Our time in the US

Ok, so I have been absolutely AWFUL at getting new stuff up during our time in the States. That is mainly due to not wanting to give up our time with friends and family in order to sit down and write about what has been happening. So here is a long (sorry) summary of what we did.

Nov. 19 (or maybe 20, I can't really remember)-
We started off by flying into Indianapolis, where we were able to see some of Daniel's family and I was able to start my MANY doctor appointments. (Which by the way, I am doing much better now. It turned out to just be a terrible eczema flair and after almost two months of steroids and some other treatments it seems to be in much better control.) We had such a great time catching up with some of our family/friends that we were able to see during the first week we were in Indy. I am so annoyed with myself looking back because we have no pictures since the batteries in our camera died on the trip over and I was too lazy to dig out the charger for them.

Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Day-
We made our trip over to Columbus to see my side of the family for a few weeks. Thanksgiving Day has always been one of my favorite days at my parents house. Ever since I can remember, my parents have gotten their moms and all their brothers and their families to come over to our house for lunch on Thanksgiving. Now that everyone is getting older it is harder for all my cousins to make it, but there are still a ton of people that come and I just have so much fun seeing everyone. This was the first year since I have been married that I have been able to be there, so I had a blast seeing everyone.

We did a bunch of random things during our time in Ohio, including a weekend where Daniel, his brothers, and his dad went on a weekend trip. JoAnn loved getting to see her grandparents for the first time since last Christmas when we were home. At first she was afraid of my dad, but warmed up to him quickly. I don't have many pictures from this time either, but I do have a few since I finally broke down and decided to charge the batteries for the camera.

While Daniel was gone, my mom and I went to Sam's Club (a novelty we do not get in the PI) and picked up a bunch of stuff to bring back with us to the PI and I think JoAnn was just as excited to play with the boxes as I was to go shopping in the States.


This picture is priceless to me. This is an old chair that my parents were given from my Grandma and it spins in circles, so JoAnn and Daniel started a new game of putting JoAnn in the chair and spinning it. It was so funny to watch her try to walk afterwards.


This is one of my oldest and best friends. She and I have known each other since we were babies and were totally inseperable growing up. Ever since starting college it has become more and more dificult to see each other on a regular basis, but I always try to catch up with Kristin while I am home for Christmas.


These are my parents. Got to love 'em.

Dec. 19-
Although my time in Ohio went by way too fast, I was excited to drive down to Charolette next and spent a weekend with a couple of our best friends from college. Matt and Britt are one of my favorite couples to hang out with because Daniel and Matt get along great and so do Britt and I. I also don't think anything is more entertaining than having the four of us play a game of cards. Daniel and Matt are always on a team together and trash talk/cheat the whole time, which always brings out the competitive side of Brittney and me. It makes for a fun time. JoAnn had a fun time although she was afraid of Matt. I think she started her "I am afraid of all men" stage while we have been home. I once again had the batteries in my camera die, so I don't have any pictures from this weekend either. Which makes me frustrated since Brittney was 9 months pregnant with their first baby and I don't have any pictures of her with her pregnant belly.

Dec. 15-
We drove back to Indianapolis and on the way stopped to have dinner with Daniel's sister Katy who goes to college at UK. It was nice to have a short break from the driving and it was good to meet a few of her friends. Going back to Indy was a lot of fun, but at the same time it was kind of dificult for me because this was my first ever Christmas that I wasn't going to spend with my family. Usually Daniel and I spend Christmas Eve and the morning of Christmas with my family and then drive over to Indy and spend the afternoon and evening with his family. This year we decided we didn't want to drive on Christmas day with JoAnn. So we ended up at the Bucher house which was full of family and helped distract me from the fact that I was not with mine. Both of Daniel's sisters came home from college and his brother came in from California. So on Christmas day all six kids along with the spouses/fiancee and childern were together at Daniel's parents house. I love that Daniel comes from a big family and there is never a dull moment when they get together. In total there are 17 of us now. Here are some pictures from that time at the Bucher's.

Four out of the five Bucher grandkids...

Each year the 6 kids and their spouses do a scavenger hunt on Christmas day that Daniel's parents put together. This year our family had gotten too big to fit into a car, so they got a limo to drive us around. How great is that! It is always my favorite part of the day.


Ok, there is much more, but I am tired of writing and it is time for JoAnn to get up from her nap, so I will talk about after Christmas later.