Recap of Christmas

Now that I have a little time, I think I'll write a bit about Christmas.

On the day before Christmas Eve, my cousin Rachael came up from Florida to spend the holiday with us. She recently moved there from California and decided to visit us instead of the big trek back across the country. She and her dog Ellie were a fun addition to our festivities. Rachael is a singer and I thought it would be fun for her to join the our church choir for the Christmas Eve Anthem. She agreed and enjoyed singing with a choir again.

Christmas morning we let the kids open their stockings. Alex said it's her favorite thing to do around Christmas. We never did "Christmas morning gifts" growing up. They were spread out through different family gatherings. So this is a different tradition than I am used to. I am glad Alex seems to enjoy it.

After stockings we have a special breakfast and then go to church. We had a nice service and then came home for lunch and the gifts under the tree. The kids had a very fun time opening everything. The gifts will keep them busy for a while.

Zach was gifted a specific Brazilian cut of meat from his brother. He decided that Christmas would be the best time to enjoy it and grilled it up for dinner. On one of the days Rachael and I put together a Christmas Tree Charcuterie board. I like to do snack boards every once and a while. It's a favorite of the kids.

The day after Christmas was a rainy day. We had thoughts of taking Rachael to Dollywood since our season passes were still good, but we decided against it. Instead we went to Dry Falls. It is my favorite waterfall in the area. It was the fullest we had ever seen it. There is a short walk down to the falls, but it was fine with umbrellas.

Later that week I traveled alone to Nashville to celebrate my best friend Alicia's 40th birthday. It ended up being a longer drive than I expected. But made it there to pick her and her husband up from the airport. She had organized an Airbnb rental for a few friends and family to stay at. I was only able to stay one night, but we had fun. I really hoped to see some live music while there. We ended up finding a band playing pretty near our lodging. Her other friend had got to the rental early and set up all sorts of decorations and treats for her birthday. So I hope she enjoyed her birthday celebration. We also went to The Hermitage to tour the house and grounds of our 5th president.