Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Holiday 2012 Recap

Per usual our time off went by WAY too fast & there was WAY too much goodness to even begin to retell the tale of our Christmas vacation 2012...but here's a quick recap!

Greg & the Beta A.O. staff
Greg & I traveled to Oxford, OH for the annual Beta Theta Pi Kai bowl & the fraternity's holiday party. The Betas graciously let Greg play in the Kai bowl which is annually held at Yager Stadium at Miami University. Greg played on the staff team & had a great time, despite the fact that he suspects he was the oldest guy on the field. Maybe he was...but he was also the most adorable. (I know, I know...I couldn't help it). We had a great time at the Beta holiday party celebrating another fantastic year & my first year on staff at Beta. Have I mentioned lately how much I love working there? Well, I do.

Penelope & her house guests
After the holiday festivities Greg headed back to Chicago to wrap a few things up at his office, while I worked from Oxford for a few days. Greg, Lilah & Sadie packed up 2 weeks worth of luggage and all of our Christmas presents & set off toward Oxford to pick me up for our road trip to Florida! The drive was easy, the weather was low maintenance, and the puppies were agreeable (mostly). We made it to Atlanta on day 1 where we stayed with Katie Fellows & her sweet lady pup Penelope Anne. Penelope was the perfect hostess! It was so nice to catch up with Katie & it's even nicer to have friendships (sisters) that are strong even after so many (9. Weird.) years & so many miles. Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to have such amazing Zeta sisters? Well, I am.

Happy to be home!
On day 2 we hit the road super early. At that point we've got 8-ish hours to go and I am anxious to get home. Greg had a board meeting he had to attend the first weekend we were in town, so we needed to get him there on time. And I needed a Publix sub. So we were in a hurry. The second leg of the drive was also pretty easy...until we got really close to home & then everyone was anxious. Finally, we made it to drop Greg off in Tampa & the puppies Morgan & I headed just a little further south to the Burg of the Saint! What a relief. Have I mentioned lately how much I L.O.V.E. St. Pete? Well, I do!

Santa's a Bulls fan. Told ya.
From then on it was full on Christmas decorating, friend hugging, baby holding, carol singing, Christmas pageant watching, cookie eating, hometown Christmas HEAVEN! This year was Greg's very first Florida Christmas which was really fun. Coop joined us for Christmas eve & Christmas day. Even though kids definitely make Christmas magical, and we missed our not-so-little nieces & nephew this year, it was really nice to get up when we were ready, get breakfast started, have coffee, watch the parade & gradually open presents slowly enough that we could all enjoy the giving of Christmas. Ahh...so pleasant. I think all of the gifts were a big hit. I of course got spoiled by my thoughtful husband, amazing friends & family, which was special & exciting, but NOTHING tops giving the perfect gift, which I think I managed to do at least a couple of times. Have I  mentioned lately how much I love gifting? Well, I do!

All this running...so thirsty
We so enjoyed the warm weather, especially Lilah & Sadie, who got to take walks without sweaters, and Lilah got to go to the local dog park & chase her tennis ball until her heart was content. We've since realized that Lilah & Sadie are not "city mice". They were so much more relaxed in Florida, so we're looking forward to lots of sunny walks once we relocate back home...more on that later. Have I mentioned how much I love the puppies Morgan? Well, I do!

Happy New Year!
Sadly we had to pack up & head home after 2 glorious weeks in Florida. We were sad to leave but excited to be home again. I'd been away from home for 3 weeks at that point...which is obviously too long. After a tedious drive home through comparatively less favorable weather, and a creepy stay at a hotel we never want to see again, we pulled back into Chicago, unloaded the car & settled in for the last few days of 2012! We celebrated New Year's Eve with Rich & Charlene with a spread of every yummy thing you can imagine and (too much) champagne. We really missed them while we were gone, so even though we'd planned on watching the New Year's Eve special on TV & playing a board game...we ended up doing more catching up than anything else. We had a great time, and even enjoyed some lucky New Year's soup, another yummy spread on New Year's Day & some football the next day. So fun! Have I mentioned lately how much we love our neighbors? Well, we do!


Sadie's birthday cookie!
Greg's birthday cupcake!
After all of that celebrating & vacationing it was a hard transition getting back into work & school but we're getting the hang of it. Greg's headed back to class tonight & we both just finished up sorority recruitment at Northwestern. It was Greg's first experience with recruitment...I'm sure he could write a blog post about that. We were lucky to have a recruitment pro, a super sweet & energetic consultant, & probably the most dedicated recruitment advisor around on the Zeta team this year, so the Zetas did well & a good time was had by all. Speaking of a good time...Greg's Mom was just in Chicago this week for an early celebration of Greg's birthday. Speaking of birthdays...Sadie Mae turned 2 last week! We had a little fiesta to celebrate Mary Grace's arrival & Sadie's birthday! It's been so busy around here, but we're always happy to celebrate, especially when we get a special party guest like Mary Grace! We're all grateful for a prosperous start to 2013, and another happy healthy year for Greg & Sadie! Have I mentioned lately how totally unworthy of & totally grateful for the goodness I am? Well, I am...so very grateful.

Happy New Year y'all,
Meggo