Chabot Family Blog: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Miami!

Well, I guess the Miami part doesn't so much count as a holiday greeting. Adrien and I were privileged to go on his company trip to Miami December 27th through the 31st. We left Cole with his Nana Nandad and had a much needed break. Back to that later...

First of all, Merry Christmas! I was hoping to have a Merry Christmas post up before Christmas but after I mailed our Christmas cards. I wanted to post our Christmas photos but didn't want to blow it for those of you who are on our Christmas card list. HOWEVER, after much trouble in getting my cards (which arrived on the 27th) I am just now posting these:

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a lovely time celebrating Christmas with many different family members this year. My Aunt Donna, Uncle Rog, and cousin Liz came from California and met up with my cousin Dan and his fiance, Katie, in Chicago. We got to celebrate Christmas with them on December 20th. Dan and Katie had met Cole before but not the other three. We had a great time catching up and sharing all of Cole's joyous self with them!

When I was a kid one of our family Christmas traditions was to open "out of town" presents on Christmas Eve. Adrien and I decided to carry on that tradition with Cole. We let Cole open his "out of town" present from Grandpa and Grandma Macukas on Christmas Eve (see video below). He also got to open presents from his cousin Julie and Great Aunt and Uncle in New Jersey. They sent him four wonderful books! We spent Christmas day at Nana and Nandad's house with Uncle Phil and Aunt Moe. We had a great time catching up with them as well! Cole loved looking at the Christmas tree (ours and Nana and Nandad's). We liked to grab the branches and the ornaments. I think the tree was his favorite part of Christmas. :)

Now then, Adrien and I left for Miami not so bright and early on the 27th. We returned home from our Miami adventure on New Year's Eve. We were greeted at O'Hare Airport by Nana, Nandad, and Cole! Such a wonderful surprise seeing as we were expecting a curb side pick up by Nandad alone. It sounds as though Cole had a fantastic time with his grandparents. Although, since they don't blog we may never get to see the photos of their five days with Cole Man! :) This is the part where I want to wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I would like to tell you a little bit about our trip so if you only read the blog for news about Cole, skip to the pictures below. :) Adrien's company always plans many things throughout these trips. Each day is full of fun activities, themed dinners, and parties. Our first full day in Miami Adrien had meetings all day so I got to spend some time with a few other wives. We always find a way to do some shopping and have a yummy lunch somewhere. That evening we went on wonderful 3 hour cruise aboard a luxurious yacht! I got to buy a new cocktail dress and Adrien looked pretty snazzy in his new sport coat and slacks. :) The following day they had a beach party and catered lunch followed by a Pirates of the Caribbean themed dinner. The high temp for the day was 65 so it was chilly at the beach. Adrien and I failed to bring costumes for the pirate party but we still enjoyed it. This was not our favorite day though. Our last full day we chose to go on an air boat Tour through the Everglades. (We had to choose between going to the Seaquarium, the Everglades, or having a free day.) It was a really neat thing to do! We saw a ton of alligators and learned a lot about Florida wildlife. That evening we attended a Tapas style dinner and then enjoyed watching the Nebraska football game with a large group of friends. Adrien and I were really blessed to have some time away together but we were ready to get home and see our little man again.

We hope you all had a marvelous Christmas, enjoyed celebrating the New Year, and are looking forward to what 2011 will bring.