What a gift it was to have all the kids and their spouses and our grandkids here for Christmas! Kelsie, Graham, and Isla arrived on the 23rd, so we extra time to hang out with them. Here’s Isla playing with her favorite toy at Grandma and Grandpa’s house:
Playing with Grandpa:
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Graham cooked dinner for us that night: a wonderful pasta dish with sausage and fresh fennel, and a salad of arugula, pears, and fresh parmesan. Yum! After dinner we played some Yahtzee.
The next morning, Christmas Eve, we had omelets for breakfast. Isla has a gigantic appetite. Here she is, enjoying her eggs:
Josh arrived at around 1:00, so we went to the 3:00 service at Cornwall, took a drive to see the lights, and then came back to the house for teriyaki flank steak.
Isla got to wear this gorgeous Christmas dress, not just to church, but all day!
Later in the evening, we gathered around the Christmas tree for the reading of the Christmas story, hot chocolate, and cookies/candies.
On Christmas morning, we enjoyed our traditional pre-present-opening sugared cereal. This year we had a choice of Cocoa Puffs, Fruit Loops, or Crackling Oat Bran. Isla, of course didn’t get to eat these decadent breakfast treats. Next year, maybe?
Isla thought this garland of stars made a great necklace:
Lani, Michael, and Gideon arrived around 10 AM. Time for the festivities to begin! First item of business: The traditional family picture by the Christmas tree. Gideon wasn’t too thrilled with the idea, but by taking about 20 shots or so, we managed to get one that made him look like he was barely even crying. Joe, however, had a hard time behaving.
There’s a very definite order to our gift opening. We do them one at a time, in a very leisurely fashion, starting with the youngest member of the family and working toward the oldest. This is repeated until all the presents are opened. We had to deviate from tradition just a bit when Gideon had to nurse and then when Isla left to take her morning nap. But we finally managed to finish it all by 1:30 or so. Here’s Ben opening one of his presents:
Cute photos of Gideon:
It was totally a beverage Christmas for Michael: a coffee maker, several boxes of specialty coffees, 3 Starbucks cards, and a bottle of whiskey…
Gideon got an adorable owl cap:
After a Christmas brunch of cinnamon rolls, sausage, and scrambled eggs (finished at about 3 PM), we took some time to play. Ben got a new X-box. Here are the boys, trying it out:
While Isla napped, Lani and Kelsie and Robin worked on a jigsaw puzzle:
Gideon entertained himself by jabbering and smiling at his reflection in a mirror:
We had a late dinner of barbecued steak with an amazing blue cheese sauce. Then we had time for several games of Sequence.
Everyone spent the night. Then we took our time the next morning, having brunch and playing for a while, before heading to Puyallup for the Wilson extended family gathering at Tom and Rosemary’s.
What a wonderful Christmas!
