I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Merry Christmas from our winter wonderland! We arrived in snow covered PA late Friday night. Pat hit the ground running, Saturday afternoon he geared up and left for the ski slopes.

For the second year in a row we attended the Christmas Eve service at St. Marys Catholic Church. The church was built in 1913 and it's beauty accompanies the service perfectly.

 

Pat has made last minute gift buying a tradition as well. This year he chose gifts for the kids and one for himself...a remote control helicopter. After all of the gifts were open WWIII began. The helicpoters hovered, dodging the Nerf arrows, pellets and bullets flying from one side of the house to the other.

 

After a few near fatal shots the war ended and everyone ran to the garage to smash their last present. Yes I said smash, my mom came up with an innovative way to give the gift of $$. She filled ornaments with cash and let the kids break them to find the gift inside!

 

 

The family

 

 

Maggie and all of her cousins:

 

 

 

 

 

The day started with 9 adults, 3 kids and 7 dogs. My brother, Dave and his wife headed back to Canada with their two dogs and Rick and his family are finishing their Christmas rounds. That leaves a mere 4 adults and 3 dogs not including Pat who has taken off for the ski resort again. 

 

It is the night after Christmas and all through the house not a creature is stiring not even a mouse...

 

 

 

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous



Not our lifestyle but the Vanderbilt's!

The up side to Pat traveling for work is the great ideas he comes up with! He has been working in Asheville and suggested I join him. Of all the mountain towns I have been to I have never seen Asheville. Friday Maggie and I walked around the town and fell in love with it (minus the bums peddling for money). Pat purchased tickets for a candlelight Christmas tour of the Biltmore on Friday night. The house is beautiful on it's own but the Christmas decorations made it even better. There were trees in every room and the choir that sang as we entered solidified that it is Christmas time! 

Because our tickets were for a night tour of the house we were able to use our grounds pass on Saturday. The last and only time I have seen the Biltmore was in high school (or middle school?) so I don't remember much about it. This was Pat's first visit so he made sure we did everything: the house, the winery tour, the restaurants, the farm and everything in between.

I loved the chickens!

Pretty eggs

This Maggie look-a-like loved Pat!

We don't have much in common with George and Edith but there is one thing... our love of dogs. Thanks to the Vanderbilt's loyal companion, Cedric the grounds are dog friendly!

George Vanderbilt built this home as a getaway for his family. He chose an area that he thought was as beautiful as the house he wanted to build. Watching the sunset behind the mountains on the lawn of the Biltmore was a perfect ending to our trip.

Deck the Halls

Today we drove home from Greenville, unpacked our things and jumped back in Pat's truck to get our Christmas tree!

I love this time of year so much that I rushed into it. I put up our mantel decorations a few weeks ago, I just couldn't wait!

Pat and I don't agree on television shows but we do agree on music so we spend a great deal of our time listening to our favorite songs. This time of year Christmas music is what we love! We have a tradition when it comes to trimming the tree, Christmas music plays in the background, candles burn the scents of the season and the yule log plays on the TV. I was worn out from our long weekend but I didn't let that compromise my beautiful tree. My Aunt Sandy has given me an ornament every year for as long as I can remember. She and my Mom have the most beautiful Christmas trees, it must run in the family.

I know that everyone puts up a tree and those of you that follow my blog have seen mine every year but they are so beautiful! When it comes to the tree I don't hang things here and there and everywhere. I am very strategic, I move things around for days before I feel like it is perfect (that means it's not perfect yet). This is when I feel like my house is the most warm and inviting. How could you not want to sit and gaze at the twinkling lights?! I love it and the holiday season is only beginning!!

It is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

I have Christmas music playing while I type...savoring every minute!

Gobble Gobble!

 This year could go down as the best Thanksgiving ever. We celebrated at Shelly's house along with Ryan and Haley and Jody and Amy.

We wanted to take a casual approach to the day. This meant no waking up at dawn, no dividing tasks, no unpacking china and no dinner time was been set. We were on the unplan plan and it worked out great!

Our matching aprons.

Thanks Mom for making it even more special!

