2005 Holiday Recap

Today marked my first day back at work after the holidays -- had a great chance to take some extended time off -- so it makes sense to put down an overall recap of the holiday action.

I started the break on the Friday before Christmas. I had gotten tickets for the family to go to see the Nutcracker, and was looking forward to seeing if Porter would enjoy the show as much as I thought he would. I knew it would be iffy for Jackson and Katie -- they don't have the tolerance for music and movement. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not their bag. But I knew that the fact that it was a family event, and a holiday show would make it something special for all of us.

We headed downtown a bit early for a bite to eat at Treebeards -- the boys loved it -- and then made our way to the Wortham. They had an art installation outside of various 'interpretaive Christmas Trees' that we checked out, and the boys ran around looking at the waterfalls. The show was good, and Porter really enjoyed it; Katie had a good time, Jackson was a bit bored by the second act, and I felt like nodding off a few times myself!!

After the show we headed to Tom and Laura's for a family Christmas bingo party. Laura had invited her family and the Mullen crew, so it proved to be a full house. Tom ordered Bucca di Beppa for take out, so food was really good -- and no one had to slave over the stove! The boys won a few nice prizes / presents in bingo (shower radio and cereal bowls w/ Tony the Tiger and Tucan Sam).

Christmas Eve we hung out a bit early and then I took the boys to the Texans game. We met Tim, Tom and their crews for some tailgating along with Doug (a friend of Tom's) and his family. This was the boys' first NFL game, and we had a BLAST!! Makes me consider getting tickets next year, just for the fact that the tailgating was truly a family friendly time -- lots of dads out with their kids, throwing the ball, playing and getting ready for the game. Even though the Texans were the worst in the league, we all had a great time -- just doing it together. [Thanks to my buddy Jimmy for the tickets!!]

Later that night we headed to Tim's for his party -- this time with Christina's family + Mullen crew. As is tradition, Tim got fajitas from Molinas (mmmmmm) and we all played with the kids. Tim / Christina have a new room addition upstairs that is really impressive -- nice add-on. We left at a reasonable time (but early compared with the rest of the folks) and got home in time to get the boys to bed and get things ready for Santa. I ended staying up until 2AM wrapping and getting ready for the next morning. Like last year, I tuned into midnight Mass at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

Christmas morning, Jackson slipped into our room around 6:30 and went back to sleep for about a half hour. By 7, though, Porter was up and we were checking out what Santa had brought -- roller skates, a guitar and bongos for the boys, books, t-shirts, full stockings -- everything they asked for!! We opened presents after that, then had sausage and biscuits before heading outside to try out the skates!!

By noon we were heading over to Carolyn's for the afternoon to see her and the rest of the Mullen family. As always, things were crazy, but in a good way. By late afternoon, we were headed to Conroe to see Mom/Row and Myra/Kenneth/Trace. Once we got there we wasted little time getting unpacked and the boys headed straight to the stockings and tree to see what was in store for round three!! In all, everyone was very good to the boys, Katie and I over the holidays -- truly a blessing. What I enjoy most is seeing the excitement of Jackson and Porter getting just what they wanted, and Katie too. They all three deserve the best gifts.

We stayed at the lake for a few days, heading back home on Tuesday. By Wednesday we had the house put back together and presents organized and on Thursday we headed to the MFAH for a Jazz show by a New Orleans band. The boys were soooo tired, and we ended up leaving early -- but we all had a good time listening to the music and seeing the Basquiat exhibit again. That is one of my all time favorites now.

Friday was a party at the West U swimming pool for a friend of Jackson's, then the boys spent the night with Nana while Katie and I had a date!! We had a few beers at the G-Man (Katie deserved it) and then checked out the new Bombay Brassarie in the Village Arcade. It was Katie's first visit to an Indian resturant, and my first in Houston, but was it worth it?!?!? Superb food. We got the Tandori Chicken and the Chicken Vindaloo... a new favorite, with two thumbs up from Katie and I both. Saturday was New Year's Eve, and we spent it together as a family. Katie and I slept a little late, then went to Niko Niko's for lunch before picking up the boys -- then we just hung out at home watching the ball drop in NYC on our new HDTV that I had gotten that afternoon!! [I've been saving for it since I found out our other TV was going out... first one we've bought in 15 years, but worth the wait. Merry Christmas to Dad!]

Overall, the holidays were the perfect blend of spending time with Katie, Jackson and Porter; her family; my family; friends and enjoying the season. I am fully recharged and ready for the new year -- hoping that it has less of the things that were horrible in 2005, and more of the things that made it a great year for me personally. Wish us all luck in 2006!