Monday started off with Emmy & I taking Rizzo to the vet. There’s a lump inside his nose and they were able to release fluids and take it to testing. Haven’t heard back and it’s refilled so hoping they can fully remove and it’s nothing bad.

I took her to eat at Cracker Barrel and walked around different shops before heading home. I changed my nails to Christmas lights and wrapped presents.

We also found out that Ethan put one of his toys into the freezer. Our freezer has been pooling and so his toy was frozen in. Such a hilarious moment and he wouldn’t let it go the rest of the night.

Tuesday I grabbed some breakfast tacos from Emily’s Taqueria and met up with Mallory for pedicures at Capri Nail & Spa. It’s the second time in a row that I’ve gone and their polish does not dry after an hour plus. I went to Physical Thearapy for my back/leg and shopped for a bit to get some nail polishes to fix my toes. I got some cool presents from Mallory – ended up winning $10 from the scratch off she got me!

Wednesday June and I took the kids on a walk with Rizzo. I ordered a deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie from Dish Society too. So good and perfect for the cold temp.

Thursday, I went and got my first COVID test – rapid PCR test. Negative! Whoo hoo! Good to know since I was feeling sick.

Ordered Thaicoon for lunch and then waited for June to be home to build gingerbread houses with Ethan & Emmy. They mostly just ate the decorations and icing.

Later in the day Friday, I drove over to Frankenstein’s. I gave Artemis her Christmas present. A blanket where she can be seen and a harness and leash since he talks about wanting to take her out for walks in the future. She wasn’t a fan. I’m sure she wonders why this weird lady keeps bringing stuff for her to wear.

He went to San Francisco week prior for a wedding and came back with Ghirardelli chocolates for me. That’s when he told me that the original Ghirardelli shop was from there. Learn something new every day.

This man planned Christmas Eve with me as my Christmas present and I couldn’t be any happier.

I guessed correctly that he chose Galveston and had an inkling it was Moody Gardens. And I was right!

He booked the Moody Gardens Hotel with a balcony view. I’ve never been on a balcony at a hotel before, at least not one that I remember so I was amazed. He opened his presents and we took a lot of pictures and videos of the view before getting ready for our dinner reservations.

He booked our reservations at Shearn’s, located in the hotel that supposedly had pretty dang good reviews. He was pretty disappointed in the food. It wasn’t terrible, but not worth it for the cost. I agreed but was just on cloud nine that this man planned a nice night so I didn’t have any complaints. He just felt bad since we’re pretty spoiled when it comes to eating out since we do that a lot with our distance. But he added that it wasn’t a big deal and he was just happy he got to spend time with me. Gah so sweet.

During dinner, he told me a mishap that occurred. He apparently accidentally booked ALL the excursions Moody Gardens offered. The regular ones year round and the holiday ones. He meant to only book The Festival of Lights since he knew we didn’t have much time to do much. Too funny.

We made it in time to walk through the entire thing to see the lights, stopping a lot due to my back. My favourite is the interactive Twelve Days of Christmas show. We sat there for the longest because I wanted to see all of them light up. Then we had a debate as to why certain things were even gifted. Love our random conversations.

We woke up quite early Saturday since one of his launches were happening at six in the morning. I caught glimpses of the launch but mostly fell asleep through it. When we finally got up, we had breakfast at the hotel’s Cafe in the Park. This place is SO darn cute. Even the carpet looked like grass. We opted for the buffet which had MORE than enough yumminess. I am starting to dig ordering hot tea at restaurants.

We packed our things and headed back home. I was able to get a shot of the Christmas decorations they had at the lobby without all the kids all over it. So gorgeous.

I got home in time to relax a bit before Sissy & BIL came over. Brudda and SIL arrived the night before so we had a full house and it was nice. We made little window light catchers and played games before our extended family came over. A lot of crazy times and nice memories – like the kids loving playing in boxes like cats (surprised Rizzo went in and stayed there), and Ethan being a Pocky model.

Sunday was our immediate family’s Christmas. We had breakfast of kolaches and opened presents. Secret Santa (SIL) did great this year. Two new puzzles, one of which was a surprise — COSTCO puzzle! I’ve been looking and never found it. It’s only 500 pieces so you would think it’ll be easy but if you look at the picture, it’s filled with people on every corner. So excited!

We also tried out Phanh Ky & The Alley. The Alley was WAY too sweet for my liking and they ran out of a lot of things which makes me not want to go back in fear of not getting what I want again. But Phanh Ky was delicious. We talked about going back in the future. I like that you can pick different types of noodles to go with your dish.

Knowing I’d be dropping off Brudda and SIL at the airport late at night, I was able to make day of plans to meet up with Frankenstein afterward at Cidercade. I’ve been wanting to check this place out so was happy he remembered and suggested it instead of me driving all the way to him. I wouldn’t have minded though because he loves SNL and have been waiting to watch the Taylor Swift one with me.

It was fun but they did have some broken games. I wasn’t a fan of any of their drinks and later at the end, found out they had sodas and waters in the back for free pour.

It’s been a very eventful week. I am still in awe that this man planned such a nice night together where I didn’t have to put in input (other than the food when we got there). He’ll be busy again soon so I’m trying to squeeze out as much time as we can this month.