Dustin and I loaded up my car with the prepped lasagna(s) and presents and we were on the road headed to Gainesville by 8 am.
We were welcomed by family and orange rolls, as is tradition. Georgia immediately showed off her puppy hotel right in the foyer. I mean, understandable given she has a pink poodle amongst the guests.
We opened presents as soon as Stephen, Birdie, and his mom walked over. My mom got Hayley and I both Fabio magnets which were of course a huge hit. My aunt got us both Taylor tree ornaments which immediately made me sing the line wearing a gown shaped like a pastry in my head. Hayley gave everyone hilarious shirts from Asheville; mine is catnip related and yes I've already worn it. Georgia got a whole vet set which Stephen so wonderfully modeled for us all. She was mostly concerned about collecting the stuffing from Birdie's dog toy than anything. Once she opened the book I gave her she immediately sat in Hayley's lap asking her to read it to her. Thankfully, it's an easy short read! I am still so overjoyed every time she asks to be read a book. I really love that it's one of her favorite things to do. It wouldn't be Christmas morning without a wrapping paper ball fight with Paul. Georgia giggled and threw them right back at him with glee.
Stephen brought several of his various vintage cameras with him while visiting and I was pumped to sit for him. He took photos with his 1970s (I think? Maybe 1960s?) polaroid camera, along with another camera set on a tri-pod to get some shots of the us by the tree. It is also very reminiscent of Grandad Joe minus the deep voice yelling at everyone. We took more photos outside later that day and he showed me how to pull the trigger of his old camera so he and Hayley could have a shot together. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
We all tried Stephen's new fave beer, Busch NA. To Dustin and I, it tastes like any other beer, which no offense to beer lovers, tastes like piss. But the cans sure made for a fun photo prop. Remember that Christmas we all tried non-alcoholic beer? While the lasagna cooked in the oven, I gave mostly everyone tattoos. Dustin got a penguin on his hand, Georgia a Santa on her hand, my mom picked a frosty, and Paul chose a snow globe on his cheek. We called him "Prison Paul" for the remainder of the day. Hayley and Grey worked their multi-disc CD magic and got some music playing - first up was a holly Dolly Christmas. Just prior to this my mom was telling us, as she does every Christmas, how much she hates Mariah Carey. And JLo. Apparently Ben is ok.
Between Dustin's bomb lasagna, Stephen's Satchel's dupe of a salad, and my aunt's non-jarlic bread, it was quite a Christmas feast. We all ate on the porch outside while Birdie chewed on a stick. My uncle and aunt had just said goodbye to sweet Holly only a week or two prior so although her presence was certainly missed, it was comforting to have Birdie carrying on the jingle bell collar tradition. Dustin was so stealth in his watching of the Steelers game on his phone that no one even knew until well into the meal.
We walked around the block while Georgia biked on her strider. I love the neighborhoods of Gainesville and all the charm of the old houses. Georgia looked at a yellowish colored house and very matter of fact said "That house is the same color as my pee." and then just kept on biking. We all cracked up! Hayley and I discussed the architecture and how badly we wanted to tour the inside of so many of them. She also pointed out one house with weird decor on the front. I honestly thought they were two lizards. Certainly not my taste but to each their own. Hayley agreed. I zoomed in on them and took a photo and much to our surprise and horror we saw two gargoyle/demons. The fuck? Hayley couldn't believe it since she had grown up in that neighborhood since her teenage years and was certain they were always lizards. This is why they say you can never go home again - because lizards turn into demons.
When we got back we ate pie and took more photos out back. The Steelers lost to the Chiefs and Taylor didn't even show up in Pittsburgh. Bah humbug.
It was a lovely day full of belly laughs and so many side-eye cousin exchanges. We learned Paul uses noxema to clean out a clogged ear. Stephen taught us the term "road gator" which Hayley and I had never heard before. My mom got a surprise present in the form of a Aerosmith (she kept pronouncing it AerosmEYEth for some reason) cassette tape that Hayley just happened to find. My mom also out of no where asked "Isn't Honey Boo Boo a relative of ours?". What?! Somehow we got onto family secrets and the FBI. Someone really needs to write a book. To top it all off Hayley reminisced about getting a C in typing while Grey proudly told us he got an award in that class.
