This is not just a Sunday summary, this is a Holiday Summary!

We had a really nice Christmas Season this year. We went over to the Yost's for dinner (the Sunday before Christmas) and to re-enact the Nativity with all of our our kids. After they all finally figured out who would play who, the adults sat down to watch this event unfold. It was very cute and quite funny, but not exactly how I imagined it might have been on that night long ago. I think the funniest part was when "Mary" "gave birth". Or in other words dropped the basketball out of her shirt, kicked it across the room, and dropped the baby Jesus

into the manger.

Next, we had a pre-Christmas Eve with Todd's mom, Pam. We ate manicotti and opened presents as it snowed outside.

Then, we had Christmas Eve with Jerry and Barbara (Todd's dad and his wife) and family...

They kids got a Wii, and were thrilled, as you can imagine.

We spent Christmas morning at home, seeing what Santa had brought and making a mess.

We got the kids Guitar Hero and then "Rocked Out" all morning. All except for Todd, he got

boo-ed off the stage! And just in case you are curious...Yes, I do Rock!!

Then we went back over to Doris and Mel's for Christmas dinner.





Brandon brought his saxophone, so that him and Mel could play together. They played Christmas songs, it was really neat.

We got a toy guitar for Nathan so that he wouldn't feel left out when the older kids play Guitar Hero. The funny thing is that he really thinks he is playing the game when they are. Well, Nathan decided he wanted to play his "guitar" too. So, him and Mel played together.

Then, he tested Mel to see if he could play behind his head like he had seen on Guitar Hero.

Did I mention that Santa left us a note on Christmas morning? He always leaves US a note. Usually he tells the kids how special they are and how they should be good to each other.

If you are really interested in what it says, just click on the picture.

I think this is what we will ask Santa to bring us next year:

For ALL of our family to live here!!

Me and My "BFF"

My Darling one of these...

Let me get on one of these...

So I could go and visit with these (two)...

I recently went on a little trip all by myself to go and see my Best Friend Heidi and her baby girl Amelia in Oregon.

We have been Best Friends for a long time.

And when she had her first baby, I just had to fly down and see them. Heidi and I are very close and have very similar tastes. And we even end up buying the same things quite often. Well, one evening we decided to get comfy and put on our pajamas. This is a what happened...

We bought these at different stores a year apart!

We went out to eat and went shopping (Ross, of course!) and even got our picture taken with Santa. No, Amelia wasn't there. We just decided to do it, what's wrong with 2 grown women sitting on Santa's lap? We've been good - we even got a candy cane to prove it!

We talked and talked and laughed and laughed. And then laughed hysterically about this yummy dessert I found in her cupboard. Yes, you read the can correctly. This delectable treat is sponge pudding with raisins, canned. And if you look closely, it is microwaveable, you know, just in case you're in a hurry! Did you ever know that Heinz made such a thing?

When I saw this can I thought, "This has "blog" written all over it!" So, I made her pose with it, as we tried not to laugh so hard we peed our pants.

We made homemade candy

Total re-enactment picture, can you tell?

On my last night there, her husband was out of town. And she talked me into putting on our matching PJ's and SANTA HAT'S (only for you, Heidi, would I wear a Santa hat!) and drive around and look at Christmas lights. We stuck the camera on the dashboard, used the timer, and took a picture of ourselves! Aren't we clever?

I took TONS of pictures, with both of our cameras. I told her that I was her own personal paparazzi for the weekend. You know how we all love to take pictures, but are always the ones behind the camera? So, I took lots of pictures of them together. I really had a fun time with them and miss them already! I am happy to report that I got my "baby girl" fix and was able to put my "dressing-a-little-baby-girl-and-putting-bows-on-her-head" skills to use.