And so it begins. Thankfully, I have older children now who are able,
and willing (!)
to help me in the kitchen.
Mark, making an entire apple pie himself (complete with carmelizing the apples).
Hannah, making an entire cheesecake by herself. Wow!
Peeling the potatoes. This is obviously NOT Mark's favorite activity of the day.
Real whipped cream. John makes it best!
We couldn't go outside to take pictures due to the crummy weather. So, we tried it inside.
John generally has a hard time smiling for the camera. For this one photo, I think I captured his real smile. I should have known I just needed to get the two girls on either side of him.
Okay, I'll only say it once. I sure miss Ethan!
However, Mark leaves me with no absence of laughable moments :-)
On to the Tree Hunt...
Glo, deciding to forgo the traditional Christmas head wear, chooses a "Reggae" Christmas...
Thankfully, due to health concerns (basically my body is falling apart), John picked the trees closest to the parking lot. No 2 mile strolls to find the perfect tree this year.
Mark pulls up the rear with the air guitar, I mean, air saw...
A Charlie Brown Christmas. Wouldn't Linus approve?
The kids and I were all about the photo ops.
Johannah was ruing the day that she didn't listen to her mother and wear a coat when the 35 mph winds were tearing at her reindeer antlers...
John getting frustrated with us and our singing of "Oh TannenBush" in perfect three-part harmony, and our photo ops...
The kids getting scolded by John. If only all those people that call us "The Von Trapp family" could see us now...
Johannah, still ruing the day.... while her mother looked on, laughed and took more pictures
Where is Ethan when you need him? John having to take over in his absence.
A pile of burrs that we wanted to take home and put in Roxy's fur. She's hilarious when she tries to pull them out! We decided to save her the inconvenience.
John always smiles when Aris is around.
All around, a great day. Now onto the decorating!
My goodness, what great photos! I love them all, but the one of all of you in the family room does look not quite right without Ethan. Oh, and I like your new blog background too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you guys had a fun holiday. Does Mark's hat hint at his college choice? :)
ReplyDeleteWell....
ReplyDeleteMy mother who lives and works in Ann Arbor gave that to him last year. He wouldn't be at all disappointed if that's where he ended up. We shall see!