Chrissy's Blog

We took it easy on Christmas Eve. Uncle Bruce cooked us delicious food while we sat by his fireplace and watched Christmas movies. It was good to be with family. Both of our families were spending the holiday together back in Reno. We got plenty of pictures and texts from them throughout the night. We were happy to be with Uncle Bruce, but we both felt a little homesick. We took a bunch of self-portraits on the iphone to send back to our families in Reno.

We spent the day touring around Washington, D.C. with Uncle Bruce, his girlfriend April, and her daughter Anna. We spent most of the day at the Spy Museum which was fascinating. I, not surprisingly, would make an EXCELLENT spy. We also saw some of the monuments. Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and the Washington Monument. It was bitterly cold though, and we were outnumbered by Asian tourists. But D.C. is a beautiful city, and it always inspires a wave of patriotism.

Vacation time!! Travis and I went down to Maryland to spend Christmas with his Uncle Bruce. We were so happy to get a little break from the city and just relax out in the suburbs. On the way down, we took the scenic route and stopped in Philadelphia (hence the Liberty Bell). We were only there for a couple of hours, but we got to have dinner with my aunt and uncle that live there. I also got to meet my 8-year-old cousin for the first time. She was extremely shy, but once I got her talking about her favorite Disney princess, Belle, who is also MY favorite Disney princess, she opened right up. I wish I had more time to visit with them. A long weekend trip to Philadelphia is definitely in my future.

Travis reached the big 2-4. Unfortunately, he woke up on the big day feeling sick. So on the 20th, he didn’t want the cake I had brought home for him. He still wasn’t feeling well on the 21st, but he indulged me enough to blow out his candle and take a couple bites of cake.

My mom told me that she was sending me a care package from home with Christmas necessities. I immediately began  hoping that her world famous Oyster Cracker Mix would be in the package. It was! These are addictive little suckers. They basically have olive oil, dill, and garlic powder soaked into them. Fantastic! I’ve made them before on my own. Somehow, though, food just tastes better when your mother makes it for you.

Our little tree, surrounded by our gifts from family, friends and each other. We are loved, for sure.

For Travis’ birthday, I bought him tickets to see one of his favorite bands, The Slackers, out in Brooklyn. They were playing at a venue called the Brooklyn Bowl, which is a huge bowling alley attached to the Brooklyn Brewery. The concert was really fun, dancy music, and we were right up next to the stage.

This is Travis’ manager. He is a very loud British man whose volume only increases with each beer. And boy does he love beer. He has, on occasion, been rather rude and obnoxious, but he seems like an all around nice guy. After all, he did buy us Schnapps as soon as we walked in the door of the bar.