A Very Merry Jolly Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! We drove to my parents' house late Saturday night and had a delicious breakfast and lunch with my family before heading over to Shawn's mom's place for even more food and family time. The only thing that would have made the weekend better would have been a little bit of snow!

I only took a few pictures; family time takes precedence over immense documentation! Here's a taste of our weekend:

So many presents under the pretty tree! I think we all spoiled each other this year.




It's always a good day when you're greeted by this big fuzzball. I just want to fluff him up and curl up in a ball next to him.




Speaking of Kusko, look at him stealthily checking out the ham action going on. It's not the best photo of the ham, but I totally caught those hungry eyes without even meaning to.




Breakfast was croissants and jam, with freshly squeezed orange juice. Lunch was champagne and wine with a plate full of baked ham, mashed potatoes, spinach and sweet potato salad, and green beans. Dessert consisted of a pear and chocolate tart, key lime pie, and a buttermilk pear pie. We definitely did not go home hungry (especially since Shawn's mom made a whole Thanksgiving dinner too!)




I also wasn't kidding about the gifts; this year's bounty put smiles on our faces. A good mix of things we needed (gloves, wooden spoons, a quality chefs knife), things we wanted (all sorts of books, a video game, old navy gift cards, dinosaur related things), and things we never expected (a roku player, a quality chefs knife, and a mini cast-iron brownie pan) - yay!




My new iPhone cover didn't make it into the group picture. It's too cute not to share though!




We also did a gift exchange at work this year. My co-workers must know me well because I got some cashmere pocket hand warmers (perfect for our walks!), a book by one of my favorite authors, a recipe book for cat treats, a recipe box full of recipe cards, and this gnome statue (it even has a squirrel!!). Unfortunately it arrived with one broken bench leg, so we need to glue it back together before he can hang out with the other gnomies.




I'll leave you with a gratuitous 'stache shot. Shawn says I look like Frank Zappa, ha!