Christmas 2011
had Christmas at my dad's house. some things remain constant and some things have changed (same fancy table setting, new wife and house).
his fried turkey was as good as ever. we realized how my thanksgiving turkey was not nearly as good as it should have been.
the kids enjoyed running in his big flat back yard, he did not enjoy the dirt they tracked all over his new flooring.
with his new wife, we get new step family. we are all grown and have family of our own, so nobody used the "step" word. it's great having some fresh faces around the christmas tree, after a brief time to get adjusted to looking at the new people/family over a good meal. we've all done it before, no big deal.
you know he had to get some pickles.
#1 son got sidetracked by a game of strategy with someone new. he completely forgot about his stack of presents yet to be opened.
then he walked away from the whole present opening event... left his stack there on the floor. he only opened half of them. that is how much power the game has over him.
this was the first christmas #2 son had a good handle on the situation. he really enjoyed every gift and all the people/family around
all three kids received portal 2 related shirts. he had to put his on right away, and he requested it every day since.
everybody got what they asked for and more. they've been good kids.
they put a lot of work into this layered peppermint cheesecake recipe found from southern living. I'd say they did a great job recreating it.
there is a new xbox and kinect at my dad's house for christmas. we spent 36 hours oscillating between burning calories by jumping over virtual logs in a virtual raft so we could return to the real buffet and intake more calories.
kat and I braved the cold to go check out the neighborhood.
as the sun set, the champagne cocktails started to flow. that first bottle went fast, what? you have a second, well if you insist.
and #2 son had a blast with a remote controlled hand. it even climbs the wall.