Well, it was a very busy four days, but we’re back safe from Christmas in Ohio. We set out as early as possible on Saturday the 23rd, but had to drop the animals off at the vet’s at 8:30. That took a while, so we didn’t get on the road until almost nine (after our first brief stop at Starbucks).
The weather and traffic were pretty good, and we got into Marietta a little after 6pm. We swung by the old house on Scammel and they had some decorations on the front porch that looked pretty nice. Brenda exclaimed “There’s someone living in my house!” Still taking some getting used to.
Next stop was Kelly and Julie’s for some pizza and cookies. Wish we could’ve stayed longer, but glad we had a chance to visit for a while. Then on to Brenda’s mom’s to crash for our first night.
Next day, we went in to Grandma Jones’ to hang out for a while, and luckily John, Debbie and the kids were still there. Had a nice visit and got to see the new desk for Grandma we all chipped in for. It’s going to be pretty cool. Later that evening we went to the annual McCutcheon shindig where we probably told our Atlanta story a half-dozen times at least. Good food as usual.
Christmas day we unwrapped presents at Watertown. I got my usual “toys” (movies, games, etc) and Brenda got some good stuff, plus a dressmaking form she’d been wanting. Now I don’t have to model dresses anymore (kidding).
Then on to Zanesville for more unwrapping and dinner, which was pretty casual, sandwiches and chili. We got some much-needed gift cards and some other stuff. Donnie and I put together his new racetrack and had a bunch of fun breaking that in. Then we spent the next two nights in Newark, with dinner Tuesday back in Zanesville after a Kohls shopping spree.
Then back on the road for home at 5:30am Wednesday. We got into a couple spots of traffic on the way down, so it seemed to take forever. We just barely made it to the vet’s with time to spare without having to pay for an extra day. They were definitely glad to see us.
So all in all, I think we all had a good Christmas, other than feeling like we were in the car the whole time. Small price to pay to be home for the holidays. I’d love to come back for New Year’s, but the van needs a rest 
I definitely can see the appeal of flying up every other visit, though.
I really didn’t take many photos, but you can see some here. Oh, and this year I finally got photos of Brenda’s Aunt Connie’s decorations, inside and out. They really are amazing.
Happy New Year!