Our Family Christmas Party

Our only snow woman~all decked out for a party!

Our family arrived at about 4:00 and it was so good to see them all. It had been raining but that made it nice and cozy in the cottage.

Now it is over and we are planning to get packed and off to Utah for a white Christmas for a week. Piper told us the snow flakes are the size of cotton balls. We are looking forward to that. Especially from the inside near the fireplace. Hopefully the airport won't be the congested mess we are envisioning and the flights will be able to go forth as planned.

I am bringing a long book just in case. Jim is bringing everything but the kitchen sink as he plans to do some snow camping with our sons. Isn't that just like a man? I swear they stay up nights thinking about as many uncomfortable things to do as they can come up with. I enjoy being a girl. Enough said!

Welcome to the Cottage!
All of our friends and family enter by the back door!

We don't usually dress up too much for our party but
look what my sister-in-law, Marilyn, wore.

Princess Christmas shoes!

I cannot say much for my shoes...
Maybe they were "sensible boring and ugly?"
I'd love to be able to wear something so cute
for just one day but I don't because I know it would
put me in a wheelchair for life!!

My youngest brother, Gary!

Uncle Tom doing the dishes! Bless his heart!

Our nephew, Nick, I don't know where Mara
was at this moment but she came with Nick.
What a sweetheart she is! Nick too, of course!

Our niece, Alesha!

We tried buffet style this year for the
first time, it worked well.

Our niece, Erin, & her Grandma, Aunt Jeannie
And a bit of Lola the grand niece.

Sebastian and Alesha, his Mommy,
checking out a Santa we gave him.

Marilyn and her Mom, Aunt Jean

Sebastian, our great nephew

Christmas Sing-A-Long with Uncle Steve, my brother.
He also sings 'Laredo' and 'Daughters'
by special request each year.
Sebastian helping his Grampa!

Emily, Gloria, Ruthie, Jean and Tom,
and Hazel in the foreground.

We invited our friend from church,

Hazel, who is from Columbia.
She loved the singing and will
incorporate it into her future family she said.

Sebastian had other plans but his Daddy,
Raul, was right there to intercept.

The dining room set for 17 guests

The 16 with one behind the lens!

Jim photographs the family and friends! After dinner we had an ornament exchange which we have done for two years now and it feels like another tradition that has been established. Our two new round dining tables worked very well and they were much better than our rectangles for comfort and conversation. By using a design trick and turning the oval table on the diagonal it gave us a lot more walking space too.

We missed the rest of you but enjoyed having Mara and Hazel with us for the first time this year. So that was it~now off to Utah! Pray for peaceful skies and roadways! We Californians are chicken when it comes to snow and ice! Brrrr! (Taking our laptop so we won't be far.) Love to all!