we headed home to ohio for a traditional christmas celebration. this is the first year rob and i felt good about how we split our time with each other and each others' families.
i had mentioned to dad earlier in the day how lovely the sunset must be at eastwood lake with the dayton skyline in the background. as the sun started to fade he had us outside of the hopping household just in time to watch and play in the beautiful-ohio-christmas-eve sunset. i can always count on dad for mini 'adventures' and outdoor fun.
after the annual fiesta we held the second annual gingerbread house competition. kimmy/kayleigh vs gina/karlie vs andrea/brenden vs mom/dad. andrea/brenden won by a landslide. we all knew we were out of the competition when brenden decided to create a combat village.
as the evening drew closer and closer to the arrival of santa claus, andrea and i headed to the palermo's for their christmas eve shindig. we had a great time chatting, drinking plenty of wassail, dancing, and of course eating!
presents, breakfast, cappuccino from the palermo's new espresso machine, and feeling well & well rested (unlike last year) made christmas morning wonderful. we had a chat with anne who spent her christmas in a farmhouse in belgium. oh how she was missed!
christmas afternoon was spent like every christmas of my life (minus two spent in florida). we ate a thousand casseroles, exchanged presents, and laughed and danced with mamaw!
after the family festivities we went out with friends who we hadn't seen in far too long. guess i was having too much fun to snap any pics. oops.
until next christmas season.
