Cecilia, Caroline, and Chris got matching American Papist t-shirts from my brother Tim - now they can all match!
My brother Stephen, my mom, and Cecilia open gifts. We gathered in the living room around the tree and had some snacks - artichoke dip and crackers, and Southern Comfort Sour. My parents, Stephen, and Tim had not opened gifts yet, because Stephen had flown in from Kuwait on Christmas morning, and they decided to wait until we arrived in the afternoon. My other brother, Mike, came with his wife, Crystal, the next day.
My dad seems very happy with his new weighted hammer from Stephen! I don't think he's had a new hammer in all of my life, now that think about it...
Okay, so the first picture above is supposed to come second, but Blogger is acting funky on me and I can't move it for some reason. The girls opened up gifts from Gramma and Grampa - Madame Alexander dolls (basically like American Girl dolls). Each doll matches her new owner in eye and hair color! It took lots of patience and scissors for Uncle Stephen and Daddy to remove the dolls from their boxes!
Tim had found this elementary school diploma from a teacher for his "Good Ideas" a few days before Christmas, and my mom thought it'd be a nice joke to put it in a frame for him. What grade did you get this in, Tim? I thought it'd be funny to get him the fireplace DVD from the Target Dollar Spot (it just shows a fire burning in a fireplace on the screen and loops so you can see if for hours) since he was laughing about it at Thanksgiving - it is an option on my parents' TV (meaning they don't have to put in a DVD from Target! Don't ask me how it works; I don't get the new TV technology at all!), and he was making fun of it then. Would have been another fun gag gift... along with a bike helmet. ;-P
And we do give Tim real gifts as well... here he is opening a new alb.
The girls (and their girls!) with Gramma!
Stephen gave Mom a Kindle! I hadn't seen one up close before - they are very neat!
Caroline gets some help from Grampa with this gift from Uncle Stephen - it was a nice globe, which will be wonderful to have over future years of homeschooling! Of course, when Caroline saw it, she said, "Hey, this is not a toy!!" Gotta love the tact kids have before they hit about age seven, ha ha!
The Second Day of Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, Nadolski Christmas Round II (with Mike and Crystal)... here's a wide shot of the merriment. That's Tim behind Caroline, who is sporting her new pink slippers from Gramma along with her red dress. Grampa is helping Cecilia with a puzzle from Mike and Crystal.
Stephen gave Crystal a new chopping knife... last year, he gave her a nice chopping block/cutting board made from bamboo that she said was "too pretty to use." So he told her bought the knife for her so she'd have to use the cutting board! Ironically, she'd finally caved in and cut something on it pretty recently!
Caroline helps Gramma with a gift from Uncle Mike.
Stephen and Dad out on the bridge in the dreary December weather. Hmmm... they have a garden hose, a baking sheet, a beer, and a beach towel... what could they be up to???
Stephen does his thing with the grill... yes, it appears that he is cooking the aforementioned beach towel. If you were not at this gathering, I bet you are somewhat curious now, huh?
He was roasting fresh oysters! We picked them up at Whole Foods earlier that morning.
Christmas Oysters... a new Nadolski Family Tradition??
Mike got in on the action of opening them - did you know there is a special knife made for oyster shell-opening? I like how in this shot, the stockings are visible in the background.
The oysters were very good... even Cecilia agreed! She ate two of them! Crystal and Tim wouldn't try them, of course. Caroline wouldn't try one, either - she usually will try most anything. Chris and Mike just had one or two each... so most were eaten by Stephen, my parents, and me.
Happy Birthday to Jesus!! I made a kahlua cake to take to Atlanta to be baby Jesus's birthday cake so we could share it with everyone. I forgot candles, though. All my mom could find in her kitchen was a "zero" candle - go figure. It was appropriate enough, seeing as when Jesus was born, he was zero years old!
The effects of jet lag... Mike and Crystal have been doggie-sitting for Dutch while Stephen is in Kuwait, and they brought him to visit his master. How loyal he is... what you don't see is Dutch greeting Stephen briefly before chasing a cat and running around the house excitedly. And whining at Mike when he thought he was being left when they were preparing to go back home. Loyal creatures, hmmph!
Cecilia and Gramma before we left on the 27th
And Tim with Caroline and her new doll from Mike and Crystal
And then we were off, back home for a dinner out at Moe's in celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family, and to prepare for Chris's parents to arrive the next day!
What an awesome time together!!! Love all the laughs and fun ya'll were having!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...Happy New YEar!