Christmas 2022

I say this every year, but Christmas seems to go by in the blink of an eye! Thankfully I had lots of fun festivities leading up to the big day, but I always leave wishing I had more time with family. I arrived in Athens last Thursday to help mom babysit the boys while Sarah and Sam celebrated his birthday at the club with friends. Friday started off with our annual cookie decorating with the kids. From there, it was spent running last-minute errands, mainly to find gifts for Charles's family! That evening, Charles and Ben arrived and we all did our first Annual wine and cheese swap! This year, we decided to do a Secret Santa swap and get a wine and cheese that reminds us of whoever we had. I had Ben and gave him a sheep's milk Manchego reminding me of a Nikolai's Roof memory (the crowd's favorite!) and a Ferrari Carano cabernet. Dad had Charles, Charles had Sam, Sam had me, mom had Sarah, and Sarah had dad. After we swapped gifts, we had the best time tasting the wines before a yummy steak, twice-baked potato, and Cesar salad dinner! We tried to watch Noelle, but all fell asleep. 

Christmas Eve morning we had hashbrowns and coffee cake and swapped gifts with Charles before he headed back to Augusta. Mom, Dad, and I started a new Coca-Cola puzzle once everyone left, which kept us busy before Hank's choir performance at the First United Methodist Christmas Eve service. It was a little different than the other services we usually attend in the past, but one of the cutest! Hank did the best job performing (and then listening to church afterward!), and we were all so proud of him. From there, we headed to Sarah's for our annual soup dinner. This year we changed up the usual potato soup for Ina Garten's tomato soup, and everyone loved it! Alongside the vegetarian option was the traditional beef stew, and I made a harvest kale salad to serve as well. We headed home to work a little more on the puzzle before calling it a night!

Christmas morning felt a little different without Charles there this year, but we still made the most of it. Luckily, the boys had a (super) early morning checking out their gifts from Santa, so they arrived around 9. We started with breakfast that included a new item- grit martinis!! These were so fun and could be catered to both the kids and adults. Then, we opened gifts before I made my way to Augusta. Some of my gifts included a new work bag/lunchbox duo, tennis clothes, pickleball rackets and bag, and wine and a book from dad. 

Once I got to Augusta, I hung out with Greyson and the kids while Charles and D put together the trampoline and Sassy took a nap. Then, we swapped gifts before the Hopkins arrived for dinner. I gave Doris and George a stuffed animal and 2 books (a pink kitty and unicorn for Doris and a dinosaur for George), Mrs. Walker Rambauer and earrings, Greyson a bottle of Veuve and Oregon green earrings, and Mr. Walker a bottle of Basil Hayden. Mrs. Walker gave me some Brackish feather earrings and Greyson gave me a pink customized cosmetic bag. Once we finished opening the gifts, the Hopkins arrived and we enjoyed mingling over a cheese board and cocktails! (I made some yummy Christmas cosmos that I will be remaking in the near future). We had a yummy salad and spaghetti dinner served with yummy red wine and eggnog for dessert. We had lots of fun catching up (and asking Christmas trivia questions) until the wee hours!

The next morning, we packed up and headed to Kiawah for Mr. Walker's 70th birthday celebration. We arrived around 4 Monday afternoon and explored the beach and grabbed drinks at the lobby bar before getting ready for dinner at Jasmine Porch. We then went back to the hotel room for more wine and presents.

The next morning, the girls headed to the spa for massages while the boys watched the kids. Then, we went to Freshfields for lunch at Cafe Eugenia while the boys golfed. Once they finished, we met up at the Player's Pub at Cougar Point clubhouse for a quick drink before getting ready for dinner at The Ocean Room. We had a babysitter for the kids so the adults really let loose! We ended the night back in the hotel room socializing while the kids slept. The next morning we enjoyed some coffee in the lobby before Charles and I headed back to Atlanta for work and dogsitting while the rest of the family stayed one more day. 

Bring it on, 2023!