Greg and Julie and their family arrived here at 2 in the morning on New Year's Eve Day.
We celebrated Christmas on New Years Eve.
Our traditional Christmas Eve has always been an appetizer buffet, opening gifts and then cookies and coffee or hot chocolate.
The family is all seated at the table after we finished eating.
They each shared their word for 2011. They were: half marathon, pro tour, gratitude, employment, carefree, greatness and pigeon.
Then it was time to open gifts.
Each one got a bag with some meaningful family mementos in it, along with a few other items. Many of the things had a story about why each one received what they did.
Greg is studying one of his gifts. It is his great grandfather's shaving mug.
This was a chance to educate his children about how shaving was done before aerosol shaving creams and electric razors! I would guess it will just be a curio and will not be used.
Julie is admiring one of my very best Radko ornaments I am passing to her.
Nicholas is showing us his Kermit, the frog ornament. Nicholas was the most patient child I have ever known. He would sit my the edge of the water for at least a day waiting to catch a frog when he was only about 3 or 4. After he caught the first frog the others took much less time. Of course he practiced catch and release.
Each grandchild received a Hummel figure that reminded me of them. Jessica is a skier so she received "The Skier".
Jared has been reading each time he visits. His Hummel is a boy reading.
Blake was the "invincible" cousin to his younger cousin Kierstin and her friend Diana years ago. The problem was they could not remember "invincible" and called him "invisible"! That is why he got the Superman ornament.
Cousin Heidi stopped over to see her Minnesota cousins. She went running with them before our celebration. She and Blake stayed up until 3:30 watching a movie. She slept over on a cot in the sun room. She slept quite late as she was tired from running, stretching and exercising with Greg and the cousins and stayin up late!
When Greg, Julie and their family left for the day to visit Julie's family Zoey stayed here. Within a few minutes after they left she went over to Heidi's cot and just stood there like this for over 20 minutes! She is now laying by my feet waiting for them to return.
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