A week ago today, we left for our summer vacation on a journey north to the Twin Cities! We made some stops along the way, starting with Hannibal, MO, home of M*A*S*H‘s Colonel Potter and also known for the antics of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. We took the 244 steps up to the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse, where we were treated to a phenomenal view of the Mississippi River, and also saw the Tom and Huck statue:
We then made our way to Riverside, IA, the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk…I was entirely too amused by this stop!
After that, we had lunch at Joensy’s Restaurant in Iowa City, a place know for their pork tenderloin sandwiches:
Our final stop before we got to the hotel was in Clear Lake, IA, and the Three Stars Plaza and Surf Ballroom, which is where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson played their last concert before “The Day the Music Died.”
It was a long day of driving, but we finally made it to our destination outside Minneapolis, a very nice Marriott hotel with a gorgeous atrium. After we got checked in, I went for a brief swim, and then we watched the US Swimming Olympic Trials on TV.
The second day of our trip north was one I look forward to all year long, because it’s the day we visited downtown Chicago. This year, for the first time in a long time, all five children were able to go with me, which made it even more fun.
It was not an adventure without challenges, though, because the train line we usually take was shut down due to mechanical difficulties. We were able to make it to another Metra station on a different line in time to arrive downtown more or less when we wanted, so it all worked out in the end.
Taking a different train line meant arriving at Chicago’s Union Station instead of the familiar Ogilvie Transportation Center. I am not kidding when I say the two stations are across the street from each other, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but somehow that minor difference was slightly disorienting, as everything looked just a bit off from the other side of the street!
We walked almost 10 miles, seeing everything and nothing in particular, which sounds like a contradiction, but is how we usually do things:
Of course we stopped to feed the pigeons…we stumbled across quite a flock!
It is always a thrill for me to see the lakefront:
While walking the Magnificent Mile, we stumbled across “Flight of Butterflies,” an art exhibition presented by the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Most were outside, but we found one inside Water Tower Place:
This was the first time Turkey got to see the Water Tower itself!
We stopped at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, where I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the place, so we left without ordering anything…it was a cool place to see, though!
To make up for our hasty retreat, we stopped at the Ghirardelli store and shared some of their chocolate creations:
I walked down to the Vietman War Memorial:
And then we went to Marshall Field’s…I mean Macy’s.
We tried the new summer varieties at Starbucks while we were there…they were very refreshing!
We were able to leave from our regular train station, which was nice, because we know exactly how to find where we’re going there!
As is tradition, we road on the upper floor on the way home:
It’s always hard to say goodbye to the city!
And we returned to the station we had intended to leave from in the first place!
We ordered pizza from a local place, Moretti’s, that we had never tried before…It was amazing! I especially loved the use of asiago cheese in the stuffed crust!
Up next…a little more fun, and then the beginning of our work!
Now that I’m feeling more like myself, it’s finally time for a look back at our Markel Family Christmas (and New Year’s) celebration!
But first, let me back up a bit. A few days before Christmas, I was trying to be helpful by assisting in moving a couch, and I ended up hurting my back. I managed to make it through the pain until the day after Christmas, when I finally gave in and went to the ER, where they said based on the x-rays, I had a bad muscle strain and a possible slightly slipped disc. Anyway, because of that, I had to tone done our celebration some, although Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were fairly normal.
Christmas Eve was fun because it was also Advent IV, which means we got to go to church in the morning, too!
There was our traditional Christmas Crunch to be had:
And the Fab Five finished the Lego Home Alone house:
And then we headed back to church for the Christmas Eve service, which was lovely as always!
We tried to stop by the St. Louis Christmas tree on the way home, as we have for the last few years, but there was simply no parking, so we went on our merry way, and drove though the Way of Lights only:
When we got home, I took pictures as always:
And we enjoyed a peppermint cake by the light of the fully lit Advent wreath:
I was really not feeling too well, so we didn’t play Ticket to Ride like we usually do, but I did find energy for Animal Crossing:
And I got the stockings filled with some help, and our Little People nativity scene set up:
On Christmas Day, we didn’t have to be up terribly early, so we took our time with stockings and coffee cake:
And then we headed back to church, for the third service in two days:
We managed a nice family picture even though I was still feeling pretty badly:
We took another shot at seeing the St. Louis Christmas tree on the way home, and it worked out perfectly, because there was no one there! It’s not quite the same as seeing it at night, but at least it was overcast!
When we got home, we opened presents:
And had our traditional “Pick out Dinner.”
