Goodness, where
to begin? Over the past few years, we’ve alternated going back to Ohio for
Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year was the year to spend Jesus’s birthday in
the wintry North. That’s right Followers, we once again packed up the family
truckster and trudged our blood-thinned selves north of the Mason-Dixon Line to
spend Christmas with what’s left of our families in the Buckeye State. This was
actually panning out to be a pretty good trip as we had quite a few things
planned while we were back home.
First was a stop
in Cincinnati to see what was left of my family. Since my parents don’t live
there anymore, we stayed with my uncle and his wife whose kids are grown and
gone. We got to see another uncle and his wife and (mostly grown) kids, as well
as gorge on some famous Montgomery Inn ribs after spending nine hours in the
car. The kiddos did amazing on the whole drive up, which made things much more
enjoyable for Mommy B and I. We stopped a couple more times than usual, just so
they could get out of their seats and run around a bit… and so our big girl
could use the potty like she always does. But the extra stops made it totally
worth it. Anyway, Alli fell asleep in my cousin’s room without issue (she’s
always been our good sleeper), and Aiden slept for a few hours before deciding
he didn’t like his accommodations in the Pack ‘N Play and commandeered our bed.
It rained pretty hard that night, so that didn’t help matters much. He woke up
every hour, couldn’t get comfortable, and tossed and kicked us as much as
possible. Needless to say the three of us were rather worn out the next
morning. However, that wasn’t going to stop us from enjoying the festivities we
had planned for that day.
We drove a few
miles north of Cinci and met Grandma C to exchange cars. That’s right! She took
the kiddos the rest of the way to Findlay while Mommy B and I headed downtown
to catch a Bengals game. As luck would have it, they were not only playing at
home that weekend, but their opponent was none other than Mommy B’s longtime
favorite – the Minnesota Vikings. The weather was as pleasant as it could
possibly have been for a week before Christmas in Ohio – mid 50s and partly
cloudy skies. We got the best of both worlds – Mommy B got to see her Purple
People Eaters live and in person (which she’s never seen before) and I got to
see the Bengals put a stomping on the visiting team. Thanks to an early 30th
birthday present from Mommy B’s father, we were able to enjoy all the action
from the 14th row on the
Bengals sideline. It was by far the best game I’ve ever been to, and I wouldn’t
have wanted to spend it with anyone else.
After the game,
we headed towards the Dayton area so Mommy B and I could meet up with some
friends from our past lives. Unfortunately Mommy B’s friend wasn’t feeling well
that night, so she got to play 3rd wheel with me and my friend.
Turns out, this particular friend is moving (back) to Charleston this fall.
Small world we live in. After dinner, we headed back to the Cinci area to spend
the night with my Best Man – Big Worm. Yeah, we’re big on nicknames around
here. We hadn’t seen him and his wife in a long time, and we were excited to
meet their new baby girl. Even though we were tired from the night before, we
stayed up late catching up with them as though we had never been apart. He’s
the reason Mommy B and I met in the first place, so the least we could do was
spend as much time with them as possible. The next morning he treated us to a
homemade breakfast… a small payback for all the homework I helped him with back
in high school.
Then we headed over
to meet the jeweler where I bought Mommy B’s engagement ring. As she mentioned
in a previous post, a few weeks prior one of the prongs somehow got bent back
and her diamond went missing. We were there to pick out a new stone for her
ring and ended up having them all sized and soldered together. She actually
ended up getting a “nicer” stone than the one I had picked out for her back in
2008. A small consolation prize, I know… but she’ll get over it I think. After that
was all settled, we headed up to the great white tundra of northern Ohio as we
watched the mercury drop. We arrived in Findlay a couple hours later and
decided to make one last child-less stop for lunch – Steak ‘N Shake. It was
just as horribly-glorious as I remember it.
After being
reunited with the kiddos, who come to find out had already seen all the family members in town, we
settled in for a nice Christmas holiday. We spent the next couple days staying
indoors relaxing, opening presents, and stuffing our faces with all the
typical homemade Christmas food. All I wanted to do was eat and sleep – I think
the bears are on to something here. Speaking of sleeping, Grandma C somehow
managed to get the kids to sleep in the same room together! We’ve never really
tried something like that (because we never had to), but Alli claimed a twin
bed and Aiden took a new liking to the Pack ‘N Play. She simply put them both
to bed and firmly told them it was time to go to sleep. After a few minutes of “talking”
to each other, the cold got to them and they passed out. And they slept like
bears too… not waking up for 11-12 hours at a time.
