Ho, ho, ho, cough, sputter, choke, gag....

It's over. And according to a commercial on televsion tonight, there are only 364 days until the next one. Remind me to write a letter to the person who wrote that ad, and then hunt him/her down and hurt him/her. It's like someone asking a woman who has just given birth, when's the next baby coming?


Ok, here's the low-down, the 411, the truth the whole truth and the whole enchilada. For the record, there were no enchiladas involved in the sumptuous meals during the past two days. Christmas Eve there were two dinners. First at my sister's house, and we had pigs in a blanket, potato salad, ham, lots of cookies and goodies.

Here's my Ashley, my father and my Allison that night.



My sister gave our father one of the best and funniest presents that night. It's the biggest remote I've ever seen. We're not saying that his sight is going....but um...his sight is going.



When my older sister Cheri was brought in, she was in her extreme happy mode. She lives for Christmas every year We sang carols to her and she bounced up and down in her wheelchair and waved her arm in the air. It was a beautiful thing.



Allison wore the santa hat for fun.




After that dinner, we had to dash (it was more like swim due to the incredible rain hitting our windshields) to Hubby's sister's house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner there.

Here's the pretty table.



And here's the delicious spread. Ummmm....asparagus. I brought two spinach quiches and there was roast beef, fruit platters, and other yummy stuff.



Here's Ashley snuggling up to Grandpa Roger.



Dinner was delicious, then there was the frenzied present opening and the more than frightening drive home. It felt like there was a hose aimed at my windshield.

We put the children to bed so Santa could come the following morning and then we stayed up far later than we should have in order to make certain the big fat jolly guy arrived. The next morning the children found their presents and all were pleased.

Santa left one hundred dollars in $1 bills for Christoper in order to help him start his savings account for a dirt bike. He was so happy.



Allison and Ashley were given bears from Stephanie. She got them from Build A Bear and you can see how thrilled Ally was here...



Ally got a cool outfit from her Auntie Tara, who also spent the week with us here.



Since our Suburban was out of commision (more on that another time) Lance's father drove an hour and a half to our house to drive me to the next party on our list of parties. It was at his uncle's home over in Indianola on the water. Sooooo beautiful.

Here's Ashley and Ally on the long dock there.



Ashley loved the dock, but suggested that I pay her five dollars for taking her picture here. I declined to acquiese to her request.


Here's the wonderful father in law who drove so far to bring me to the party. I'd intended to send the family off in our small car to the party, as there wasn't room for everyone. I'm very glad that Doug came to get me. It was a wonderful family party, and I learned some family stories that I'd never known before. Some would be useful for blackmail purposes at a later date.

Here's my chauffeur.



I promise, only two more pictures. If you've read this thus far, I'm a little concerned about your lack of a life.

Here's Ashley sitting on her cousin Nick's lap with his wife Andrea at Bobby's house in Indianola.



And my last photo, my son Christopher with his....um...second cousin? Ross. Isn't he a cutie? Thirteen years old and as fearless as my son which should frighten his parents a great deal. They were both 'road surfing' in the dark. This means they were both on skateboards, hurtling down the hills of Indianola in the dark. Yeah, that's a smart thing to do. Here's the two dare devils..



Twas a wonderful two days and I'm grateful they are now over. Just another 364 days until the next one. Grrrrrrrrr!