I took advantage of the long Christmas break to trek back to the East Coast for some fun times with friends and family, both in Boston and Pittsburgh. Kim and Evan made the flight to Boston 2 weeks ahead of Josh (thank God Evan cooperated on the long flight), and then Josh arrived to meet us for an additional week in Hingham before headed to Pittsburgh to spend actually Christmas day with the Blank side. We were excited to go to Theresa's wedding (Kim's longtime friend from Bentley, and 10 yr roommate). The wedding was not only a magical time for Theresa and her new husband, Mike, but also a great chance for me to reconnect with some Bentley and Seattle friends, while at the same time getting my groove on with lots of dancing, including a choreographed dance to Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" that all of us bridesmaids, and Theresa serenaded her groom with. So fun!
In Boston we had some great times visiting with my folks, Tom & Gwynne and Mason and Cassidy, all of Kim's friends, and all of Evan's new buddies..as lots of playdates were arranged with Kerrin, Tory, Shannon and Melanie's little ones. We spent lots of time around the house, just all playing games, talking and even tackling a furniture refinishing project that my mother and I tackled, with of course so extra painting help from my father. We also visited a little Christmas market, caught up on some dental and medical appointments and relaxed together. The time flew by (too fast), but it was great!
In Pittsburgh we hopped around spending time at each of Josh's brother's houses and his Dads place too. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Dara's, good planning, we all sat down for a family portrait session, and so as the family grows with new cousins/kids/grandchilden, we're getting the pictures done to chronical the Blank family growth:) It was fun to watch all of the cousins play together, and we had fun just hanging out, seeing Jason and Mandy's new house, seeing the progress in Ed & Dara's basement remodel with Josh getting his hands dirty with Ed a bit working on some baseboards, and the brothers even fitting in a night at the Steelers game. Christmas day was spent at Aunt Kay's complete with plenty of food, lots of presents, and a few rounds of Bingo. A fun and festive day.
On the day we were to fly back from Pittsburgh to Boston, we took Evan to the walk in clinic due to a stubborn cold that he had, and us wanting to make sure his ears were ok before the flight. Well, the doctor confirmed our fears that he did have an ear infection, and we were advised not to have him fly. Off to Enterprise we went to rent a car so that we could make the 10 hour drive to Boston in order for Josh to catch his Boston to Italy flight the following morning. Kim and Evan were 'grounded' in Boston so that Evan's antibiotic had time to kick in, and after a week's wait in Boston, and more family bonding time, Kim and Evan flew back to meet up with Josh in Naples. A whirlwind trip home and a greatway to spend the holidays!
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