Monday, January 20, 2014

Holiday Time: Mayer Style

With Christmas and New Year's Day falling on a Wednesday this year, and us both working the day before and after for each, we celebrate both holidays the weekend after their occurrence. Friday evening was spent at the Elks, catching up with the Meyer clan.

Mayer and Meyers

Meyers and Mayer
 Saturday was family time. The morning was spent visiting the cemeteries to pay homage to the grandparents who are still dearly missed and picking up a very excited Amy from the Brown house. All was peaceful in the car until Adam went and mentioned presents. My dear husband is always the one stirring up the trouble. For us being so difficult to shop for, the family absolutely NAILED it with gifts for us this year. One of them I want to share with you:
Scribd 
It is like a library card to all things awesome. For a base fee per month you can read AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU WANT. This includes many brand new and bestselling books. I read 3 full books within the first week alone. BEST GIFT EVER for anyone you know who loves to read, and you can read it on any of your mobile devices. Also, we were bestowed with Cards Against Humanity, which is an awesome card game of all things offensive, creative, and hilarious. We play this game at pretty much any gathering that we go to and an awesome time is had by all. After playing the entire desk between just the four of us, we F I N A L L Y ventured out to Woodside for an evening out with family and friends.

Breaking in Cards Against Humanity

Mom and her boys
The final day, Sunday, was spent at the Elks hosting a spaghetti benefit to raise funds for a family friend who had suffered a traumatic brain injury a few weeks prior. We volunteered to help out in what ever way possible. Sum total, we raised over $7000 in an afternoon, so I think that was pretty fantastic!

The following weekend we finally ventured to Pittsburgh to check out Michael's new digs, the townhouse that he had bought back in September, and get some quality time in. Friday evening was a wonderful time spent inside (it was about 10 degrees) with a small gathering of new and old friends, enjoying libations, snacks, and another awesome round of Cards Against Humanity. I am seriously obsessed with the game. Between the last game and this one, we had bought all 4 expansion decks, which are even more amazing and take the game to the next level of awesomeness.

Cards Against Humanity Round 2!

Saturday was AWESOME. We ventured downtown to the Carnegie Science Center and had a fantastic time. I love love LOVE science centers and this was not a disappointment. If you are in Pittsburgh, spend some time here, it is definitely for all ages! They have live demonstrations every hour, the planetarium was fantastic, and the aquariums held Adam's wonder for a long time.

Ahhhh...don't spill the coffee!


Earthquake time!

We are limiting our earthquake experience

View from the science center

Closed for the winter



This snail was larger than my fist

(Wo)man versus machine
Our evening then led to drinks and then dinner at Butcher and the Rye. Amazing atmosphere, amazing drinks (hello endless unbelievably tasty Moscow mules!), and AMAZING food. It was the perfect way to wrap up the holiday season and fully embrace the arrival of 2014.