Gee, SquidWard, maybe Santa will bring me a dictionary so I can understand what you just said.

Christmas has come and gone already. I feel like I spend so much time gearing up for it and preparing and then, Whoosh!, it's over. We had a very happy, fun and wonderful few days. It started on Saturday with a nice visit from Chris' cousin and his family. They live in Kansas and we don't see them very often. We all met at Buca di Beppo for a fun meal and time to get reacquainted. Chris' aunt and uncle from St. Ignace and his cousin and family from Livonia were there also, in addition to Chris' dad, grandpa and brother and family. Chris' grandpa turned 90 on December 13 so we were celebrating his birthday as well. It was fun times! PS: The food at Buca di Beppo is great but the ambiance is a little risque. I don't think we will be returning anytime soon. Christopher refused to go into the bathroom because of some "Inappropriate" pictures.

Jeff, Jay, Lynn and Chris

Morgan and Emily

Stephenson and Vos boys

On Sunday, we went to Church and enjoyed our ward's Christmas program. It was nice listening to the children sing. Poor Calvin hates getting up in front of a group and he hid the best he could behind taller children. They did a great job.

On Monday, we made our usual trek to Mecca...I mean Toledo...for our annual Ideal Hot Dog meal. In attendance were our family and the Onofrios. We headed out comfortably (for the first time ever!) in our 12 passenger van and had great weather conditions for our drive. We arrived in Toledo and made our way to Heatherdowns and Eastgate where lies the best dive restaurant ever. We ordered tons of chili mac and garlic bread and left with full bellies. This tradition started many years ago when my Dad still lived in Toledo and we have been keeping it alive ever since. I think Lucy must have loved it because she gave some beautiful smiles while we were there. The best thing about chili mac is that you get to burp it up and retaste it all night long!

What should I order, chili mac or chili mac?

This is the best thing I've ever eaten!!

After Ideal Hot Dog, we opened presents together. Anna, Tony and Lucy loved their blankets I made them. Lucy cuddled up in hers and went right to sleep. The kids loved the presents they received. It was fun. After presents we prepared the Christmas Snacks. Anna and I decided that we would rather eat appetizers from now on that regular meals. They are much more fun! We awarded our treats with fun names.

Best Newcomer: Pizza Dip
Returning Favorite: Seven Layer Taco Dip
Fan Favorite: Mini Egg Rolls
Best Use of Seafood: Crab Dip
Best Use of Pickled Bologna: Pickled Bologna

Emily with her blanket

Lucy nestled all snug in her blanket.

The piece de resistance

Anna and Tony left and we packed the kids off to bed. In the morning, we ran down to see what Santa left. Everyone was thrilled and excited! Spencer gets the award for most enthusiasm. He proclaimed everything "awesome!" It was fun watching them be so excited.

Awesome! I got Spongebob Legos!

Chi-chi-chi Chia!

Christmas morning we went to Grammy and Grandpa's house for traditional egg bake and presents. We had fun eating, opening gifts and playing with cousins.

Christopher and Grammy playing Speed Stack.

Tyler with his Jeff Gordon blanket

Yesterday, we treated the kids to an exciting surprise and took them to Chuck E. Cheese with the Heiners. We had been promising them a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for over a year but never wanted to spend the money on it. We pooled our Christmas money and treated them to a fun evening. They really enjoyed it!


Now the celebrating is over but we are still having fun. The kids have enjoyed putting together Spongebob Legos with dad, playing on their Nintendo DSs, playing Uno Attack and having fun. I will be sad when they go back to school in two weeks.