Here's to another year

As we did last year, we're closing down 2021 in front of all the cards we got from friends for the holiday. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to, but we saw more than in 2020, so that's progress. We can't wait to see if 2022 is even better. 

Scenes from all around Christmas

Some people celebrate on Christmas day. We had a whole Christmas week of fun, because Santa was extra nice to us this year. 

First came presents at home, where it seemed like we got everything on our wish list. 

Then came Christmas at Grandmom's, where somehow there was even more presents. And more family. And more food, somehow. I was sure we cleaned Grandmom out a few weeks back. 

Then, after another evening of Christmas TV special viewing ...

... it was more family, more presents and more food at Grandmom Shane's. All four gradnkids got awesome electricity experiment sets, which means Pop got to play all night too. 

And then, somehow, there was even more Christmas when Aunt Nicole and Uncle Bob came to visit. Here she is showing us social media stuff that I'm not sure we were supposed to be watching, but everyone was laughing, so we're gonna say that was all great. 

It was some much holiday celebrating, it was almost too much. Almost. But next year, let's try to make it two weeks of Christmas, just to see if we can handle it. 
 

Last-minute studying

Just one more Christmas special before the big day. And I did have an outfit just like Uncle Mike's cuit! This Christmas is already the best ever, and it's not even here yet. 
 

Santa!

He stopped by our church last weekend, which was great because I wasn't sure he'd know how to get to the neighborhood. It always makes me feel better to know he has gotten around the side streets before the big night. You don't want him getting hung up on one of the cul-de-sacs and falling behind schedule. 
 

Christmas party number 2

Last weekend was just a warm up -- this weekend was the big belly stretcher of the season: Christmas Eve dinner at Grandmom Linda's house. Here's how nice we all looked before we started stuffing our faces ...

And here's how we looked mid-stuffing! You would not beleive the amount of food in this house. Also, we ate all of it. We took it as a personal challenge, actually. 

And, of course, there were presents. I was hoping for a new outfit like Uncle Mike's Christmas suit, but instead I got respectable things I could show off in public. That's for the best, I guess. 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Get it? Look like Christmas? Look with my eyes? With glasses?

This is quality comedy for free here, folks. 
 

Christmas party number 1

Got to head over to Aunt Jeanne's house for the annual pre-Christmas feast, where we ate waaay too many cookies and found even more new hiding places to run around. I think this might be the only time that any of us kids were sitting the whole day long. 

Oh wait, there was that one other time we stopped for a minute!

 

Rocking out with Legos

I'm not sure where we're going, but I know we're both ready to party!
 

Christmas card outtakes

This is the nice photo that most of you should see arriving in your mailbox soon ...

And this is what happens when Dad asks if we can "look a little nicer" for the photo. 
 

More help with the lights

In retrospect, I really did not expect Dad to call my bluff here and let me onto the roof. I hope this all looks worth it later.  

Oh year, it totally does. 

First penance

We got a pretty nice day today to celebrate Emma's first penance, a pretty big step for her as a member of the church. No pictures inside the service, obviously, but she and I got to pose on the church steps to mark the occasion. 

And we walked around to our school's prayer shrine for Mary to say an extra prayer of thanks for the great day. One big sacrament down, onto first communion next!

Captian Hook likes to cook

Arrrrr, good nutrition keeps away scurvy.