Christmas and New Year's?

I went to post about this and cannot find any pictures of these two days.  How is that possible?  NO pictures?  Not even one?  I find that very hard to believe, so I'm going to recap a bit and then hunt down some SD cards and see if I can find anything...anything at all.

Christmas was lovely - as always.  I do love Christmas carols and the cookies we bake for everyone.  It's always good for us to get our eyes off ourselves and look to others' needs.

 My parents spent Christmas day with my sister and her husband, while Tim's parents came to church with us Christmas Eve, then home to our house for our traditional "German" spread (cold cuts and rolls), and then presents!

The next morning we opened stockings, had cinnamon rolls, pomegranate, pineapple, and bacon.  Cleaned up from that and started making lunch - beef tenderloin, twice-baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and shrimp.  Then, I officially closed the kitchen!  There were PLENTY of leftovers and I was TIRED!

My parents and the in-laws returned to celebrate Christmas all together on New Year's Eve.  We all draw names, so that's when we exchanged gifts.  My parents went home to take care of their chickens and cat, then returned to have chicken-fried steak for lunch.  At least we eat well for our holidays!

Oh, and I found some pictures.  Not all of them, but a few.  <whew>

Visions of Gingerbread

The Christmas season kicked off a little early, as I discovered that the entry for the local gingerbread house contest (which I wanted to enter this year) was due right before Thanksgiving!  No pressure!  The girls and I made a house to enter, while the boys decided they didn't want to enter the contest.  That's fine.  I made small ones for everyone to do (including the Nanas and our neighbor friends) in December.

The great thing (for me!) about this contest was that there were only two adult entries....and three prizes, so I was guaranteed to win something!  I came in second....and rightly so.  The first place winner's house was AMAZING.

My mom and the boys think they want to participate next year.  I hope they do - it was quite fun to see our houses in shop windows this Christmas season.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with our family!  We had plenty to eat (as always) and plenty for which to give thanks.  I hope your Thanksgiving was just as nice!

October

October is always a fun month - we carve pumpkins and it's Peter's birthday!  Our trick-or-treating group is getting smaller....only the girls are "young enough" to trick-or-treat, although Jonathan was allowed an extra year after a friend asked him.

Peter turned 15 this year, and he wanted a medieval feast.  We  considered going somewhere that had jousting and a dinner and  show...but it's really expensive... and there are six of us.  He agreed to compromise and allow us to have a medieval feast at home.  No utensils allowed (except knives) and we watched The Princess Bride.  It was delicious and great fun!

Randy

On October 29th, we had to say good-bye to a beloved member of the family, our cat Randy.  We have had Randy since July of 1998....through six moves, across the country and back, over to Germany and back.  He has been a royal pain, and a real sweetie.  He will be missed.

Vermont trip

I decided to take the kids to New England this year.  They'd never been to the Big E (the New England state fair) and never had fried dough!!  For you Southerners, fried dough is sort of like funnel cake, but it's only one piece, fried, with your option of toppings (although I think it's best with powdered sugar!).

We had a great time!  We not only went to the Big E and ate...and ate...and ate...oh my goodness....  we had lobster rolls, blueberry pie, maple cotton candy, fried dough (a few times!), fried veggies, hotdogs....

We also went to VINS....an amazing place near Quechee, VT with eagles, hawks, owls, vultures, and other various birds that are rehabilitating.  We LOVED it and would go again in a minute.  As an added bonus, it was definitely educational, but the kids didn't even notice, they were having so much fun!

We got to see where my cousin lives and works (a horse barn) and meet her horse, Glitter.  Caroline and Victoria rode her, as did my Nana.  My mother-in-law threw a little tea party, too, which was great fun!

My baby's....no baby!

My baby is seven!!  I realized awhile ago that I am out of a stage of life I felt I would never leave - that of having at least one preschooler.  It's a bizarre feeling.

Victoria asked for a Barbie cake, which I had never made, but I think it turned out really well!  We ate about half of it, then wrapped it up, put it on the counter... and the next morning we discovered our dog had knocked it down, smashing the plate in the process, and ate the rest of the cake....and the plastic wrap that had covered it.  Victoria took it really well...better than I did...am...!!