Christmas at Home 2009!!!

There's not really any other title for this blog than the rush of photos from the break. We missed the New York branch of our family but were happy that the Colorado contingent drove over and the Seattle girl (me!) and the California couple (hurray Aunt Jo and Uncle Frank!) made it into town to spend Christmas together. Here's what our family Christmas stockings look like now. I used to be 5th on the list but am now 12th on the list. Any more grandkiddos in the family and I'll be out by the back door. It'd be worth it though, those nephews and niece are hilarious! One of the daily entertainments was finding certain ornaments on the tree, a magnificent accomplishment I think. Good work Carson! Yeah see, you can't even tell what he's holding can you?The major theme of the break was playing bingo. I mean, these kids are bingo fiends and would give Mildred, Gertrude, and Albert down at the Senior Citizen Center a run for their money. Especially Colter. From what we can tell, the kid doesn't look at his card but knows exactly what he, and probably you, have on your card. Here's the gang playing it and I think you can tell from the expressions on our faces what we're thinking. For instance, I'm thinking "I might just have a chance to beat these guys!" (I didn't. I didn't beat them once. And we played 48 times.) Here's my dad. You take your best guess at about how excited he is to be playing the sixth game of DVD Thomas & Friends Bingo that night. (He's a great sport.) We also made gingerbread houses so here's Carson and Colter decorating it up. And as we have a Mexican fiesta for every Christmas Eve at our house, I made flan for dessert. And Tom's pork and tomatillo sauce. But back to the flan. I won't say that it was Tom's recipe because that would defame the most incredible flan ever made. So I'll just say it had nothing to do with anything and that I need to take some flanrichment classes or at least get some flansense because this was a disaster. As we all know that the Internet is the circle of trust, I'll post a picture of the nastiness and know that you'll all laugh and smile and my attempt. *the disclaimer is that the flan was DELICIOUS! it just looks wretched so we didn't serve it. we served churros! And things got better with the drinks, pork, and tomatillo sauce which all worked beautifully. Thanks Tom! Nothing is more fun than Christmas with a five-year-old and a three-year-old (EXCEPT the addition to that 5 and 3 with another 5, another 3, and a 7 month old!!!) so it was just spectacular. New Year
s Eve dinner was supplemented by some fried brie with baguette and currant jam courtesy of my dad by way of that little restaurant in Edinburgh. And the after-dinner entertainment was supplied by all of us courtesy of the Beatles. Here we are. Christmas break was wonderful in every single way. Suzy, Tom, and Sarah came down the day after to sit and chat for hours and catch up with Suzy. I got to see Megan Paul and catch up with her. See my college roommates Darci and Barbara again. And go to a session at the Salt Lake Temple with Suzy and meet a sister mish on Temple Square who's eyes bugged out when she heard I was 28 and said, you're really old. Really? 28? I mean, I know I'm old but er . . . aren't you sorta running into people that are like 87? So all in all it was wonderful! Big kisses and thanks to my mom and dad for hosting us all. For Lisa, Nate, Carson, and Colter (hi squishee!) for making the drive. And for making a welcome home dr. pickle juice sign for me at the airport! And for Aunt Jo and Uncle Frank for driving in from California and hosting Christmas dinner. Here's what I did the Monday after New Year's-went skiing. Beautiful!!! Well, the weather is beautiful, I think I'm pretty alright too.Here's the sunshine off the mid-way of Stampede. Look at those skies. Amazing heaven yeah? And here's my dad on the top of the back mountain. And the shot off the back mountain overlooking the mind-blowing beauty of Utah Valley. I love where I'm from. Lucky lucky girl.