Mr P's cuzzos asked us to help with a ugly sweater (because trying to find a REAL ugly sweater 2 days before Christmas is impossible!! so we improvised)

Saturday we spent the day on the road going from Cleveland (Mr P's fam) to Toledo (Mr P's friend who he hadn't seen in 3 years because he lives in Japan and was home for the holidays) to Greenville (Gramma's house) and finally to Van Wert (my fam).

Five Guys in Toledo (I vowed never to eat it again after how it made me feel, but as I look through these pictures, it makes me want another little cheeseburger!)

Gramma's house... the ornaments on her tree bring back many many memories :D

Christmas eve dinner in Van Wert... my mom makes the best pot roast!  ....another one of those meals that don't need herbs or fancy sauces...

How did my mom learn to make such fancy bows!?  She said she enjoyed seeing the pretty presents under the tree for the past few weeks, so I guess it's ok she spent so much time wrapping them :P

Forrest Gump on TV?  My hands don't know how to change the channel when I know it's playing!!

Because I insisted we open presents on Christmas Eve, we had a relaxing morning with delicious (and requested) peppered bacon from the butcher and monkey bread.

One of my favorite part of the holidays are meat and cheese dishes!!  Venison (my favorite meat) summer sausage with smoked gouda cheese, and sesame wheat crackers.

We finally got back to NJ in the afternoon on Monday, ate dinner before 8 (lemongrass chicken, thanks to the usual cooler full of food from Mr P's mom), and unpacked....  

....but we're definitely not ready to go back to work... we need another day to relax!!  At least have lots of new KitchenAid gadgets to look forward to playing with this week (thanks Mom)!  Mr P already has his mind set on making a sauce with the blender...

Happy Holidays!

J&H