Christmas day morning we spent with Phil until Nicole’s mother came home from her parents and then we headed over there. We got a lazy start to the day and didn’t open gifts until 10AM. We had a good time opening all the gifts we had gotten from people. Afterwards we had a great breakfast casserole that Grandma Crnkovich had sent home with Phil the weekend before.

Nicole on christmas morning.

Nicole’s mom made it back to Cincinnati around 3 in the afternoon and it was a good thing she hadn’t come home any sooner since we had finally just gotten showered and cleaned up just as she called. So we packed up all our stuff and said goodbye to Phil and headed over to Jean’s place. At Jean’s place we hung out for a little bit and then exchanged gifts with her. I think Jean really liked the wedding album that Nicole had made and finally given to her. For dinner we did snow crab legs because it was fast and easy to do since Jean wasn’t home for most of the day. After dinner we went downstairs and setup the Wii and tried playing some of the new games that Nicole got for christmas. Unfortunately the Mario Party 8 that I had gotten for nicole didn’t work which was a bit of a bummer for the day.

Ross opening one of the shirts he received from jean.

Jean and Nicole looking at the wedding album.

Our snow crab dinner. So yummy.

Saturday was another relaxing day. We started of the day by getting a little bit of shopping done. Surprisingly it wasn’t really that crazy while we were out shopping but that could have been because we were out early and were home by 2PM. After a nap and some video game playing and hanging out we went out to dinner. Jean wanted to do a special dinner for us and instead of cooking we convinced her to take us to Montgomery Inn since I had never been there. This place is known for their ribs and is a favorite of Sean’s. Unfortunately because they are so good and popular they only take reservations for 5PM and anytime after that you just have to show up and wait. We ended up just getting reservations and going to dinner early. The place was enormous and had a ton of different rooms where middle to small functions could be held. It was also kinda interesting since as you moved through the place the atmosphere changed from really casual bar dinning to a more formal dining depending on which room you were in. I of course got the ribs since thats all I had heard about from the place. I thought they were quite good and better than anything I could get here in DC but they weren’t no dinosaur bbq ribs.

Nicole and Ross at Montgomery Inn

Jean at Montgomery Inn.

The next day was the end of our trip and after a quick breakfast with Jean we headed out. Since we got a good start in the morning we made it back to DC just after it got dark which left us with plenty of time to unwind and to go to the grocery store to get food.

Christmas this year was back in Kentucky with Nicole’s parents. Since we both had recently changed jobs we didn’t have much vacation time and didn’t head out to Cincinnati until the 23rd. We left early on wednesday morning in an effort to try to beat traffic and we actually did really well hitting very minimal traffic. Also the roads were in good condition considering the amount of snow from the previous weekend. We ended up getting to Phil’s place around 4 in the afternoon but by the time we got there we were starving since we had really only stopped for gas and had skipped lunch. So our first order of business was to head out to LaRosa’s Pizza which is nicole’s favorite pizza place growing up. I had only vaguely remembered it from a previous visit. Although we were the only people there we really enjoyed our pizza and I thought it was quite excellent. By the time we thought to take pictures there was only a single slice left. After that we headed home and hung out at Phil’s place catching up and otherwise just taking it easy. Dessert that night required a trip out to Graters Ice cream which was the second of the three food places nicole just had to visit. Nicole loves this place because the chocolate chips there are enormous since they pour molten chocolate into their ice cream as they are making it.

The next day was Christmas Eve and started off with a quick trip to the mall so I could pick up the last of my gifts for nicole. Originally I was supposed to get it the weekend before but thanks to snowpocalypse that didn’t happen. Luckily we got an early start in the morning and managed to get to the mall soon after it opened so it wasn’t too crazy while I got the shopping I needed done. Afterwards we went to the third place that nicole loves to go to when she is back home. We had an early lunch at Skyline Chili. I have to admit that the place has really started to grow on me over the years and now I really do like going there especially cause their cheese coneys are so yummy. All that finely grated cheese just can’t be beat.

Nicole and Phil outside Skyline.

After lunch we headed into downtown Cincinnati to go and see a model train exhibit put on by the local power company. When we got there we were greeted with a free warm cookie which was awesome. The train exhibit was a little small but still very good. The line moved quickly and we got to see the model train after only a few minutes. I really liked it and there was a surprising number of things going on.

The model train exhibit.

Nicole and Ross in front of the model trains.

Phil and Nicole in front of the trains.

The model train exhibit.

Look at the little construction workers. They even moved around.

After the trains we headed home and just hung out for the rest of the day. Nicole spent a little while trying to teach her dad how to play the Wii. Phil was a good sport about it and did a pretty good job playing. I spent most of the afternoon working on dinner since we were having prime rib and I was in charge of the meat. After dinner we headed out to catch midnight (10 pm) mass.

Phil playing the wii.

Nicole having fun beating her dad at wii golf.

Ross working on preparing his prime rib.

Nicole and Phil before church.