Monday, January 5, 2009

Mad Dash

Once upon a time, two young travelers embarked on a journey. Destination: The Midwest. Goal: attend multiple Christmases, stuff themselves with food, and visit family & friends, all without exceeding the amount of carry-on baggage the airlines allow.

Wednesday, Dec. 24: Soup & Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits for dinner. FMC christmas eve service. candle-lighting at home.

Thursday, Dec. 25: We began the day bright and early at 1 am. We encountered no problems getting to the airport, arriving before shuttles or ticket counters opened. Oops. Upon arrival in Chicago, I became incredibly disoriented because there were no mountains to the west. Reunited with my parents and brother.

Friday, Dec. 26: Christmas with my family. Enjoyed a delicious brunch. In the evening, we celebrated Festivus with my Quincy friends. I received a long list of grievances, but also excelled at the feats of strength, and consumed a lot of chocolate fondue.

Saturday, Dec. 27: Christmas with my Nyce family. All but one of our family members were able to attend. I got to see my two favorite cousinlets Caroline and Roman. James learned how to play our family's brand of dominoes (it's really similar to euchre, and was invented by my great-grandpa's brothers because playing cards, as we all know, are sinful.)--he's on his way to being a pro. James and I also received a crash course in driving my brother's stick-shift car that evening.

Sunday, Dec. 28: My attendance at church was overshadowed by 3 engagement announcements. After catching up with many after church, Jonathan, James, and I set off for PA. 1 smashed finger, 7 clementines, and 2 pot roast sandwiches later, we arrived at James' parents house. Naturally, we played Quiddler. 

Monday, Dec. 29: Alana and Travis came to visit us! After hours of chatting, had dinner as a family (Drew and Justine came to visit!) and exchanged Christmas presents. Everyone present got a new game for Christmas, which meant we had to try one out afterwards (Alhambra).

Tuesday, Dec. 30: We all learn a new game, Thurn & Taxis, and Team James and Emily trounce everyone soundly. We take a long walk as a family, have an amazing enormous dinner, and round out the evening with more games.

Wednesday, Dec. 31: We visit Good's Used Appliance and find almost the entire crew there, including Baby Abby, who finds broken copiers a lot more interesting than baby toys. More games, and I finish The Shack, a book I started two days previous. At midnight, you'd have found us in James' bedroom at the top of the house, watching the lighting of the pagoda on the mountain side and fireworks. 

Thursday, Jan. 1: We awake early, at 5 am, in order to drive to the Philly airport. James' dad makes us sprout and peanut butter sandwiches for the trip, which we end up eating at 10 am because we've been awake for so many hours. No one looks strangely at these sandwiches. Uneventful flight back to Denver, and our beloved mountains are back!

So that pretty much sums up our trip. Incredibly short, but impressively filled with visiting friends and family. It's great to be back in Denver!

2 comments:

  1. You're sitting across the room, so I guess I could tell you in spoken words... but oh well.
    I have an objection to your version of events. How did you excel at feats of strengths? I don't even think they happened.

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  2. Your holidays sound lovely, I am glad to hear you learned Alhambra, that was a new game for me this year too. I really liked it.

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