We made it to T-town without too much trouble, although the ice/snow in Iowa was a little unnerving. We made pretty good time, too- left at 6:15 am, rolled into Topeka around 3:00 pm. We only stopped 3 times- it surprised me that I didn't need to stop any more than that, but it was nice not to have to stop and start all the time. :)
Saturday we got around and then went to the baby shower my sisters-in-law and two best friends threw for us. It was fun, and definitely more co-ed than the work shower. I think we had about 8-9 guys there this time! It was great catching up with everyone again. They got us a cake that was shaped like a peanut!! It was absolutely adorable, and I will have to blog now and update pictures later as I'm not on my own computer. Leslie took a bunch of pics during the shower, which will help me remember all that went on- that day was kind of a blur. We have quite a bit to haul back to IL, but I'm excited about the things we got for the room, etc. Last night, Leslie gave me a lesson on how the stroller works, which was pretty awesome. She has been babysitting for the majority of her teenage years (probably a bit before that even) and knows a ton of very useful tidbits, so it was fun to pick her brain. Then she quizzed me on how everything works. With a little more effort, I should have it down soon, and then I'll teach Casey. :)
Anyway, after the shower, Sara, Lindsey and I all went out to the Classic Bean for coffee. It was fun to hang out with them and relax after all of the festivities of the day. Someone at CB was playing one amazing soundtrack in the background, so we spent a good hour or so just reminising on the old days and memories the songs brought back. It was great to hang out with them- I needed it!!
Later that night, Casey & I met up with the Richardsons, Aaron Brumley and his girlfriend Laura, and Dan Nato. I haven't seen the Richardsons or Dan since before we were married! We went out to a Japanese restaurant and stuffed ourselves with delicious food. :) Afterward, Aaron told us about a Christmas party that one of the teachers at Seaman High School was having, so we decided to 'crash' it. It was a lot of fun, and Case, Aaron, and Dan got to catch up with teachers they had in high school. After that, we decided to go to downtown Topeka to a bar called The Office, and hung out there for about an hour or so. I did feel pretty awkward being at a bar, but at least I wasn't the only one not drinking! Ran into a few people there I haven't seen in awhile, too, which was fun. Overall, it's fun to come back home because I have a lot better chance of seeing people I know... and I thrive on that!
Yesterday we had the Shrimplin Christmas festivities at the Hetrick house. It was a busy afternoon/evening, but fun to see everyone and catch up. Grandma Shrimplin gave the younger girls in the family a HAND WRITTEN recipe book with over 80 recipes. She wrote each one- at least 6 of them- which I think is amazing. That is quite a bit of time and effort to put in, not to mention a TON of delicious food that I look forward to making now that I'm unemployed. ;) [Note to self- update on last day of work at some point!!] After the Shrimplins left, everyone pretty much crashed. I was so tired, I started falling asleep sitting up on the couch, watching TV. (For anyone who knows how much trouble I have falling asleep, this is pretty significant.) I actaully fell asleep around 11, and ended up waking up at 2:30. Finally got back to sleep after awhile, and didn't look back... I actually rolled (maybe literally... haha!) out of bed just before 10 this morning. I must need it!
Anyway, today Casey is spending some time trying to get a report done for work, and then we'll head to my parents' house and later to dinner with my cousins. Apparently the weather is supposed to start getting bad Tuesday night into the rest of the week, so hopefully we'll be able to see as many people as possible and not have to be shut in somewhere. Sounds like Chicago is getting some nasty snow/ice right now... I'm so glad I'm not there right now!!
I think that's enough for one day. Glad I took the time to do this now, because just writing this made me think of a bunch of things I had missed already. Looking forward to Christmas Eve on Thursday with my parents, Christmas day with the Hetricks, and then the annual dinner at the Harding house on Saturday night with friends & family. I am going to NEED all the time off next week just to catch up from this exhausting week!!
Love,
Ash
PS: Peanut seems to be on a growing spurt right now. The undershirts I could wear last week are practically screaming when I put them on now... ahhhh!! I wonder how many pounds I'll have put on when I go back to the doc next Monday...
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