Whirlwind of a Weekend and some awards

This past weekend truly was a whirlwind. Traveling over the holidays is never something my family has had to do. I have become accustomed to my holiday routine. We drove or walked depending on the weather to my grandparents house 3 blocks away and spent Thanksgiving there. We baked, ate, did dishes and then played games while grandpa, dad and uncle Brian took naps on the living room floor. On Friday we would get up at a ridiculous hour for shopping at Kohls and Target. We would then head home for Turkey sandwiches at around 10am and possibly head back out for round two of sales and savings! This year things have been changed. We now live 6 hours from family and are forced to travel for the holidays. It doesn’t make the holiday season less exciting but it does complicate it a bit. I felt rushed and stressed for the time at my parents house. I am a planner by nature (type A) and therefore couldn’t seem to relax at all. I was too busy worrying about if I would be done shopping in time to get on the road for Phil’s grandparents in time! All in all we did have a nice visit to Michigan. We honked the horn as we crossed the state line, a little tradition I suppose that Phil and I have started. We held our breath as we drove through the lighted tunnels on 696 a family tradition of mine from when I was little and we had a great holiday. It went something like this…..

Thanksgiving 1.0 - Flynn Family Thanskgiving – My mom’s parents, my dad’s mom, my uncle Brian and his family (minus Vicky), my sister and her friend Dave, and Phil – Berkley, Michigan. Ate Dinner, Did Dishes, Played Thai Uno, Played Nerts, Went to Michaels to buy really cheap yarn, Played Cranium Phil and Me vs. Dave and Krys, Phil and I did the victory dance!, got slurpees, rented Wall-E.

Friday Morning – Went shopping at Kohls and Target. Got super cute x-mas PJs and really cheap movies! Caribou Coffee!

Thankssiving 2.0 – We were an hour late to Phil’s grandparents, luckily we spotted his aunt and uncle on the freeway so we weren’t the only ones late! Ate dinner in a condo with 38 people at one table! Props to Phil’s grandma Janet for pulling that off again this year! She breaks out the china and everything, it is really fun! We celebrated Phil’s dads 52nd birthday (a day late). Looked at wedding pictures, played ping pong and sang our of the song books. We then headed to Holland where we gave Scott his present (a saw and drill) and stayed up way too late talking with Scott, Jill, Ryan and Laura. It was fun though!

Saturday – Woke up and had Scott’s famous blueberry pancakes. Lunch with Phil’s mom and sisters. Spent time talking about all sorts of things and just hanging out before Laura, Ryan, Phil, Alex and myself headed downtown for a little shopping in the cutest downtown ever (Holland). Went to look at phones for Laura at AT&T, picked up a Culvers cake for Scott’s birthday celebration 2.0 and our 3 month wedding anniversary. Phil and I were on the road only 20 minutes after our estimated departure time (new record for leaving Travis household)! We arrived in homesweethome Indiana at 10:50pm.

If that was really boring and too much information you can blame Kelsey she wanted me to update. Here are a few pictures to make this more exciting!

We decorated for Christmas on Sunday afternoon and finished up last night buy purchasing a new “fake” Christmas tree from Lowes! It was fun to decorate together and then sit and admire our lit up tree J


Here is one of the only pictures that has all the Travis siblings in it


I love this picture of me and my sister in laws, Abi and Laura! Fun!


Phil and I at my grandparents in front of their tree. We always put it up before Thanksgiving.


And now for the award! My friend Kelsey so sweetly gave me this award. We basically entertain eachother during the workday by updating our blogs :)

This award states: This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to other bloggers who must also choose more bloggers and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.


Now it is my turn to give out the awards:

Kirsten - Kirsten is a wonderful photographer and has an eye for art! I love looking through her pictures and reading about the connections she has made with her clients. Everything she does is creative and artsy and I only wish I had her eye for home decorations! If you know someone getting married have them check out her site. She is affordable, fun and really good at what she does!

Naomi - When she updates (which is rare because of her busy schedule)her posts are though provoking and intriguing. Every so often she will mix it up with something totally random like her recent most on what "three cheers" really means! Naomi is a great friend whom I miss dearly. She is a fun and very intelligent girl that you should get to know online!

Jen - What is funny is that when Jen and I lived a few doors away from each other we rarely talked. I didn't know much about her really. We went to the same small church and attended a bible study together on Sunday mornings where I learned more about her. She is an amazing writing and has a love for the lord that I strive for. She will make an excellent high school teacher one day. She needs prayers to find a job and when she does the people who hire her won't be sorry!

Those are the awards :) It is your job now to pass it on :)