The kids were
naturally much more into Christmas this year, especially Alli. She was more
than happy to help her little brother “open” his Christmas presents and show
him how to use them. However, there was one present that Aiden didn’t need any help with. That would be the
toddler-size Dyson vacuum cleaner that Mommy B’s dad got for him. Holy cow, you
should have seen this kid’s eyes light up when he saw the box. It was like
watching a younger version of a Christmas Story. We don’t even have a Dyson
vacuum at home, but he sure as hell knew what it was. We magically obtained a
few C-size batteries and he was off to the races. Grandma C had the cleanest
carpet in the neighborhood with Aiden around that week! I couldn’t complain
about my presents either, as Grandma C had picked up eight (yes, 8) six-packs
of Great Lakes Christmas Ale for me to enjoy during the holidays. Obviously I
wasn’t going to drink it all while we were there, but I made darned sure it all
fit in the car on the way home.
After having
Christmas at Grandma C’s house, we went over to the Great-Grandparent’s house
where the kids were spoiled even more. They were also total hams – hugging on
and playing with everyone as if they had seen them every day of their lives.
Once again, no Stranger Danger there – which I guess is a good thing (for the
time being). Alli played all over Great Uncle Tim, and Aiden found Grandma
Great’s Dirt Devil and spent the rest of the evening cleaning the family room.
The next couple of days were pretty lazy, but that’s the point of vacation,
right? Grandma C and Mommy B took Alli to see her very first movie in a
theatre. They saw Frozen, which apparently is very good even though it’s target
audience is probably a little older than Alli. But, she’s always been ahead of
the curve. Mommy B tells me that she was absolutely enthralled – she sat in her
seat (with her popcorn of course) the whole time and watched the movie as
intently as any three-year-old possibly can. I’m a little sad that I didn’t get
to share this experience with her, but I thought they could all use a three-generation
“Girls Day” so I stayed home with Aiden and we watched football. Well, I
watched football and Aiden vacuumed.
The week had
come and gone, and it was time to head south again. We packed all the Christmas
presents (and my beer) into the car and aimed to make the entire drive home in
one shot. Again, we took our time and made some stops so the kids could get out
and run around a bit. This probably didn’t make some of the gas station
attendants very happy, but if they’ve ever been on a long trip with small kids,
they’d understand. After 13.5 hours of driving (including two delays for construction),
we pulled into our driveway around 11:30pm that night. We were hitting the
maximum amount of time allowed in the car for the kids, as they were getting a
little cranky at the end before falling asleep. I won’t mention the fact that
the gas light came on as we were about 30 miles outside of town and no, I
repeat, NO gas stations were open directly off the highway. Oops. We coasted
into Summerville and were able to gas up without waking the kids, but it had
Mommy B in a mini panic attack. But, Dad-E saved the day and got everyone home
safe and sound.
All in all, it
was a great trip. We got to see family and friends that we hadn’t seen in a
while, and the kids simply could not have been better in the car. After our
last trip home (in which Alli threw up in the car twice just as we were getting
back to South Carolina), I was worried that we might be in for another trainwreck
crazy adventure. But since they’re into longer movies now, our lives are much
easier. I’ll take 5 Toy Stories over 20 Elmos any day. My mother has always
told me that they get easier to travel with as they get older, and the A Team
proved her right on that one. I’m so proud of how much they’ve grown and how
well-behaved they are – most of the time, that is. I’m also thankful for the
amazing family we have – both here and back in Ohio. They love our children so
much and it shows in how they act towards them when we visit. In fact, even
though Grandma C was worn out after the week we spent there, she’s already
planning her next visit down here so Mommy B and I can have a weekend without
the kids! We’ll call it our joint 30th birthday weekend away – and I’m
taking Mommy B to the mountains of North Carolina to teach her how to snow ski.
I know we’ll miss the kiddos while we’re away, but I know they’ll be in good
hands with the best family members anyone could ask for.
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