So we left all this snow in West Virginia and traveled south...
The roads were less than desirable until we got out of WV, but they were clear by Roanoke and we had smooth sailings from there. Lots of family time has commenced since arrival. Eleven of us. Three grandparents, four parents, four cousins, and three dogs (and a partridge in a pear tree). So many people in one house for this holiday made it all the more special, though overwhelming at times. Decorations are my favorite part about Christmas (second to the music!).
Christmas Eve started slowly for the cousins. We stayed out till 4:30a the night before drinking and being merry. So for us, the day began with burgers and brauts, Wii gaming, and lots of visiting with family.
Christmas Eve traditions consist of church service followed by, you'd never guess, DRINKING GAMES. Yeah, my family is weird like that. So my aunt and uncle and mom and I (dad headed for bed) along with my brother, cousins, and two of their friends gathered around the kitchen table for a rousing game of Circle of Death. The most entertaining part of the game were definitely the rules that were created. The first was an easy one so my mom, aunt, and uncle could get the hang of things: Only drink with your right hand. The second made things a lot more interesting: You must end all sentences with "in my pants". Promptly after the creation of this rule my mother says, "Are you going to play - in my pants?" Hilarity ensued.
Christmas morning started late, but we ended up having a great day. And, the most surprising thing of all, SNOW! The area's first white Christmas in half a century. (The below pictures do no justice, they were taken around ten when it started sticking, now there is about 6 inches and it looks more like the picture at the beginning of this post minus the icicles!). Expected to have up to 10 inches by morning! Which is awesome, but also tough because we are slated to drive back in the morning... It started around 4 am this morning and has been going ever since. Real heavy snowman-making snow. We went on a hike in it and Kenai disappeared for a half hour. Despite everyone yelling and whistling he wouldn't come. I was a WRECK after 15 to 20 minutes when I thought he wouldn't be coming back. But, he did. Thank goodness!
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| Kenai about to open his present |
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| After he'd ripped the paper off, a DUCK! |
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| Will perusing the scrapbook of all the productions he's been a part of. If you look closely you can see him with Michelle Obama on this page! |
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| Ben painted a tiger for Nana and Papa |
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| And a hummingbird for his grandma |
Other than my pup coming back and not being lost, my favorite gift was definitely my iTouch. I've never had an iPod, I'm thrilled to finally have all my music all the time. And the facetime feature is great! We finished the day the proper way by stuffing ourselves with a phenomenally large dinner of awesomeness and lay around the house reading and watching movies.
You take such great pictures! I love seeing the traditions/celebrations of other families and how they go about this time of year. Drinking games sounds like a good way to celebrate! :)
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