Driving to Creekside - downtown Versailles, Ohio on Christmas eve
Vacant streets of Vtown, my old stomping grounds!
Mark, Marie and Caden at mom's Christmas eve
The little boo opening his gift!
What a cutie!!
Love this picture. Look at his grin!!!
Getting sleepy.... :)
Christmas eve. What an awesome night.
First, I slept all day because of that crazy trip home, then got ready for the extended Francis gathering at the Vet's Hall in Russia, Ohio. Everyone arrived around 3:30 and we did the usual drinking, eating, shouting, talking, etc. until dinner time. Then the little ones opened their gifts and showed off their new toys from Santa. I had a wonderful time talking to Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and Grandpa. It's always so exciting to see how much the little ones have changed from the last family gathering, and to find out who is expecting! We are an ever-growing family!
After the celebration wound down and we cleaned up our mess, Mark, Eric, and I went to mom's to celebrate our small family Christmas together. It was great to hang at mom's and relax for a while, and we played a few games with the help of the super-gamers, Mark and Marie. Caden was a hit, as always, being such a good baby and making everyone smile. He loved staring at the Christmas tree and the bright colors on the wrapping paper, and also at any one of Mark's funny faces he made. We spent some awesome, low-key quality time together that night which was wonderful and unfortunately a bit rare.
After Mark, Marie and the baby left, Eric hit the road too, and I stayed at mom's for a few more days. I ended up going to Creekdump (Creekside Bar and Grill in Versailles, OH) on a whim around midnight and caught up with lots of friends from home. After the bar closed down a few hours later, several of us went to Roush's and extended the festivities well into the morning. A fantastic time!!
Christmas day was spent lounging with mom through the morning, then we went to Grandma Schmidt's for a few hours for dinner. Finally some quality time with my aunts and uncles on her side of the family! I had missed the big Schmidt gathering because I was still taking final exams here in Charleston, so it was nice to catch up with a few of the aunts and uncles that could swing by. I was able to wrap up Christmas Day night with fellow Vtowners too, which was great fun, as always.