December 16-31, 2013
We flew into Greensboro in time
to spend the day with Chrissi for her birthday!
Uncle Joe & Ryan playing
games on the iPad
We went to Bonefish Grill as a
family for Chrissi’s birthday.
On Tuesday we went up the Mount
Airy to enjoy Snappy’s Lunch with my Dad. We then went to the awesome Antique
Mall of the Foothills in Mayberry, a new must-stop destination whenever we go
up to Mount Airy.
Wednesday we drove down to Charleston to visit friends from our old home. We met Tu for lunch at Jim n’ Nicks. Mmm cheese biscuits!
While at lunch Jackie got the best news via email: "Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that your license request has been approved by the Washington State Board for Architects." Jackie can now call herself an Architect in the state in which she practices!
It was great to stay with Tu and Lillian. Ethan has grown into a smart little boy. Kaitlyn was a little shy at first but she warmed up to us eventually.
Thursday we went for a walk in downtown Charleston.
Ooo how I've missed this quaint city and sun!
Friday we went into my old
office, LS3P to say hello. It was great to see all the friendly faces again. We
went to lunch with Sandrine at 82 Queen. Man have I missed shrimp n’grits!
We drove up to Charlotte to have
dinner with the Pappas family.
Andrew & Jessie’s daughter
Madolyn has begun the stage of not wanting to be around anyone but her mom and
dad. For a very brief moment, she didn’t know Jackie was holding her until she
got a look at her and then the water works began!
Jackie playing with Brandon &
Elizabeth’s son Noah
Holiday photo. We felt left out without a child, so we held the
Hill’s dog Chandler.
Many many holiday visits over the
years with John & Susie Pappas. There’s a story behind the loaf of bread, I
promise…
Sunday we went at mass as a
family at Holy Family. We went up to Mom & Dad.
Joe playing with Liam on the
ipad.
Monday morning Joe and Liam
playing Mario Kart
Pat, Joe and Jackie with the boys
went to Foothills Brewery for lunch. We enjoyed a fight of beers.
It was a perfect sports bar
atmosphere for the boys to play with cars and stay preoccupied while we had
some adult time.
Liam doesn’t like having his
photo taken
Ryan selfie time after his bath
Before bed Chrissi read the whole
family ‘The Night Before Christmas’
Dad & Mom enjoying Christmas
Liam enjoying Christmas
Christmas morning: Santa has been
very generous this year!
Two boys excited for Christmas
morning
Excited boys!
Jackie loving their excitement
Christmas morning gift opening
Liam’s way excited Santa brought
him a nerf gun! He talked daily about wanting one to play with the neighbor
boys.
Mom opening her new breadmaker
Dad got a new copy of the
Billboard Top 40 Hits to replace his 10 year old copy and this one has updates.
Liam having enough with the
paparazzi while Jackie photobombs
Liam is now loaded with Lego sets
Jackie & Chrissi opening a
gift from Mom, a blue quilted bag
Andy got a DVD of Superbowl XLV
when the Green Bay Packers won
We will call this Christmas, the
year of the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. Andy got a new pair. Joe got a
pair for his frequent trips on the plane.
Dad got a pair as well!
Merry Christmas says Andy!
After our morning break, time to
resume opening presents.
Ryan getting a good look at his
new big boy underwear
Perfect shirt for Pat
We got Mom some new oven mitts
Ryan opening his Curious George
shirt from us
We also got Mom a new rice cooker
Ryan opening his Diggers sticker
book
The boys got Disney’s Planes
movie
Uncle Joe constructed a soccer goal
from PVC pipe and we found an orange (Liam’s favorite color) net online. The
boys will have plenty of room to grow into the goal size.
Jackie made Christmas ornaments
for both Chrissi & Sharon of photos she took of Liam & Ryan over the summer
in Wisconsin
Merry Christmas from the Liang’s!
Thursday we drove down to
Charlotte to have lunch with Starr & Nikki. We had borrowed Dad’s new car
for the day. As we pulled into a store, we had a cop turn his lights on behind
us. The cop informs us that our license plates have expired. Joe’s immediate
response came out: “You got to be kidding me!” The cop thankfully let us off
easy without a ticket. We let Dad know he needs to get his tags updated. We
drove cautiously for the rest of the day just waiting to get pulled again
because of the expired plates.
Friday we went over to Raleigh to
catch up with friends. We drove around the old campus. We stopped at the new
NCSU Library.
We felt like old farts in such a
cool modern space.
NCSU Library exterior
Friday night Joe got in some baby
time with Gary & Nicole’s daughter Emily
Emily is all smiles
More kid time at breakfast with the
McCabes Saturday morning
Saturday afternoon all the
Raleigh gang (and Knoxville) were coming over to the McCabes for a gathering
while we were in town.
Joe prepping the filling for
homemade dumplings
Wes and his mini (Issac)
Trying to get the 3 boys (Liam
McCabe, Noah Hill & Issac Moyer) to play together
Sunday morning lovin’ with Liam
McCabe
We watched the movie Despicable
Me 2 with the McCabes before heading back to King from Raleigh.
Jackie & mom after the Packers vs Bears
football game in their lucky shirts! Packers are playoff bound with the win!
Monday we went for a walk in the
woods at Jackie’s parents.
A tobacco barn off Cromer Rd
behind my parents lot
Family time in the woods
Ryan getting a piggyback ride
from his Uncle Joe
Family time at the pond
Christmas card chain
Our dead Charlie Brown tree after
we got home and took down the ornaments and lights
