Big Family Christmas

This year Karrie & Shane hosted the Big Family Christmas get-together for Lee's side of the family.

Their house is close in age to ours, and they are doing a lot of work on it - and as Lee asked Shane, "Will it ever be done?" To which Shane replied with a big smile, "No!"

We had soup & salads, and I brought the potato-bean soup my mom makes, although Diana said it tasted different & she likes my mom's better.

I also brought the remaining stollen I had from the second loaf I'd baked - this one without raisins.

We do an exchange with the adults, and the kids get gifts from aunts & uncles, grandparents, etc.

This year I had Kraig, and Lee had Jim. I went shopping and they both got some nice warm fleece lounge/sleep pants. Lee later told me he would have liked a pair of those too. Oh well. They were Joe Boxer, and I figured if I had the wrong size, they could exchange them. Then Lee told me all the K-marts south of us closed. We have the southernmost K-mart in the state.

I guess they'll have to make a trip up here if they aren't right - sorry!

In any case, a big highlight for us was watching Connor play with his second cousins. Marla's kids, Rita & James, and Karrie's little guy, Benjamin (who will have a new brother in February!). Connor used their names (C'mon James! Move Benjamin! Push Rita!) and had a lot of fun with the rough & tumble interactions. This is the kind of stuff you get to do with family, when everyone allows for kid behavior, vs. visiting friends where you're worried more about whether or not your kid's behavior will keep them from inviting you over again! Hee.

Anyway - all good stuff & we had a great time - thanks Karrie & Shane for hosting!