-It was splendid to see the families again. It's been a WHOLE YEAR!!!
-The two-day, 22-hour drive actually went really well. Tim and I were shocked. All I can say is, thank the heavens for portable DVD players and snacks, snacks, snacks!!
-It snowed! Weston was so excited. He mostly just wanted to "make footprints."
-We did lots of fun things and thoroughly enjoyed our week in PA. Hooray!!
And I suppose there were some slight downsides...
-I was sick pretty much the entire trip, and I'm sure I gave it to LOTS of people (sorry Tricia... Dana... etc...). Some day I'd like to visit PA and just be HEALTHY.
-The drive went amazingly well, but it was looooooong. (Dear God, please let our next relocation take us a teensy bit closer to PA...)
-We only got to visit Hearth Baker once because they were closed on New Year's Eve. Oh, turkey hoagie... how I miss you.
Anyway, on to the photo recap!! Here are a bunch of the highlights from our trip:
1. The Archie Thingie
I finally got to see the Archie Thingie in St. Louis. (... What's that, Wikipedia? It's actually called the Gateway Arch? Whatever.)
2. Christmas Morning
It always brings out one's true attractiveness... 
The Snuggie made its debut in the Anderson home this year: 
Santa came! But I'm not sure what exactly Weston's facial expression is conveying there... 
Dana totally delivered. The Andersons now have an ACTUAL ham in a tree: 
And, let's not forget Christmas afternoon with my family (photo not found). WOW, why did I not bring my camera with me?? At least I have fond memories of delivering lots of chocolate to my family and of Weston stalking the kitties and discovering my old Barrel of Monkeys toy!
3. Weston in his Glorious Cuteness
Knife in hand, he learned much from my cousin Sarah:
A shot of a great smile on Killian, plus an even greater plumber's cleavage on Weston:
The uncles never disappoint:
Weston had to make a very important phone call to Daddy during our museum lunch in DC:
Killian and Weston engaged in one of their typical, overly aggressive cousin-hugs:
4. Tim's Brothers
Need I say more?
Preparing for the annual exploding-of-the-gingerbread-house tradition on New Year's Eve:
This is... well, this is just Chris:
5. A Few Endearing Family Photos (which are very rare, thanks to our chronic anti-social behavior)
A shot of a great smile on Killian, plus an even greater plumber's cleavage on Weston:
The uncles never disappoint:
Weston had to make a very important phone call to Daddy during our museum lunch in DC:
Killian and Weston engaged in one of their typical, overly aggressive cousin-hugs:
4. Tim's BrothersNeed I say more?
Preparing for the annual exploding-of-the-gingerbread-house tradition on New Year's Eve:
This is... well, this is just Chris:
5. A Few Endearing Family Photos (which are very rare, thanks to our chronic anti-social behavior)The National Gallery of Art
The Museum of Natural History
The charming and lush National Mall:
6. LAURI!
The Museum of Natural History
The charming and lush National Mall:
6. LAURI!I got to see one of my favorite girls, Ms. Lauri, and I got to meet HER favorite girl for the first time -- the adorable and oh-so-cuddly little Miss Finley!!
(P.S. Lauri of Lalee Photography took this photo of Weston during our get-together. Needless to say, it is one of my favorite pictures ever. Yes... Weston is STILL obsessed with spatulas.)
7. Hoboken Cupcakes
(P.S. Lauri of Lalee Photography took this photo of Weston during our get-together. Needless to say, it is one of my favorite pictures ever. Yes... Weston is STILL obsessed with spatulas.)
7. Hoboken CupcakesThat's right... CARLO'S BAKERY from Cake Boss! (Thanks again for the treat, "Jermery"!!)
8. Adrienne, the Lady Friend
8. Adrienne, the Lady FriendYoung love on one side of the table... frazzled parents with rambunctious, butter-knife-wielding toddler on the other...
9. Big, Giant Bugs
9. Big, Giant BugsThe Museum of Natural History is AWESOME:
10. Philly Soft Pretzels
10. Philly Soft PretzelsYes, these beauties came back to Tulsa with us:
And finally... I saved the best for last!
Phase 2: The (Smarmy) Civil War General
Phase 3: The Handlebar
Phase 4: The Cop 'Stache
And finally... I saved the best for last!11. Tim's Many Phases of Increasingly AWESOME Facial Hair
Phase 1: The Galifianakis (aka, the Giant, Bushy Beard)
Phase 2: The (Smarmy) Civil War General
Phase 3: The Handlebar
Phase 4: The Cop 'Stache
Merry (belated) Christmas from the Andersons!
14 comments:
Oh my gosh, Tim's many different facial hair looks are cracking me up.
And blowing up the gingerbread house on New Years' Eve? I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A MORE AWESOME TRADITION IN MY LIFE. John says next year, we need video.
I have, if I may, suggestions for the names of the facial hair:
1) The Jesus
2) the pedophile
3) the pedophile
4) the pedophile
I agree...video is needed of the explosion!!!
I miss you so much! Come BACK!
I just showed Mike Tim's facial hair progression and told him not to get any ideas...he was way into it. haha!
I'm really kind of sad that Tim shaved off his facial hair. I really loved the Alaskan mountain man look.
SO AWESOME. I am so glad that you had such a great time. And I would just like to point out that Indiana is closer to PA than Tulsa. :) Just a thought!
We miss you guys! Come back to PA. The snow is plentiful and so are the spatulas. We found a couple more under the bed in which Weston was sleeping! I took a picture of his footprints in the snow when you drove away. Very sad Gangy!
Hi! I'm new to blogger but I found your blog about a month ago and have been following anonymously since. I just wanted to say that you have an ADORABLE family and I think your stories and little adventures are great to read about! I went to college in Lancaster, PA and whenever I read about you going to PA I get excited, haha. I know, super dorky, right? But I just wanted to "stop in" and formally say HI!
What are the various methods that have been used to explode gingerbread houses?
Hey Tim and Jean, thanks for coming to visit us in Pennsylvania.
Another person has been uplifted and inspired by the facial hair of Tim Anderson - thank you!
So glad you guys had a great time (sorry you were sick and had to DRIVE! AH!). Merry Christmas!
Oh my goodness, I canNOT handle that face Weston made Christmas morning! Like father, like son, I s'pose...
What a fun trip! I love it. Although I'm not sure what possessed you to hold that nasty bug. And the facial hair is great. Miles really wanted to do that same thing...shave his beard off in stages, but just gave in to shaving it all at once. Probably because I threatened him with death if it didn't disappear soon. (it was a three month + beard that was insanely big an bushy). Anyway, I'll show him the pictures and he'll be jealous. ;)
Ha ha ha!!!! I always leave this blog smiling. You guys are so awesome!!!! What a wonderful trip! :)
Its Mike Brownstein on Bec's account - i'm jealous of the facial hair looks, i dont think i can pull those off. also, those pretzels look delicious
HA! The facial hair transformations deserve a blog post all their own. Smarmy rules.
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