Note: all pictures have larger versions - click on the picture to be magically transported to the not-full-sized-but-larger version…
It’s interesting to see the different ways Santa treats kids in the same house. Keira and Dyson got wrapped presents from Santa and Ian and Haley got unwrapped presents from Santa. That Santa - he’s a wacky guy!
For Keira and Dyson, Santa only brings four gifts apiece. They each spent some time compiling that list - they wanted to get it just right. Of course, Aunt Donna (and to a lesser extent, Mommy & Daddy) put Santa to shame…
Just a few presents piled under the tree. And around the tree. And relatively near the tree…
Oh, that mean Daddy/Uncle - forcing the poor kids to pose for photos when there are piles of presents just begging to be unwrapped! (In case you’re wondering - they’re looking at Donna as she snaps her own picture…)
Keira was happy to see that Santa got it right - a BLUE Nintendo DS.
Santa screwed up a bit for Haley. He got the color right (pink) but gave her a Nintendo DS Lite instead of a Nintendo DS. Jerry tries to read the directions while Ian flat out steals it from Haley and plays with it himself… (We never did figure out the difference between the DS and the DS Lite, other than the obvious - the lack of heft to the Lite.)
It’s amazing to me that Cabbage Patch dolls are a hot thing again. Ah, the beauty of marketing.
Keira is saving up her money to buy as many Cabbage Patch dolls as possible. Apparently one of her friends has twice as many as she does…
Grandma (my mother) helped make this smile happen…
Rick dropped by for a little while during the gift-unwrapping portion of the day.
Dyson was very helpful when it came to unwrapping Nana’s gifts (at least the ones from him). (Of course, Keira was constantly trying to help Dyson with his own gifts…)
Donna seems very concerned/perplexed. Perhaps she’s wondering how someone could actually wrap a present without using at least half of a roll of tape…
If you look in Karen’s lap, you’ll see Haley’s Nintendo DS. We had to take them from the girls just to get things back on track…
Unbridled enthusiasm! That’s why I love Christmas!!
I just like how my old license plate (on the wall in my brewing area) shines through over Kel’s shoulder… (And how Rick felt obligated to wear the Virgina Tech hat that Kel gave him for Christmas…)
It was tough to keep Dyson focused. He just wanted to play with what he already opened. In the forefront, you can see some of the toys apparently chosen just to piss me off - in addition to the toys shown, the set came with dozens of minuscule pieces that will never be properly put away…
Two or three times a year, Nana struggles down the stairs. She really loves seeing the kids opening their presents, and gets all teary-eyed every time she gets a present. So maybe the effort to battle the stairs is worth it…
You can see from her expression that she’d rather not pose for me. (I think she just might get that sarcastic streak from her parents. Could be…)
Dyson, on the other hand, exudes goofy excitement…
Here’s Dyson with one of his presents (from my sister Heidi). Apparently it’s a love/hate relationship….
Once the orgy of gift opening was done, it was almost impossible to get the girls’ attention. They spent all day (and the next several days) playing Nintendogs. And, no, I have no idea why they’re sitting in the baby porta-crib…
For dinner, I prepared one of our favorites, Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Spice Rub. It is terribly simple, yet completely delightful - you NEED to try it. Here’s a picture from the above link (I didn’t make the ravioli this time…)
After dinner, I had a chance to unwind with one of my presents - some beer from Hawaii, sent by my brother Eric & his wife Sherri.
Nothing caps off a perfect day like a bubble bath! Huzzah!!
On Wednesday, I made 10 gallons of hoppy pale ale. Seemed a perfect opportunity to try out one of my Christmas gifts - a pseudo Burton Union. (The arrangement that’s sitting on top of the box - as the foam gets forced out of the fermenter, the foam collapses back into liquid and returns to the fermenter.)
Also shown are the carboy carriers that I got for Christmas - now I need to decide if I like the design enough to get them for all of my carboys…
A couple of days after Christmas…
A little fighting, a little dancing. I guess we’re raising our own little redneck!
Actually the second picture is part of the "kick Bozo in the chest" sequence…
Keira was yelling things like, "This time it’s personal!" as she was pounding on the poor clown. Perhaps some kind of cathartic experience - she was afraid of clowns when she was younger…
I wish I had taken a picture of the trash sitting by the roadside. My goodness! Between the Christmas Eve party and all of the wrapping paper and product packaging, we had dozens of trash bags and boxes…
