It’s Finally Over

No, not the year…Christmas!!  We just had our last Christmas celebration today and now we are done for another year.  We had a great Christmas but I gotta tell ya, we’re tired.  I would love to write something wise and wonderful to usher in the new year, but the sad fact is, I just don’t have it in me right now.  Maybe I’ll think of something later…like the next new year!!

Tonight we have the two local granddaughters here with us overnight while the parents have a date night.  Don’t think we’ll make it to midnight.  Here’s some of the ways we celebrated Christmas this year.



John was having a good time mugging for the camera as he and Joni showed off the gifts Bekah made for them.  It doesn’t show very well, but she etched the glass on these two jars.  John’s says “Dad’s Snacks” and Joni’s says, “Mom’s Cocoa”
She was very proud of her gift and she did a great job with it.




Then we went to Portland to celebrate with our daughter, Merry, and her family.




Grandson Mike thought the socks we got for his girlfriend, Delany, worked better as ear warmers.



Oldest grandson, Timothy, also got in on the Duck shirt craze.




On Friday we had middle son Josh, his wife, Arwen, and Cailin and Emmie over for a waffle breakfast and another round of gift opening.



Emmie was so happy with the new marbles…. special thanks to Judy for being my secret shopper and sending these all the way from Texas.



Grandpa got some marbles too, but we all know who will end up with them.



Against my better judgment, Grandpa got Emmie the one thing on her list we know would not be coming from her parents…a remote controlled spider.




Around Halloween time this year, we were dropping the girls off at home and I snapped a quick picture of them at their front door.  It turned out so cute and colorful, that we had it made into a blanket for Josh and Arwen.




Today we met our youngest son, Joel, his girlfriend, Annette, Annette’s daughter Sarina, and our two grandsons Brendan and Corbin, at a local pizza parlor for lunch and presents.  Sarina’s twin sister, Olivia, was not there as she broke her arm on Christmas eve and was feeling a bit under the weather.  We sent her gifts home with her mom.




And so … that’s a wrap!!  2011 slips slowly into the sunset and we will hopefully be in bed and fast asleep when 2012 makes its appearance.  Only one more “Big” day, and that is the Rose Bowl game on January 2 and then we will collapse for about a month!  GO DUCKS!!