Pictures

Merry Christmas 2004! This year it was all grown-ups at my parents' house. My nieces and nephews stayed home to start their own family traditions.

We still had lots of presents to pile under the tree though. Yippee!

One of the nice things about Christmas as a grown-up is that you can buy yourself the things that Santa didn't get you. This was my personal Christmas tree in my house - it has a few presents for me under it.

Christmas decorations are fun to take pictures of.

This year I decorated my tree with animals. I'm a little weird that way, but I loved it. (Another benefit to grown-up Christmas... you can be as odd as you like.)

Didn't think the moose was weird enough? That's a panther that is.

Back to the family traditions. This is Christmas Eve Dinner. We're a little old for re-enacting the nativity scene (which we did when I was younger) so we have an ancient israeli dinner by oil lamp light and discuss the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas morning we all gather in Mom and Dad's room as soon as we wake up. Devin and Susan seem to think it's time to go open presents.

Mom and Dad aren't so sure. (But please note that it's light outside in that previous picture, so it's not all that early.)

Devin is in optometry school. So for Christmas he got a lot of neat optics things. About this particular huge set of lenses, he said, "I sort of know what it's for but I don't know how to use it yet." But that's why he's in school. Apparently they needed a set like this to practice with.

Susan got presents too - here she's opening the lotion and smelly stuff her husband gave her.

Jordon is already enjoying his new pillow as Mom holds up a picture I gave her - she's sitting on Santa's lap telling him her Christmas wishlist.

Dad got lots of presents too. His birthday is a few days before Christmas, so he really rakes it in this time of year.

I got presents too, but I conveniently forgot to get pictures of myself having just rolled out of bed in my jammies.

Dad displays the time-honored tradition of putting on every wearable present you get.

Now it's time for breakfast - Dad cooks! Yummy bacon and eggs and toast (though Mom helped him out this year with the toast.) After nearly 40 years of cooking Christmas breakfast he's gotten really good at it. Eggs any way we like them!

After breakfast we play with our presents. Mom sat down and read this book pretty much all day. Go Mom!

We also put together the traditional Christmas puzzle. This one was deceptively difficult. Many pieces would fit in more than one place, but only really belong in one.

The boys went out and played with Jordon's car and the new part he got for it for Christmas. Susan took a nap (not pictured).

Traditional Christmas dinner - with ham and everything. Yummy.

Lovely Christmas sunset. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

It just got prettier and prettier.

You were warned. Lots of pictures. I'll spare you the rest.

Did I mention that Christmas decorations are fun to take pictures of?