UTE-RC Christmas Party

Aaron's flying club's Christmas party is something I look forward to every year. It's a super casual, family-friendly event that's always a fun night out. They reserve a party room at a buffet-style restaurant, introduce next year's club officers, and draw door prizes for the club members. I also love that they give a small gift to all of the women who don't fly but support their husbands. I decided this year that probably my favorite aspect is that I get to enjoy a night out with my family and some friends without being stuck at a big table making awkward small talk over a formal dinner. :)

Zeke has lately decided he loves eating out (something we don't do often) and he had a great time choosing his meal from the many options. He eventually chose an Italian sausage, plain spaghetti noodles, mac n cheese, and a piece of pizza (plus the rolls that were on the table). The mac n cheese was pretty disappointing, so that got ignored by everyone, and the pizza of course Zeke only nibbled at (we were surprised  he chose it in the first place). He ate pretty well for being so distracted by everything going on. Our table was near the dessert bar, and from the moment we walked in the door Zeke was enamored with the frosting carrots on the carrot cake. Even the chocolate fountain, although super cool, wasn't going to deter him from his carrot cake and ice cream.

Nora was a bit harder because she'll eat almost anything but can't really evaluate all the options and tell us what she wants. Nora started dinner in a delicious way by sharing rolls with Aaron while Zeke and I were off getting him started, and that kept her perfectly happy for quite a while. I got her some Asian chicken and rice and after that we just shared with her from our plates. She really liked the popcorn shrimp. As she began to refuse more offerings of dinner food, I brought a Nora-size dessert buffet to the table for her with a marshmallow, chocolate chip cookie, and rice krispie treat. She quickly pushed away her dinner plate and thoroughly enjoyed all of her dessert. She sat on a booster seat up to the table for the first time and I just can't believe how fast she's growing up.

Aaron and I had a great dinner too, although I don't think we were both at the table together for much total time. It seemed like one of us just got back from the buffet when the other had to get up to get more food for someone, which made it a little crazy but still enjoyable. We ate a little bit of a lot of different things and it was a tasty meal. I tried out the chocolate fountain and that was probably some of the best dessert I've had at this type of place. Plus the skewers did a pretty good job of keeping Zeke entertained while we finished up the program portion of the evening. There were several cameras out during the program, and Nora said 'cheeeese' every time she saw a camera flash (so cute!).

The kids didn't get restless until the very end, as we were trying to get ready to go home, which I really appreciate. It was a great night out!