Christmas Day 2011

Christmas Day started off with Benny running down the hall at 3:00 am.  The boys later told us they were up from 1:00 am onward.  Not sure I believe that, but those kids were sure tired.

At 7:30 am, after being up for a couple of hours, the boys woke up George and our Christmas festivities started.  Later that day we headed into Portsmouth for Christmas dinner with my family.  We had a great time and ate way too much good food!

Here are some of the highlights:

Benny and his big gift!

The latest addition to my nutcracker collection.

It is not Christmas without a Steeler jersey!

George in his new hat working on a puzzle.

And playing Scrabble...a present for the boys.

And how can you not like Seinfeld Monopoly?

The Sofarelli sisters.

And some Christmas Day football!

Benny played a little Jingle Bells for us.

Jacob's shirt tells you when there is WiFi available!

Michele and Rick.

Elizabeth and the sock monkey!

Christmas Eve 2011

For the last five years or so, we have celebrated Christmas Eve at our house with my in-laws.  This has become a tradition now.  Grampy, Grammy and Aunt Stacy are regulars and sometimes George's brothers join us depending on their plans for the holidays.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed some great company, good food and way too many presents.  We also started a new tradition and Grammy read The Night Before Christmas to us in front of the fire.  (We had wanted to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas but my organizational system failed me and we could not find that book on Christmas Eve.  We have since found it!)

Usually George and I are up until the wee hours of the morning making final preparations for Christmas Day - wrapping presents, washing dishes, etc. but this year we were done by 10:00 pm.  How nice!

Here are some pictures from the day:

My Christmas Eve table.  George made the birch candle holders.

Grampy and Aunt Stacy before we dug into the gifts!

Dinner time!

My youngest boy.  Listening to Grammy read.

Popular gifts from Aunt Stacy.

Twas the night before Christmas...

George was pleased.

Stacy and I were enjoying ourselves.

Opening gifts is hard work.

Family shot!

Sneak preview of Christmas Card...

Thanksgiving at our House

We hosted our first Thanksgiving.  My parents and my sister-in-law, Stacy, joined us.  The menu included turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing, creamed onions, rolls and green beans.  For dessert we had apple pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate chip and sugar cookies.

I was a bit stressed out about the turkey and making sure it was not under or over cooked.  I used an internal meat thermometer and an instant read one.  It cooked more quickly than I expected but came out nicely.  George humored me as I fretted with the thermometer and the constant checking and re-checking of the temperature and the placement of the thermometer in the bird.

My mom gave me pointers as I made the gravy.  Now I have that down too.

It was a great day surrounded by loved ones and good food.  We have a lot to be thankful for!

Pulled out the apron to make the gravy!

Starting the meal.

Digging in!

Cookies that Benny and I decorated.

George, Stacy and the boys.

My parents, me and the boys.

And the boy is 13!

Jacob turned 13 today.  It is hard to believe he is a teenager.  He celebrated his birthday by having four of his buddies sleep over on Friday night.  They played hour upon hour of video games and only stopped when we went for dinner at the Great Buffet!  George even moved a second TV into the family room for the gamers!

On Sunday we had our families over to celebrate.  Here is a picture of the boy and his brother.

Jacob, his birthday loot, and his brother!

Halloween

The snowstorm put a damper on this year's Halloween festivities.  Trick-or-treating was postponed from Sunday to Monday night.  Of course, not everyone knew this so I was the mean lady who had to tell the dozen or so kids who ventured out on Sunday night.  I gave them their candy as I delivered the bad news.

Despite the one-day delay, the town came out in full force and we went through 15 bags of candy on Monday night.  We even had to resort to our "stand-by" bag of gum.

Jacob and his buddies went out on their own this year.  Benny went house-to-house with the Lewis family and Gavyn and Ben did their best to acquire lots of candy.

George enjoyed a special mulled cider he brewed up for the occasion.

Benny as the evil jester!

My boys - Jacob as the Green Skin Suit and Evil Ben!

The days of cute costumes are so over!

Family Visit #2

Last weekend, George's other brother, Colin, came to visit with Amanda, his girlfriend, and her two girls.  We enjoyed meeting the girls, Verona and Amelia, sledding in the October snowstorm and catching up.  Ripley enjoyed Colin's company too but must have missed Phil, his lovable boxer!

Colin and all of the kids!

Verona and her snazzy pajamas!

Amelia.  She likes cereal!

Snow.  Yes, really!

This is what happens after a couple of cocktails.
Ripley does not know what to make of it!

Looking good Ben!

The boys.

Family Visit #1

George's brother Caleb, his wife Stephanie, and their daughter Lyla came to visit a couple of weekends ago.  It was the first time we met Lyla, their 8-month old daughter.  We had a great visit, had a chance to catch up and see the baby!

Caleb, Stephanie and Lyla.

The entire gang!

And my other son...

Yes, I am very proud!

Hot Cross Buns - You know the tune!

I think the kid has some talent!

Brewfest!

George and I went to the NH Brewfest at Redhook on Saturday.  It was quite fun.  George was the designated driver on the way there and I drove us home!  We ran into a couple of guys from George's fantasy baseball league and those fellows were quite entertaining.

I tried several beers - they gave you a 3 - 5 ounce sample of each.  The most interesting one was "Smashed Pumpkin" - another pumpkin brew by Shipyard.  It was a bit intense.  George liked a Double Red by Redhook.

Is this the Smashed Pumpkin?

George was kind enough to hold my beer!

Smile!

George and his former fantasy enemy - Timmy!

UNH Tailgating!

We went to the UNH football game today and did a little tailgating before the game.  Pat, my mother-in-law, joined us too.  We enjoyed some delicious breakfast burritos and mimosas.  UNH played great and easily beat Villanova.

Smiling for the camera!

Trying to stay out of the sun.

George and Mrs. Cook!

I like tailgating!

Benny has his own style!  Note that Jacob has a splint on his finger.
Hopefully it is just badly bruised!

The ladies and mimosas!

Chef George's workspace.