Ryan’s parents were scheduled to arrive the day after Christmas, and I was going to make our fancy Christmas dinner the day after that. But I was feeling pretty horrible on the 26th, so the fancy dinner was postponed, and like I said, I went to the hospital, and have spent the better part of the week between Christmas and New Year’s doing absolutely nothing, including not making our fancy New Year’s dinner, either. We did have our New Year’s Eve hot chocolate bar, though:
And I managed to be awake on 12-31-23 (how cool was that date?!?) to ring in 2024 on my island (although I wasn’t sure at all that would happen!).
And I finally made the gingerbread cake that was supposed to be the ending to our fancy Christmas dinner for New Year’s Day!
This wasn’t exactly the Christmas I wanted, because I really felt like I let my family down, but I suppose it will be one we remember, anyway, and we still have two fancy dinners to look forward to!
We finally made it to one of my favorite events of the year…Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden!
Usually, we go on the member preview night, which is held sometime before Thanksgiving in November. But we wanted to wait until Bunny was home from college, so we went last week. I was worried that going almost a month later than usual would mean poor weather, but that wasn’t an issue at all…we’ve had much colder visits than we experienced this year!
We started by looking at the wreaths on display…I am always amazed by the beauty and creativity of the decor!
Then we stopped by the holiday flower and train show. I love all of the miniature buildings!
I had heard that Garden Glow was better than ever this year, and I wasn’t disappointed. The Central Axis was especially lovely!
Many of the displays were familiar, but there were some new things as well, and some improved routing of the pathway.
Here’s another look around the Central Axis:
These whimsical flowers were especially interesting to me!
Would it even be Garden Glow if I didn’t get a picture of the Fab Five?
Yesterday was a most-anticipated day…our annual trip to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions! We were worried about the weather (it was supposed to rain the entire day, but we got lucky, and it was mostly dry while we were there), and the traffic (an accident had I-70 at a standstill for a bit on our way there), but we made it in time (and even found a decent parking space!) for the Santa Parade:
After that, we headed down Main Street to look for all of our favorite characters, and we did a pretty good job of it!
As I did last year, I had to take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses…I love their costumes, and they seemed to like my outfit, too!
I also had to get a picture with the Lord of Misrule himself…I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to give him a sword!
But the main attraction is always a visit with Jack Frost. We love listening to his banter and seeing what kind of antics he’s added to his routine from year to year, and of course Bunny always has to take a picture with him. I was surprised to discover that he had been waiting for us this year, though. Usually, we attend the festival earlier in the season, which I guess he knows, and he had been carrying around a special gift for us since (I assume) opening day, which he was excited to present to us, complete with some of his original artwork on the bag. Jack may have a cold exterior, but he truly has a heart of gold! I was exceptionally touched (ok, I started crying right there on Main Street), because I had never considered that our presence there is valued. It was quite a moment, and made this our best trip to Christmas Traditions yet, and I know we won’t forget it.
Even on a damp, gloomy day, historic St. Charles is a beautiful place! And since it was so gloomy, we could really see the Christmas lights, which was very nice!
Our last order of business was getting our yearly photo at the gazebo. We had to wait for a madrigal performance on the steps to wrap up, but we got it in the end. So many years we’ve done this now!
Next year is the 50th anniversary of Christmas Traditions, and we’re already looking forward to being a part of that celebration!
This weekend, we got to visit Bunny for Parents and Family Weekend at her college! We’ve been there before, but it was fun to see some of her favorite things and check out where her classes are!
We got to go to “Donuts with the Dean” while we were there, visit the campus Starbucks (I think we’re calling it “Starbies” now), walk all the way to the top of the hill, and attend a volleyball game (we won!). It was a beautiful day, to boot, and we had a really fun time!
We even got to have Zaxby’s, which is a real treat for me!
The most special thing to me, besides seeing her (of course), was getting a picture of all the children. I know she hasn’t even been gone for a whole month, but I was really happy to get a new photo of the Fab Five together.
I’m not going to lie…Thanksgiving feels like a long time from now, but that’s when we get to see her next!
As hard as it is to believe since Lent always seems like it lasts forever, Holy Week and Easter Sunday have already come and gone. We had our traditional four day celebration, beginning on Maundy Thursday, with a fun twist for Easter dinner this year! I really look forward to this celebration every year, this 2023 did not disappoint!
On Maundy Thursday, I made hot cross buns. This is definitely a tradition now…what started as an experiment in 2020 when I was only grocery shopping once every two weeks and couldn’t plan on purchasing them has become an expected part of our Holy Week observances! I did try a new recipe this time, and I think we all liked it even better than the other ones I’ve made!
The evening church service was, as expected, lovely, especially the music.
