HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Lt pic is of some of Brian's cousins, Emma and Mallory.

Pic below is me being an "Auntie" to Elliott and Chas's dog, Maddie.

We had a pretty good holiday season. Christmas was a very busy time with both families. We arrived in town around 6:30pm on the 24th. Before we had our coats off, or the truck unpacked, Brian's mom was asking if we could light the grill to cook the shrimp. Mmmmm...fresh from Seattle thanks to Amy's boyfriend's parents. We had a nice dinner after we took moment to light a candle for Stan. It was very strange not having him there. Brian was the only male present that night.

Christmas day turned out a little different from the usual. Typically we spend it with my family, but Elliott and Chas went to see some family in Sioux Center. So we spent the morning and early afternoon with Brian's family. Then we headed over to my parents' house. Then plan had been to have prime rib, but Elliott had ended up in the ER with severe flu symptoms. They gave him fluids and some meds so he was doing better, but he really wasn't in the mood for food. We still had a pretty fun evening, but left early so he could go to bed. Then the fun really began. Donna's brother, sister, and their families had arrived! We stayed up until almost 2am playing Christmas trivia, singing, and then some were even dancing in the kitchen to ELVIS!!! Yes, there was a bit of alcohol involved, but Donna's family is usually a riot. They all stuck around until Saturday morning, and then headed home in the lovely weather. I was super glad we weren't going anywhere until Sunday am.

Saturday night, the 27th, we got together with my family again to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary, and Chas's birthday. We had the prime rib that night! Mom was pretty excited because it was their 40th, our 10th, and Elliott and Chas's 5th in 2008.

After a few days of work, it was New Year's Eve. Elliott and Chas came up to join us. They had never been up to our house before, and we had a great time. A Fabulous comedian, Jeff Dunham, was performing in Minneapolis. I laughed so hard I cried. After the show we headed home, ate some snacks, and rang in the New Year! I'm amazed I made it that late to tell the truth. The next day we slept in, watched some football, played some pool, and just spent some time together. The four of us haven't really had much time just the four of us. It was nice to catch up a little. They are hoping to move back to Iowa, and so are we. It would be nice to see them a bit more often.

Well, that's our holiday season in a nutshell. Hope everyone else had a nice time too.