Soup and Such

Last weekend proved to be another fun-filled time in the Runnells’ world.  It was also one of the few weekends where both Brian and I have been home for the duration of the weekend in months.  I had parent/teacher conferences last week, so that meant that Friday was a half-day at work to make up for the extra hours worked on conference night.  Brian hadn’t yet started his new job, so we got to spend the afternoon together doing all sorts of fun things.  First, we took care of a bit more Christmas decorating, and then we went shopping.  We made what we like to call in our house a “TJ's Run” and went to Trader Joe’s to stock up on supplies for the party we were having the next day.  It was extremely cold out, so after Trader Joe’s we cancelled plans to walk around Bayshore (an outdoor mall for those who are not familiar with it).  Instead, we went to the nearby Starbuck and warmed up with some hot chocolate and chai (neither of us are real coffee fans, but one of us is addicted to chai).  Then we headed to Miller-Coors for the Miller Holiday Lights Tour.   Luckily, I bundled up because most of the tour was outside and it was still very cold.  After the tour, which included a tasting, which we had to move through very, very quickly, we went to Lakefront Brewery for a fish fry.  Sufficiently stuffed, we headed home and did a bit more prep work for the party. 
                Saturday night, we had a number of our gym friends over.  We called it a birthday celebration, but really our friends are tons of fun so we just wanted an excuse to have them all over and have a few bottles of wine. Everyone brought a soup to share – we had Brazilian vatapa stew, venison stew, baked potato soup, bean and kale soup and chicken tortilla soup (our contribution).  More than a few of us had a sampling of each.  There were also all sorts of bread, soup fixins’ cupcakes and gingerbread cookies to enjoy. 
                On Sunday, we joined our friends at the gym for a little work out – we had a lot of soup to work off from the night before.  After climbing, our friends Kevin and Jessica invited us for pancakes (going out for a late breakfast after climbing has become our thing with Kevin and Jess).  We tried a new place and were really excited to have so many pancake options.  After that, we headed home to watch the Packer game and unwind from another action-packed few days.  

birthday cupcakes

Rumney was supervising our party preparation 

my present from the Craig, Sarah and kids - a little something to help me compete with the neighbors 

Soup!

playing games 

everyone deep in thought 

Chris breaking the "No nerf guns in the living room" rule

This weekend was also lots of fun.  Again, we were home and able to relax and enjoy time with friends and family.  Friday evening, we joined our friends Mike, Lisa and Rob for dinner.  We went to Carrabba's, which meant good food and plenty of wine.  It was really nice to catch up with the three of them - we all did a lot of laughing, that is for certain.  We also made plans to get together over the holidays, so I'm excited for that.

Saturday was a relaxing morning.  We had nowhere to be until later in the day, so we lounged about in the morning, had a nice breakfast and went Christmas and grocery shopping.  Becky came by during the afternoon and she, Brian and I went to Racine for Brian's uncle's birthday get-together.  I feel like I haven't seen that side of the family in some time, so we really had a good time chatting.

Sunday, we went to my cousin Jenna's house to celebrate another birthday.  Her little guy, my cousin Kaiden, is turning 5 in a few days.  We watched the Packers game and had birthday cupcakes.  Kaiden was his typical funny self and was quite the host.  He really took pleasure in making plates of snacks for everyone.  After cupcakes and a disappointing Packers game, it was time to head back home.

Next weekend will be a busy one with lots of time with family; I am sincerely looking forward to time with my husband and both sides of my family.  I hope you all enjoy your holidays as well!



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