One Big Holiday Recap

What better day than the twelfth day of Christmas to recap our holiday season? (To be truthful we had a temporary separation from our camera which prevented posting of photos until this weekend.)

I'm lucky enough to be employed at a place that provides a seven day paid holiday break, which with weekends adds up to eleven work-free days in row. This meant we finally got to catch up on family time with lots of kisses, cuddles and story books. We also got to indulge in several holiday celebrations.

It is always nice to reflect this time of year on what a fortunate little family we are. The holidays are a wonderful reminder that we are truly rich with love.

As we've done the past several years, we put together baskets of tasty treats for our families.

We sent off packages to my family with treats and gifts for neices and nephews.

We kicked off our season of parties with Kyle's mom, granny, sisters and their families.And plenty of packages under the tree. Afterward Kyle's mom wrangled the kids while the rest of us went in to Portland to see The Nutcracker.

The celebration continued with a big dinner gathering of many of Kyle and Rosie's play group friends.

We had hoped to spend Christmas Eve at Zoo Lights, but realized in time the lights don't run on Christmas Eve. We drove to the Coastal Range to see snow instead.

Christmas morning was a special time for just the three of us. Rosie made an immediate beeline for her play kitchen and got right to work.

Then it was time to tackle more packages under the tree. It is worth noting that while Rosie did enjoy opening presents, she seemed a bit bewildered by the concept. She could open some of the presents some of the time, but she couldn't open all of the presents all of the time. Also, the idea of the ownership conveyed on a gift tag was completely foreign and many of the things she opened were not immediately identifiable for her.

Her greatest delight was found in opening items she could immediately recognize -- books, cars, balls, shoes, boots and clothes.

After we finished with gifts we took a break to inhale the cinnamon rolls Kyle made for the occasion. I firmly believe Christmas morning isn't the same without the smell of cinnamon rolls filling the house.

I think Rosie agrees.

After breakfast we turned to our stockings. Rosie really enjoyed digging in to hers this year. She was thrilled to find four applesauce packets and five boxes of raisins.

In the afternoon we headed to Kyle's grandparents' house for a big family gathering.

Our final holiday celebration was with Kyle's dad and family. This was the first time all five grandkids on that side have been together at once.

We failed to make any special New Year's Eve plans, but decided late in the day to spend evening at the Zoo for the final night of Zoo Lights. Third times being the charm, we actually made it this time!

So concludes our holiday season.

Here's to many warm celebrations with friends and family.