Well, this year, Ben got sick on the way home from our trip to NE. He slowly spread his charm throughout his family... Before we knew it, our breakfast was on hold till further notice. We made due, though. I had made the cheesy potato casserole Christmas Eve so that we'd be ready to take off for Aunt Carol's in the morning without having to worry about it. Well, we ate that Christmas morning since the potatoes would be brown by the time we used it. It was shummy!
We had a really nice time together Christmas Eve. Mom and Nate went shopping for snacky things earlier that day for our junk food night. "Junk food" nights are always fun! It's not something we usually splurge on, so it's a great treat!
For Christmas morning, we invited Gram over to share in our cheesy potato casserole. Later that day, Ryan and Kelsey dropped in and spent the rest of the day with us. We love having them... :)
Just as a side note, I love what Scrooge's nephew says about Christmas in response to his uncle Scrooge complaining about Christmas in Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol;
"... But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round- apart from the veneration due to it's sacred name and origin... - as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"
Leave it to Dickens to write a huge paragraph on a subject, when we might say it in one sentence. But, somehow, it sends it a little harder home the way he writes.
Nate got his long awaited haircut on Christmas Eve. :) His curls were appalling!
Later that evening, Ry and Kels dropped in. Katelyn loved eating dip with one of Grandpa's honey pretzels!
If you tickle Joseph in the right place, he collapses. :D
Somebody took her hair tie out. She looked like a wild woman!
We had set these dishes to soak. The cheese sauce from the spoon floated up, making a near perfect outline!
For Christmas day, we ate our potato casserole and bacon. :)
Delicious coffee bar.
Mom and Nate got some yummy liquid creamers.
The sun rose bright and clear after weeks of dreary weather.
Dad helped Sam put together a model keel boat. It was a replica of the kind of boat that Louis and Clark would've used.
Me, posting my second to last Christmas song.
Lynna and I tried to scare Uncle NayNay as he came out of the bathroom. :)
Dad with his new neck massager with heat.
We didn't get very many Christmas cards this year, but we rejoiced in the ones we did get! :)
Josh shot a coyote with his bow the next day.
I'd never seen a coyote up close before, so that was fascinating!
Sam was taking pictures of Watson...
Making himself at home.
We had our Christmas brunch Saturday morning. It was supposed to be at Aunt Carol's house this year, but we volunteered to have it here since they all still weren't feeling the best.
15 pounds of bacon!!!
Krusteaz pancakes
Sweet Dough boy with his uncles
Kels had him in the sweetest outfit!
Katelyn was banging her fork and spoon on her tray. :)
It was a long day for the munchkin.
Our day didn't quite end as planned. Usually, we sit around visiting, playing games and sometimes napping. But, around 2 we had to go help the Chupps finish moving. We got everything almost done over at their old house, and made it home just in time to say "Hi" and "Bye" to Ry, Kels, and the Littles. It was a great day, though!
A huge highlight to our day was giving Aunt Carol her new car...
I'll explain... Some of the guys in our two families (I think that they'd prefer to remain anonymous) pooled their resources to get Aunt Carol a new car. On Friday, they found several in Minneapolis, called to make sure they were available, then were heading out to look at them by noon. They arrived in Minneapolis by 6 or so, looked the cars over, chose the best, bought it and headed home. The weather was really bad on the way back. The roads were very slick, causing a few close calls. I think they got home around 2 am.
Christmas day, Nate put the keys in a small box, hid that box in a big box full of packing peanuts, then wrapped it. When she finally found the keys, it took a minute for the reality to sink in. Once it did, she was touched beyond words. I will leave the rest to your imagination...
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