When we moved to our new house three years ago, we started a Christmas tradition of inviting some friends and going to the tree lot down the street with coffee and cocoa (and peppermint schnapps, yum!) to pick out our trees. This year, Andy and Ness joined us, but Ben and Carlee were too busy keeping his fingers attached to make it. OUCH!
We picked out our nice tree early in December and a week later finally got around to decorating it.
Mikey set up the GoPro camera and here's a few of the many pictures it snapped:
We're cheesy and we know it!
I was a bit disappointed with our tree this year because it didn't suck up water like last year's tree, even though we did all the same things. It was really dried out by the first week of January. Maybe next year we'll finally get a permit to chop our own tree like we've been talking about doing for years...
Our good friends, Carlee and Ben, hosted a Sushi and Sweater Swap Christmas party. We all came with a wrapped sweater and played the pick or steal game. What an amazing group of friends we have!
I worked New Year's Eve so I missed Mikey's extended family party, and he worked Christmas day so he missed the morning with my family. Stanley and I went to my parent's house to open gifts with Carli, Chris and Lily. I got to wake up Lily, but she was so sleepy that she wasn't even excited to open gifts!
Lily taking pictures of Grandma and Papa T.
Mom opening her iPad from Dad. He let me install a bunch of apps and get a recipe book app going for her before we wrapped it so she'd be able to use it right away. So far, I think the kids have used it more than she has... But I think she really likes it!
We trooped over to Jill and Brandon's house to let the kids show off their presents. Bostyn loved her array of Monster High Dolls and had already taught one to do a backbend.
We also went to Raine and Ki's place to see their Christmas. The boys couldn't tear themselves away from the new war/shooting video game they were playing, but Mekare and Lulu were happy to show us their gifts - mostly clothes.
Later that evening, the whole fam got together at my parents' house for our "immediate" family party. That group is getting big! We are now 18 people from my parents down to their grandkids (no I didn't include their grand-dogs...). It was really nice to have the entire family together on Christmas night. I am very grateful to have such a loving and close, both emotionally and geographically, family.
This was an eventful Christmas for me and Mikey... I have always wanted a mixer. I grew up baking often with my Grandma Carol and always loved using her Bosch and then KitchenAid mixers. When I graduated from college, Grandma Carol asked what I'd like for a graduation gift. I requested a KitchenAid, but was shot down because, "That's what you get when you get MARRIED!" Now, 6 years later, I finally got... a KitchenAid mixer from my parents! And we're not even married! So now, we joke that since we are living together, have a dog together, and finally have a KitchenAid mixer, we are as good as married.
Happy Holidays!!!!
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