Christmas Festivities

The holiday weekend started off on Friday, December 21st with M meeting me at Pepitos in S. Mpls for a quick appetizer.  We even saw Santa there with his very own pitcher of beer and appetizers. We had to be discreet taking the picture though.

Before we hauled everything over to my mom's house on Saturday, I took a picture of our tree.

Who's back there?

Hi Powder!

Last year, M and I decided to exchange ornaments each year.  This year, I bought him a nice, juicy bacon cheeseburger ornament and he bought me a nice, loving ornament.  We both love the ones we got for each other.

My sister, BIL, nephews, Michael and myself all met at my mom's house on Saturday, December 22nd for our family Christmas.  It would be the first time we had Christmas in her townhouse and the first Christmas without my dad.  We met in the afternoon and had some appetizers and drinks.  We had a fabulous sit down dinner of salad with homemade French dressing (same recipe from The Lexington in St. Paul) filet mignon roast, cheesy potatoes, green beans and cheddar bay biscuits (same recipe as Red Lobster).  During our dinner, we said a toast to all of those that aren't with us anymore, which of course made some of us teary-eyed.

After cleanup, we sat in the living room and opened presents.  There were so many presents there that it was hard to believe there were only for 7 people.  Colton enjoyed tearing open the presents but didn't care so much for what was inside.  He was just interested in the unwrapping part.  Keith is quite patient for a 9 year old but still, a kid so he had some eagerness to get his opened as well.  

My mom wraps so beautifully.  Me, not so much. 

My nephew Keith made me a poinsettia and a Native American power shield.  I love that he is gifting me his projects.

I received a lot of nice things but the most sentimental gift was from my sister.  It was the last gifts and Keith, Colton, my mom and myself all had a bag.  Inside there was a teddy bear.  A teddy bear that was made from the material of my dad's sweaters.  When my mom was clearing out my dad's closet, my sister took some sweaters of his and had these teddy bears made.  Each one is different.  It was one of the best gifts I've ever received.  

Keith and Colton's bears-it's hard to see the patterns in this picture.

My bear

My mom's bear

A close second for the best gift ever was from my sister.  Atari Flashback 4.  Ok, maybe not the best gift ever but still pretty cool.  The game console is so small and it has wireless controllers and 75 built-in old school games. It even came with an Asteroids poster.  I am totally going to hang that up in my room. 

I had to take an Instagram pic with the "1977" effect on it.  That was a very good year.

Monday, December 24th was spent at my aunt and uncle's house in Somerset, Wisconsin, which would have been my Gramma's 75th birthday.  The kids are starting to outnumber the adults on that side.  We had a huge spread of food where we just picked and picked and grazed all day.  

Have you ever had this before?

It's a super easy, delicious spread.  Take softened cream cheese and spread it over a plate, pour cocktail sauce over it, sprinkle with tiny shrimp and garnish with fresh and/or dried parsley and spread on crackers.  Easy!

Look at that belly!

My mom showing Colton Baby Jesus

My mom's boss gave me a holiday arrangement.  The picture is horrible but it really brightens up our table/kitchen.

Tuesday, December 25th was, well, pretty sad for me.  We didn't have any plans as a family so that felt weird altogether.  M and I went to the cemetery to see my dad.  It was pretty cold out but sunny.  Thanks to the cross at my dad's headstone otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to find him under the snow.  I dug him out the best I could but the ice was still there.  I talked to him a lot and left a penny for him for his forehead. (A joke my dad would do)  I also brought along the teddy bear that my sister gave me. 

I didn't do much for the rest of the day other than clean up, organize and getting ready to purge some stuff from the house, particularly my closet.  

Look at the glow of the red bows on the wreaths in the sun

The cats playing with their stocking stuffers on Christmas Day-Ok, maybe not playing with them

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday spending time with your families.