Christmas Trip 2011

It seems we're always on the road, doesn't it? Or at least that's the main time we remember to take pictures. We headed to upstate New York for Christmas with the Sanderson fam. Twas the first time my parents had all three of their kids home for Christmas in a LONG time... at least five years. This dawned on us as we gathered around the dinner table one of our first nights home. My dad smiled and exclaimed at the miracle of our assembly. Of course we had all been together for the wedding the year before, but such special occasions do not necessarily and did not gather the clan around the family table. Anyhow... We stopped in Wooster on our way to Syracuse visiting a few dear friends, Bruce and Carolyn Beery were, as ever, our gracious hosts. C had some wonderful time with Bruce, especially! Note the Syracuse sweatshirt... she was ready for Mamie and Papa's!

Shortly after we arrived C had a building session with Uncle Dan.

And of course there was some fun with Papa!

And some t.v. viewing with the fam...

And then Christmas morning... Actually, perhaps these pics were taken on Christmas afternoon. Christmas was a Sunday afterall... Mommy preached for Papa as a Christmas gift...

Twas so good to have cuddle time with both Uncle Dan and Aunt Khaki...

And of course there was much playing with new toys. A representative pic...

And a Christmas nap was in order... You can see one of her favorite Christmas presents in this pic, a baby penguin puppet. She ended up naming it Dixie, Jr. despite Aunt Khaki's valiant efforts to inspire a more original name.

It was great to have time with Aunt Lauren and her twin sister Katie and their mom Laurie!

And a special Christmas treat... another chance to blow out candles and make a wish.

Much cuddling with Aunt Khaki...

And we had a lovely dinner a day or so later at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Terry's house. There was an adorable dog to play with...

And marvelous music to dance to...

And generally good times all around...

Aunt Khaki took C for a visit with two of her favorite little girls in Syracuse. They had a kitten which was, I gather, the highlight of the visit!

And of course we had some fun at Uncle Dan and Aunt Lauren's house... C was enamored with a certain pillow!

And we made our way back to Lowville for the first time since leaving. We had a marvelous meal with the Adsit clan. They showered C with gifts, including Fancy Nancy and Bree dolls... C and Kelly got on famously! Not sure why we don't have any pics from the other folks we visited...

We stopped in Pulaski on our way back for time with Cousins Wendy, Patrick, and their kids Ben, Josh, and Gracie. Again... not many pics... and no good ones, but here's one of the girls...

And we shared New Year's Eve with Alisha, Tom and family! A delicious Indian dinner followed by much fun. Logan, their youngest child, was born about four months before C and he and C could certainly be siblings. They were both entranced by the iPod allowing quite a photo shoot.

I will next post a smattering of pics from the amazing photo shoot that Tina Lesley Fox did for us on New Year's Day, but I'll close out the posts on 2011 with just one more solo shot of C from New Year's Eve.

And there you have Christmas/New Year's... in July! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!