Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays!
’Cause no matter how far away you roam,
if you want to be happy in a million ways,
for the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home.
Happy New Year, everyone! We hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! The Ramblin’ Bauers sure did! After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays!
We started our holiday season with a Vance/Bauer Thanksgiving extravaganza! Look at all of those happy faces…it’s because our bellies were full of good food.
In between holiday celebrations, we spent some quality time with our families checking out new restaurants, preparing for Christmas, and having fun! The Elder Bauers took a trip to Morgantown with us to scarf down some pizza at the new Mountain State Brewing Company. The best part was the s’mores dessert pizza…so good!
The Bauer clan also took at trip to nearby Prickett’s Fort, a historical site dedicated to the history of the farming communities that first lived in the area. Much like Colonial Williamsburg, Prickett’s Fort is a living history site where artisans make yarn, foods, and other wares. If you remember our travels this past summer, you’ll remember Bilbo’s frequent disappointment over closed blacksmith shops. Well, during this outing he finally got to see a smithy at work!
Down at the Vance house, we decorated the Christmas tree. The Shrimp Meister topped it off and the Conductor set up his new Disney Express underneath, which he bought last Christmas in Disney World.
Here’s the finished product on Christmas morning.
Later, the Vance clan went on a drive through the Lacy’s Lights display. Our favorite part was seeing Cinderella's carriage because it decorated the outside of the reception hall at our wedding.
Back up at the Elder Bauers’, Bilbo and his dad began the process of home brewing some oatmeal stout. It all began with Bilbo making a slew of grain bags. I stood by for moral support and technical advice, but that was the extent of my involvement in brewing. The fellas put in the time to roast the oats, cook out the flavors of the grains, chill the wort, add the yeast, and everything else that goes into beer.
The fruits of their labor. Now they just wait a few weeks for science to work its magic.
Our next trip down to the Vance house began two days of Christmas joy! We opened our firt round of presents the morning of Christmas Eve. The Shrimp Meister was pretty excited by this turn of events. He opened his XBox 360 with a celebratory “X” motion. I think Dad was just as excited about his Kindle Fire.
The seemingly endless supply of bags and wrapping paper was enough to satisfy the cats and ensure a happy Christmas for all!
After the presents were all unwrapped, we had brunch with my grandparents then relaxed before going to the Conductor’s parents’ for dinner and more presents! There were many gifts to be exchanged, but the time together was most precious.
This year’s most popular gift was…
SOCKS!
With the gifts opened and the wrapping paper war concluded we all headed out to church for the Christmas Eve candlelight service. Then, it was time for party number two! Everyone from Minnie’s family descended on the Vance house to open presents, eat some more, and enjoy family time.
Bilbo and I woke up before the sun and beat it to the Elder Bauers’ for Christmas morning! Bilbo’s grandparents were in from NC and little sis made it down from OH for a memorable Christmas celebration.
Everyone loved their presents!
And the gals couldn’t help but accessorize with the wrappings.
Of course we played Bilbo’s new game, Small World. The grandparents teamed up and beat us all!
We couldn’t maintain that calm, sane, civilized pose for long…
Christmas was the end of our hiatus, and December 26th found us back on the road. We’ll have a lot to tell you about as we head from WV to FL and then up to northern CA! The Ramblin’ Bauers are back in business, so don’t miss a beat.
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