3 Christmases: Part 2, Birmingham.

Birmingham was the second stop for Christmas celebrations. I had scheduled to go early to help out my parents when my dad went back into the hospital for the second part of his cancer treatments. Unfortunately, it was postponed yet again, but on the positive side he was feeling much better while I was there. My dad and I went shopping for a christmas tree together on the Tuesday after I flew in. We went to I don't know how many places and walked at least a couple miles in the mall. We eventually found one with my mom, when she joined us later that afternoon. It's a pre-lit one, and amazingly not that difficult to assemble. I think it looked nice.

When I first got to Alabama, it was freezing. And, I mean really cold. For example, here is a picture of one of the fountains at the Summit (an outdoor mall). If you can't tell, it is thickly coated in ice.

Further proof that this fountain was actually in Birmingham. Here's Heather posing in front of it. Too bad it's blurry.

These pictures were taken at our annual Christmas dinner (wish I had taken more). It's a tradition that Heather, MK, and I have kept going strong since we graduated from high school 9 years ago. It first started out with us actually making the food, but a couple years in morphed into us just going out for food. Much easier. This year we went to Flip Burger, a fancy new burger place in Bham. Burgers: I'm sensing a Christmas theme this year. Anyway, the best part was their milkshakes. The four of us (Heather's twin sister joined us this year) split 2: Nutella & Roasted Marshmallow and Yule Cake. Both were delicious, but I think my favorite was the yule cake. Every time this tradition roles around and "survives" another year, I feel so thankful for long-lasting friendships. I'm the type of person that doesn't have tons of friends, but I have a small group of really close friends. I like it better that way. I am grateful for the richness that they bring to my life, for their laughter and encouragement, and simply put their presence.

Changing topics. This is Jav. He's been around for a long time too. 15 years (I think) to be exact.

He's a bit of a grumpy old man.

He pretty much sleeps the day away.

But that's ok. He's old, so he gets to do that.

The night before we left, Micah and I celebrated Christmas with my parents. My mom set up the table all cute and we made tons of food, including my favorite sweet potato dish.

We shared favorite Christmas memories,

and then popped opened some champagne before opening presents.

The next day, before leaving, we went to a new(ish?) Greek restaurant, Do Di Yos. I was actually impressed by the meal (maybe it has something to do with the fact that Denver restaurants are so terrible, they've lowered my expectations.) One thing I did find odd though was that they bring out hummus for you to mash up yourself. Huh? You want me to do your job for you? They claim that this way you can make it as creamy as you like. I can't puree garbanzo beans with a mortar and pestle. And who likes their hummus chunky? Enough people to warrant a do-it-yourself experience? I seriously doubt that. Anyway, here's Micah trying to smooth out our hummus.

Oh, and the pita chips were incredibly OVER peppered. It was way too much!

But my salad and main entree was tasty. It definitely kept me full for the flight back to Denver (which was delayed and lengthened by about 2 hours.) Southwest makes me want to pull out my hair sometimes, but yet they have the best deals and everyone knows I'm a sucker for a low price.

Mom. Dad. I had a great time!