Crazy Christmas 2009

We spent Christmas this year in Philadelphia with mom, dad, Uncle Julian and Aunt Rene. We found out late on Wednesday that Jeff would be off on Christmas Eve. Yeahhhh! Wednesday evening I showed up at Cedarfield to help Annie pack and was met with the news that she wasn't going to make the trip with us. She has too many ailments and the trip was going to overwhelm her a bit too much. I played Santa for her with the gifts from Uncle Will and family and then Jeff and I, at the interesting hour of 9:45pm, left for Philly.

At 1:45am, we turned onto Brandywine Street and retrieved the key from around Greta the Garden Goose's neck and...the key wouldn't turn. We tried and tried and tried some more with no success. We were tired and freezing and had already unloaded the truck onto the sidewalk in front of the house. I didn't want to call and wake up the parents but I had to. Tried Mom's cell-no answer. Tried dad's cell-no answer. Tried the house phone-no answer. Banged on the door-no answer. Banged on the door a lot more-no answer. Started throwing snow balls at parents' bedroom window-no answer. "Are you f-ing kidding me?"-we said in unison. Rang the doorbell over and over while throwing snowballs at the window. SUCCESS! A very confused mom clad in pink pajamas and sporting some serious bed head came stumbling down the stairs, gave us a sleepy hug and returned to her slumber.

Jeff and I slept in quite late the next morning due to our very late night/early morning and then met dad in the city at his office building to check out the city view from his window. We then headed to the Reading Market for lunch and a fresh pretzel. The Amish folks certainly know how to cook great food.

On Thursday night mom and I prepared a feast, we enjoyed some cocktails and we played an interesting game of Monopoly when Jeff actually got very close to winning before we gave up. The cocktails took their toll one short blond-headed member of the family whose name I won't mention. (Hint: it wasn't me) She had to go to bed much earlier than she would have liked. Jeff and I made it to midnight and attended the midnight service at the Lithuanian Catholic Church in the neighborhood. The Church was beautiful and the service was in Russian. Interesting.

On Christmas morning, we woke up and exchanged gifts with mom and dad and spent the rest of the day preparing Christmas dinner before Uncle Julian and Aunt Rene arrived. When they finally joined us, we exchanged gifts with them, enjoyed our delicious dinner, and our Christmas night turned into a wild and hilarious party. We didn't go to sleep again until after 1am. This time alcohol claimed us all as victims.

We spent Saturday on the couch/floor/any other place appropriate for lounging and watched Love Actually (a Mandel family tradition) and 500 Days of Summer (which we all loved). When we finally gathered the energy to move, we headed out for dinner at a brewery in Philly and then to a chocolate cafe for dessert. Why not continue the overindulging?

On Sunday morning, we were all up much quicker and on the road to our homes. So sad to say goodbye but it was such a wonderful Christmas! Thanks to mom and dad for being such gracious hosts.