I'll be really honest, when it comes to football, I watch for the food. So, I wasn't one of those overly enthusiastic Indianapolis natives when it came to hosting the big game. From a PR and economic perspective, I knew it was a HUGE opportunity for the city to nationally showcase what many of us have known for years: there isn't any place quite like it. Sure, we don't have the mountains to ski or the beach to swim, we have more 'chain' restaurants than one likes to admit and the weather, well, it's a bit unpredictable.
After college I traveled the country and really thought I'd fall in love with another city to call home. I was a transplant to Indiana and my folks had relocated back to Pennsylvania while I was traveling, so I had nothing really grounding me here. Or so I thought. In the end, I had my Butler family, some great friends and the realization that there wasn't anywhere else I wanted to ground myself. You can't find nicer, more grounded people than those here in Indiana. I'm so glad that the world is seeing this part of Indy this week!
We took the girls to see the sights on Monday--NFL Experience, Superbowl Village, a fun dinner out and unplanned friends to see! It was a night to remember, they came home exhausted and Jeremy & I had a blast too. Here are some pics!
10. A quick stopover at the lake house on the way to the wedding in Lansing, MI. The girls always think it is a special occasion when they get BOTH grandparents in one place...this day was no exception. The weather had been unseasonable warm, so long walks and snuggles in pj's were just the way to spend the day before the wedding festivities began.
9. The loot...they did pretty well this year, Santa was good to them. Some favorites include some new games for their 
8. The 
7. Jeremy & I pushed a favorite holiday memory on our kids. We were so excited to take them out to look at lights and bundled them one night, made hot cocoa and the night was a disaster! They whined and didn't understand why they couldn't get out of the car....they didn't get it...maybe next year! Jeremy & I had to lecture each other on not pushing our own 'favorites' on our kids, we had set our expectations much too high for the night! This was the 'bad'. 
6. The pre-school holiday program was my highlight. The girls sang "Up on the Rooftop" and memorized every word, all 3 verses. They were so confident, so proud! I may try to post the video online during a snowy winter day, but it wouldn't let me during my last attempt. It was a proud mama night!
5. Aunt Cat visited! In preparation for the wedding & the holiday season, she spent 9 days with us. The girls were in 7th heaven, asking one day during breakfast "Aunt Cat, do you live with us now?". They have so much fun when she's around--going for 'carrots' (aka frozen yogurt, but they tell mom they went for carrots), visiting some local kid hot spots and of course going to the movies. They love their Aunt Cat and can't wait until they are 'big' enough for a trip to the nation's capital!
4. Daddy was an elf. Yes, we had a visit from the 
3. The girls baked and daddy baked. But between my coughs and the girls coughs, we threw away a lot of germy cookies! Dad distributed all that were deemed healthy (cooked after bedtime) and the girls ate their fair share over the month. We'll all need to lose a few pounds in January.
2. The night before Christmas, we went to church, gathered at Jeremy's parents, opened gifts, then got in our jammies to write a letter to Santa and read the classic. Always look forward to this tradition each year.
1. Each year, we are honored to host a crew of 25 (give or take) for Christmas dinner. After a rough round of health issues for Great Grandpa Bill & Great Grandma Mickey this fall, Jeremy & I were so grateful Addy & Lilly could see their great-grandparents on Christmas. The girls don't know any different as this is how they have spent all of their holidays, but we count our blessings for this and all our family this holiday season! (This was very good!)
Lilly & Santa