The boys played golf while we prepared the meal. I loved it! No one ever asked, "When is dinner going to be ready?” By the time the guys made it home from the clubhouse they were staving and the last few dishes were finishing in the oven. At 7:00 the table was set and everyone was ready to dig in.

Cutting of the bird!

It doesn't look like much in the picture but we had more than enough food. Including: the obvious, turkey and ham, as well as corn and green bean casseroles, mac 'n' cheese, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, banana bread and  pumpkin pie! I don't usually feel the need to add the following word when referring to food, especially in reference to the holidays, but for those of you that are impressed by it, everything was...homemade (even the pie crust, done the way my Grama would)!

Seeing as this was our first year preparing everything by ourselves I think we did good. I definitely learned a few things but the turkey wasn't dry and that was my only concern!

A day full of cooking and dishes and cooking and cleaning and cooking and dishes had me thinking about how good we had it as children. We played while all of this ‘work’ was going on. We sat down at the table, enjoyed the wonderful meal and then went back to playing. I don’t think I ever thought about what the women were doing in the kitchen. Now that the day has passed and the fun weekend has come to an end I would love to do it all over again but I’m not going to lie, I recall myself saying, “I really enjoyed the day but I’m really glad it’s over!”

Anacapri had an outfit to match! Grandma B doesn't forget anyone.

I'm not sure if it was Thanksgiving we enjoyed the most or spending every minute of our long weekend together. The time reminded us of the many things we have to be thankful for; our parents, spouses, siblings, nieces/nephews, friends and much more!

Including this little girl...

Our littlest Gamecock!

My snuggly polar bear!

On the Road Again

This weekend was Anacapri's baptism. I am thankful we live close enough to be able to share in her special events. She looked adorable, as always, in Shelly's Grandmothers gown.

As for the remainder of the weekend....you guessed it, mountains again! But this time we had company, Ryan and Haley. We left the planning up to the boys and enjoyed chatting while taking in the scenery from the back seat. We started off with some easily accessible cascades leading to Bird Rock Falls.

Next we went for a short but frigid hike to the top of Balsam Knob. The mountain is bare; Pat told a story of how wooly mammoths were responsible for the lack of trees. I'm pretty sure he came across this information from a reputable source but I have learned never to trust (or repeat) his 'stories'. The openness made for a great view and Maggie loved the freedom to run.

I am always saying that I am in a perfect position geographically. I am equal distance from Haley on the coast and Shelly in the mountains. Thank goodness for great friends/family!

On Top of Old Smoky

Vacation time is here again! I can always tell when it has been a while since I've had a day off, I become irritable and somewhat negative. I was feeling this way weeks ago so I put in for a few days off. I had my mind on a mountain getaway with a pit stop to see my favorite bundle of joy...Anacapri!

Saturday we went to Fall for Greenville. It was Anacapris first big outing and Robs first time trying out the baby bjorn. The day was a success!

The Kenney Klan

The festival offers food from many different restaurants in the area. By the time we made it though the sea of tents we were full and ready for some USC football! I want the discussion of this night to end on a high note so I will simply say that the company was great, the game...not so much.

Sunday we were up and at 'em, leaving the house at 12:00 (for us, by which I mean Pat, that is early). 4:00pm we drove into the driveway of Tofu's Glory. It was so much more than I had expected! I should have known that Pat had his mind set on this destination for a reason.

Sunrise view from our porch

Monday, my mom and I watched the fog slowly roll out while sipping our morning coffee. Ahhh, doesn't get much better.

Mid-day view

And finally a sunset view!

Our morning walk

Afternoon walk

The girls taking it all in.

Now I understand why they are called The Great Smoky Mountains.

Pat and I took a trip into Bryson City. I love small mountain towns, no one is in a hurry and the people are friendly. There is so much to do in the area: fishing, whitewater rafting, railway rides, zip lines, kayaking, gem mining and of course, hiking.

Bryson City, NC

While Pat and I were exploring my mom amused herself (and my dad) by playing pool. Just before they left I decided to see exactly what she was made of. We didn't play by the rules or keep score but I think she's good!

Family photo...

A few of my favorite pics...

Oh, and did I mention that I got to see this little girl???

2 months, 10lbs and absolutely adorable!!!

This getaway left me rejuvenated and ready for the chilly weather!