Christmas 2017

The best part about Mike still being in school is that he gets actual breaks, just like students at universities get.  He got two weeks (!!!) off for Christmas/New Years so we packed up our car and headed south to Virginia.  We left the Thursday before Christmas after Mike got done with work.  While this meant that we didn't get to Northern Virginia until midnight, it meant that Finn slept for almost all of the drive, which was well worth it. 

We spent two nights with Mike's mom, Jim and their dog Tucker.  Finn was very hesitant about Tucker at first and cried every time Tucker barked, but by the end of our stay, he was laughing every time Tucker went to lick his face.  It was the cutest thing!

Saturday morning, we bid farewell to them (including Tucker) and met Mike's dad and grandmother.  Mimi is an incredible woman who at 97, is sharp, sassy and quite the firecracker.  And, she loves Finn.  We went to her retirement home and the pictures of Mike and his dad (the only pictures in her room) had been replaced with six of Finn. 😀  We went to lunch with Mike's dad afterwards and exchanged Christmas gifts.  Finn (okay, really me) made photo calendars for all of his grandparents which were a huge hit and brought both of his grandmothers to tears.  Good job Finn!

I love this picture!! A week after we visited, Mimi fell and broke her femur.   She's a tough cookie though and pushed through surgery and is now in rehab.   What a woman!

Once Finn started showing signs of getting tired, we jumped in the car and headed south for Virginia Beach.  (You know you're a parent when you start timing your travel times around nap time).  The drive took wayyyyy too long and we were practically jumping out of the car by the time we pulled into my parents' driveway.  Luckily, we got there in time for Finn to say hello to his grandparents and great grandfather before he made his way to destroy the Christmas tree.  

"See Grandpa, you just move all of these gifts out of the way and then you'll be able to get to the tree."  -valuable advice on how to destroy a Christmas tree from Finn. 

My aunt hosted Christmas Eve dinner and it didn't disappoint.  Everyone, including Finn, enjoyed dinner (we all know how much Finn loves mashed potatoes!) and left feeling very full.  Finn and Mike headed home for bed time while the rest of us went to church.  Christmas Eve mass is my favorite church service of all year because you can feel the anticipation of what is coming the next day in the air.  It's exactly what Advent is all about.  

Finn woke us up early the next morning, clearly excited to open presents and see what Santa had left for him.  Santa actually already came to our house in Groton before we left, but he did make a little pit stop and managed to leave a rocking horse and some gifts for Mike and I and fill our stocking.  Funny how his taste is eerily similar to my mom's? 😉

We spent the day hanging around and opening presents.  Mike and I made the mistake of going to see Pitch Perfect 3 that night and we both walked away with the sentiment that it was aca-awful. 

The rest of the week was a lot of the same.  Mike went to Annapolis to watch Navy destroy UVA in the bowl game. I bought a new winter coat and caught up with my friend Rachel.  It was really nice to just relax and hang out with everyone and the perfect first half to our winter break.