Sean and I spent Christmas up north this year, visiting my family in Ohio and some of his family on his mom’s side in Pennsylvania. It’s great that we each have family near where our parents live so we can both see parts of our family at each holiday. So convenient! Here is a recap of our holiday week:

It’s a 12 hour trip from Atlanta to my hometown of Champion, Ohio. This year, it rained about 80% of the way up – UGH! We stopped in Akron, Ohio to visit my friend Natalie and her husband, and to meet her her baby Hunter who is 6 months old. We went to a yummy Thai restaurant for dinner, and when we got back home Hunter fell asleep on me! He’s such a sweet baby – I hope mine are just as lovely when the time comes. 🙂 

We had a cookie baking day, in keeping with tradition. We made sugar cookies, kiss cookies, lemon cookies, no bake cookies, and seven-layer bars. 

I took Sean to the famous Hot Dog Shoppe – he liked it and we both agree that it is different than The Varsity here in Atlanta (my stepdad says the HDS is better).

Sean, Tyler, me and Eric went for dinner at Sunrise and then for drinks at the Beach Bar. It was a fun night, and it was so good to see Eric before his big move to Pittsburgh!

On Christmas Eve, we had lots and lots of snuggle time with the pups – they were really loving it.

Me and Sean at my dad’s house on Christmas Eve – my brother and I always spend Christmas Eve with our dad. 

 My dad was all smiles with Stella and his cat Harlow on his lap. <3

And Sean was all smiles with the new Apple TV my dad got him! (And can I just say how much I love his face! Ahhh!) Woot!

Christmas morning at my mom’s house – lots of presents under the tree, Stella in her festive sweater, Sean with his girl and his coffee…all wonderful!

This Christmas was also special because it’s the first one in awhile where me, my mom, my sister Angela, my aunt Barbie and my cousin Amanda have all been together. So nice!

The day after Christmas, Sean and I drove out to Brady’s Bend, PA (near Butler) to visit his aunt, uncle and cousins. They live on a big farm and Sean spent lots of time there as a kid, so he took me around and showed me the property, the barn, the cows, etc. The views were fabulous and there was lots of snow, which was fun. HIs family was so warm and welcoming and we had a blast playing games with the kids.

Back in Warren on Friday, Sean and I went for a walk downtown and around courthouse square. I don’t love the frigid winter (hence why I’m so happy living in the South) but I concede that the cold, crisp air is wonderful over the Christmas holiday.

Friday night was a special dinner that I’d planned to get my family and my brother’s girlfriend’s family together to celebrate Sean and I getting engaged. My brother thought it would be a great idea to hijack this gathering and propose to his girlfriend Kym so he could truly surprise her. Considering this was what Sean had done with me, I was completely on board. I took pictures of the awesome moment and am so darn happy for these two!

On the last day, I spent time with my Uncle Jeff and my dad. In the evening my friend Natalie came to visit and brought Hunter who again fell asleep on me, as well as on my mom. It was a nice last day. The week went fast, but we were happy to head home, as were the dogs. 

Speaking of dogs, I have a plethora of pics of them so here are a few more to close out this post. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you a Happy New Year!