Christmas 2010

This year Christmas took much more planning than usual, but we managed to get some good family time in Ohio.  On Saturday Dec 18th, we packed our car to the max including a spot for the dog in the backseat.  After the long 11 hour drive, we arrived in Cincinnati at 11pm and didn't waste anytime...we ordered LaRosa's Pizza.  The rest of week, we toured Ohio:

• Sunday morning - Charlie went to the Bengals-Browns game with 7 of his college friends. Due to some Jagermeister, he doesn't remember every detail of the game, but he is pretty sure the Bengals ended their 10-game losing streak, beating the Browns 19-17.  He also ran into the rest of the Mowry clan at the Hofbrahaus in Newport after the game.  Katie went to brunch with 2 of her college roommates and then drove to Eaton to see her parents.
• Monday - We met Abby, Charlie's sister, in Dayton where she attends medical school at Wright State and had lunch at Penn Station (another Ohio favorite).  After lunch, we drove to Columbus to see our nephews - Tommy, Joey, Ricky, Mikey and Eric.  We brought them Plank's Pizza and lots of christmas presents to open.  Another Ohio food staple checked off the list! We stayed with our friends Bryan and Kristen in Grandview.

• Tuesday - Katie had lunch with some of her old co-workers from AEP at El Vaquero and then we had eye doctor appointments to get out of the way.  Afterword, we drove to Eaton to spend a few days with Katie's parents.  We opened presents with Katie's parents.  Katie was excited for her Turkey roaster, and Charlie can finally put his degree up on the wall after he received a Miami University frame.  And most importantly, Griffey was excited for his new coat. Well, at least he seemed to like it when he's outside in the cold!

• Wednesday evening - We went with Katie's parents to see the "White Christmas" musical at the La Comedia Dinner Theater in Centerburg, Ohio.  It was the first time Charlie and I had seen the musical and we really enjoyed it.  La Comedia did a great job putting the production on and the food was fabulous!

• Thursday - We drove back to Cincinnati.  We stopped at a Best Buy and decided that we were going to get a big-screen TV as part of our Christmas for each other.  And of course had to stop at Buffalo Wings and Rings for dinner.  Senior citizen Homer didn't know what to make of Griffey, whom he'd met only a few times (and probably didn't remember because he is an old doggie). So he decided to try to dig into Griff's bag of food as soon as we entered. 

• Friday - Christmas Eve...we went to Gold Star Chili for lunch and then mostly relaxed until it was time to get ready for church service.  Katie's parents drove down from Eaton and we all went to church service at the Presbyterian Church on Wyoming Avenue where we got married 2+ years ago.  Afterwards, while we were having appetizers waiting for dinner, Griffey gave us all a scare.  Charlie had taken him outside and while he was coming back into the house he got spooked and took off in a sprint down the sidewalk.  Charlie ran after him and luckily caught a very scared trembling doggie after a few blocks.  When Charlie arrived back in the house with Griffey in his arms, we were all relieved and thankful.
• Saturday - Christmas Day, there were all the usual Mowry traditions, too many presents to mention (we think Charlie's Grandma Dorothy may have taken the prize for the most!), a big brunch and then playing some cards with "Grumpa", Charlie's grandpa. 

• Sunday - We began our trip back to Jersey.  We decided to drive only half way to split up the drive and there was a big snow storm hitting the East Coast on Sunday evening.  
• Monday - We drove the rest of the way home and arrived to 2 feet of snow.  The roads had been some-what cleared by the time we arrived but our house was barely recognizable with all the snow drifts.  Ugh...what a scene to come home.   We had to shovel our way in just to get out of the car and unpack.   

It was a fabulous trip back to the Buckeye State and like Katie always says...the BEST Christmas ever!  It was great seeing so many friends and family.