Everyone had off of school on Good Friday, which was nice. I dedicated my day to baking. I made what were probably the best buttermilk biscuits ever, as well as blueberry muffins:
We were back at church that evening for another moving service:
Would you be surprised to know that I was back to baking on Holy Saturday? I made my first-ever angel food cake…keep reading to see how it turned out!
We also made this year’s Paschal candle…I think this was our best effort ever!
The Great Vigil of Easter is still my favorite service of the whole church year…I love the meaning behind each different part!
On the way home, we stopped at Wendy’s for Frostys and fries:
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful!
One of my favorite traditions is taking pictures of the Fab Five by the baptismal font:
Of course, I took other pictures, too:
We also got a very nice family photo:
When we got home, we had Easter brunch (our first brunch of the day…stay with me!). I made biscuits and gravy, and we also had scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and a variety of mini donuts. And pomegranate juice, which has become something of a tradition.
It was a great first meal of the day!
We watched some of our favorite Easter specials, and I visited Zipper T. Bunny when I wasn’t working on our big meal.
I learned how to turn our napkins into flowers for Easter!
I love how pretty the Easter table always looks!
For Easter dinner, we had Easter brunch (again). But this was a fancier brunch suggested by Turkey, including eggs Benedict, breakfast casserole, bacon, waffles, a salmon and radish tart, fresh fruit, gouda tea sandwiches, blueberry muffins, and a cheese board.
It was fun (and delicious!) to do something so different for dinner!!!
For dessert, we had the angel food cake I made, served with strawberries and a cream cheese filling/frosting…it was really good!
Easter is, of course, the highlight of the church year, and our celebration this year at church and home was especially lovely!
Our celebration started, as always, on Christmas Eve, with Christmas Crunch for breakfast:
I played Animal Crossing early, because I knew that might be my only opportunity to deliver gifts for Jingle and say “Merry Christmas” to Roald:
The Fab Five completed this year’s Advent project, the Lego Disney Castle.
Speaking of Disney, Ladybug and I made red velvet Mickey Mouse waffles for lunch:
And then we went to church. It was quite early for us…3 p.m. It was definitely different to go to Christmas Eve church when it was still so bright out!
It was even bright when we stopped to see the city of St. Louis Christmas tree after church…but that made it easier to see the snow on the ground. We finally had a white (and very cold) Christmas!
It was also still pretty bright when we drove through the Way of Lights, but after all these years, it was kind of cool to see it in a different way:
I took lots of pictures when we got home:
And we enjoyed some cake:
We played a couple games of Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries. I suffered one of my greatest losses of all-time in the first game!
The theme for this year’s Christmas jammies was (surprise, surprise) Mickey Mouse:
I still always set up the Little People nativity scene before bed:
We almost kind of got to sleep in on Christmas Day…but just barely. Stockings were the first order of business:
And then our traditional Christmas morning coffee cake:
And then we headed back to church for the Christmas Day service.
We found time for a nice family photo:
After we got home, we opened presents.
And then I got to work putting together the “pick out dinner.”
I was once again very pleased with how my charcuterie board turned out!
It’s such a fun and delicious meal!
We had another little reminder of our vacation when I burned the Christmas candle we picked up at Disney Springs:
Yesterday was a pretty quiet day because we waited for today for our fancy Christmas dinner. The table looked especially nice with our (kind of) new glasses added to the place settings:
For dessert I made a pair of yule logs. I tried a new recipe for a red and green variety, which was delicious, but not as pretty as I wanted it to be. I also made a favorite gingerbread variety, which was delicious and pretty!
The whole season of Advent went by quite quickly, and so has the beginning of the Christmas season, but I’m looking forward to making the most of the days ahead!
We made sure that we were there for the Santa Parade. Actually, we were there way earlier than we needed to be, but at least we got a good parking spot!
I truly believe Main Street in St. Charles in one of the prettiest streets in the entire St. Louis metro, and never more so than at Christmas!
We did a pretty good job of finding characters…I think we ended up with 26 of 33 cards. The important thing, though, is that we found both Jack Frost and the Master of Revels, our two favorites! We were impressed by how many characters they have added representing different world cultures…it gave us an opportunity to learn something new!
Jack Frost even gave Bunny a “Blue Crew” pin, which made her day!
I had to stop and take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses, because I looked like I could join their lovely, mid-century group in the outfit I was wearing!
And, as always, I took a photo of the Fab Five by the gazebo. Not in quite the same location as usual, because one of the singing groups was performing in it, but close enough:
Sometimes, I can’t believe just how long this has been a part of our Christmas traditions…it’s definitely one of the things I look forward to the most in December!
