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Monday, January 1, 2018

Playing a little catch up!

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a nice Christmas!  It's hard to believe we are already into another year. I had a nice break, had a good Christmas and enjoyed time with family.  Here's just a little recap of that time. (Sorry - lots of pictures!)

Laura, Aaron and girls, and Heather and Andrew came over on Christmas Eve for our family Christmas.  We tried to Skype with Andy and Nikki, but had all kinds of technical issues and had to make do with talking on the phone.

The girls are always happy to see Uncle Andrew and Aunt Heather.



We always read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve.  This year I found a book that told the story in kid language.



The girls both loved this car for their dolls.  The lights go on and it plays music when you hit the horn.  :)   Behind Alaina's head is one of my gifts - an Instantpot!  Do any of you have one? I'm looking forward to making some new things.


Here's another sweet gift we got.  This cute container is full of photos, drawings and notes.  Laura did one of these last year for us, and we just took the last photo out, so we were thrilled to have a new supply.  Our kids are so good to us!



For the past few years I've been making photo books for Laura and Aaron of each of their girl, using all the pictures I take of them during the year.  I enjoy doing it, and it's a nice way for them to remember some of the things we do together.



On Christmas day, my whole family came over; 23 people in all.  It fills up the house!

 Here's most of the group, at tables lined up in our family room downstairs.



After we ate some of the grandkids hung out in the living room for awhile.


We playing some fun games using plastic cups.  There was some fun competition and lots of laughter!


Here's another picture of most of the group.



My Dad and stepmom opening one of their gifts.



Alaina and Ruby opening one of their gifts from Great-grandpa and Great-grandma.



In the meantime - this is what it was doing all day.  And it continued for most of the week.  I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.


16 comments:

Terri D said...

Please don't ever apologize for 'too many photos'!! I so enjoyed this post and your big family gathering! I got InstantPot months ago and only used it twice. I really need to revisit it. Hoping you will share recipes as you learn how to use yours. I need to catch up!! Happy New Year, Mari!!

Arlene G said...

What a fun Christmas Mari....please give us your assessment of the insta pot. I keep hearing a lot about them. I would not mind having a pretty pink car like Alaina and Ruby.

Karen said...

I'm glad your Christmas was filled with family! That's the best kind. The car for the girls is really cute. I've not heard of the InstantPot, so I'm curious what it's all about. Happy New Year, Mari!

Joyful said...

Looks like you had a fabulous Christmas! I gifted myself with an Instant Pot. I already had a pressure cooker so this one is not much different although what I like most about it is that it has an all stainless steel liner. That makes me feel more confident in it's healthy cooking benefits. My old one had a non stick teflon coating. though it cooked food very well I was always concerned about the potential outgassing of teflon. All the best in 2018!

N Abram said...

Hello Mari, so nice I found your blog. Happy New Year from France, Nicky

Linda said...

Never apologize for photos, it seems I never take enough or any of myself/family...I always enjoy yours, Mari. Looks like you had a wonderful time. I hope you have a beautiful week, friend...and yes, extreme cold and snow here too.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back. These are the best pictures. Your granddaughters always have the cutest hair styles and I believe Heather has a new style - looks great! Looks like a wonderful time together. Blessings in the new year. I am taking a winter blog break now. Look forward to reading more about your snow.

Zaankali said...

I love the idea of photo books. What a great keepsake. And whoever gave you the instant pot is a keeper. ☺️
Laura always has Alaina and Ruby's hair done so cute. I love it.

Dianna said...

SO good to see a post from you again. I missed you! As I was reading down over this post, a message came up that you left a comment over on my blog. I think we were thinking of each other at the same time! Love it!

Your Christmas celebrations looked like a lot of fun...and good food!

xx

Victoria Stankus said...

I would like to know more about the container full of notes and photos. Can you share some examples of what was included? Is there one for every day of the year?

Doris said...

What a nice Christmas you had! Enjoyed every picture...there is no such thing as too many, ever :)

Saleslady371 said...

What lovely photos of all your activities. My daughter received an instanpot and is so excited to learn it. I've been seeing terrifying photos of ice and snow in your parts. Happy New Year.

Mari said...

In answer to Victoria - the container is filled with photos of the girls, memories from Laura from her childhood, verses, drawings from the girls (which may be a scribble from Ruby), thank you messages from Laura... And yes - there must be about 365 in it because the last one lasted for a year. I'm going to have to do a post on it!

Cherdecor said...

I love seeing pictures of your entire family. Alaina and Ruby's hairstyles are so pretty! I got an InstantPot some months ago but haven't done much with it. One of these days I hope to be able to think about it. We did FaceTime and phoning with our children at Christmas too! What would we do without technology?

Jean said...

I LOVED all these pictures, Mari. You have a really wonderful house for hosting a group that size!

Jenny said...

I follow an instagrammer who is always talking about her instant pot. I don't have one but I'm interested to find out what you think after having used it. I don't know how you cope with such a houseful! I would've wanted to sit by the window and watch it snow all day. But what a happy Christmas you had. I hope Dagny never sees a car like that pink doll vehicle. We'd never hear the end of it. The girls look so beautiful in their Christmas finery. Love to you all! xoxo