[Insert some catchy holiday title here]

This [past] year truly went by way too fast!  I know this because I can remember exactly what I was doing this time last [last?] year... and my memory doesn't usually work that well over that length of time!

So, to ensure that I will remember the 2013 Holiday Season, just in case my memory decides not to work so well at this time next year, I'll do a [not really] short and sweet recap.  Perhaps you'll enjoy the craziness that is my life!

Abby and Andrew modeling the hats I made them :)

If you are married, or maybe if you're not, but you have divorced parents, or if you have to work on Holidays, or just because you enjoy the extra drama, you might know a little about feeling as if you're having a custody battle for holiday time.  Long gone are the good ole days of waking up on Christmas morning and magically finding my family and grandparents waiting in the living room.  Now that we're big kids [aka grown ups?] we have the task of figuring out how to be in two places at once so that we can celebrate with all the people who we love.  Unfortunately, Hermione hasn't passed on the time turner [if you don't read Harry Potter then I'm glad you're confused by this reference], so we usually have a 'fake Christmas' with one of our families.  This year we spent 'fake Christmas' with my family in the Tri-Cities on December 21st before driving to Idaho to spend actual Christmas with Dustin's family.

My new Baby!!!
                 And it's fancier than my old one!                      

In my family, a few years back we decided that rather than purchasing one gift for every person, we draw names and buy gifts for one person.  This excludes the kids [under 18 and over 65] so they get gifts from everyone :)

This year, my dad was lucky enough to draw my name.  I say [type?] this sarcastically because I can come up with new things that I'd like to have, or need to have for the house riiiiiight up until about Thanksgiving... then I can not come up with gift ideas.  [Insert pity for Dustin and anyone else trying to buy me Christmas gifts, because I'm usually no help when it comes to helpful hints and ideas]  ~  Thankfully, my dad and mom pay attention throughout the year and knew that I had mourned the lost of my keurig machine several months back.  So along with a few other things here and there, I was given a brand new keurig!!!  Helllllo Chai Lattes, I've missed you!

My other new baby... isn't she beautiful?  :)

Dustin and I also exchanged gifts before going to Idaho [so I suppose we celebrated Christmas three times!] and I was definitely spoiled.  Two of my favorite things he gave me were a new purse that I'd been drooling over for a few months, and tickets to see Brian Reagan in a couple months!



                

On our way to Lewiston, Porter was his usual scaredy cat self and jumped up into my lap [no, I wasn't driving] about 10minutes into the trip.  His present to me included a few new bruises and sleeping limbs.

Didi's Quilt :)

In Lewiston we were lucky to spend time visiting lots of friends and family.  We attended a Christmas Eve gathering with Dustin's extended family where we watched Christmas Vacation, did a white elephant gift exchange and played charades!  The next day we had an amazing Christmas dinner with Dustin's parents and grandma Barbar and pretended that Didi was with us.  I was very excited [and nervous] to give Barbar the quilt I made her for Christmas [Karen got one last year and Didi got one this year, too!], and Barbar spoiled us, as usual.  It didn't take long for Dustin to search out batteries to boot up some of his new trinkets and I couldn't wait to get home and put my jewelry in the beautiful new jewelry boxes she gave me.

Take I

Grandma Barbar and Wolfie!

Karen did NOT like Dustin's beer...

We were also able to see Ryan, Jared and Leslie [spoiler alert: They're pregnant and we're going to be Godparents!!!], the Squires family [plus Peterson], Curtis, Eric and Keicia, Cody, Mike and Katie, Scott and Jamie, and many others ['many others' because I'm sure I'm forgetting a few people... my apologies].

Quenton is doing some serious explaining to Ryan about what's happening!

Many of the above mentioned people were at the Squires' annual New Year's Eve party.  Even Porter was invited and had too much of a good time... let's just say he enjoyed seeing all the girl dogs?  [Note: pictured above: Starsky and Porter, Roxie and Porter]

New Year's day we played lots of games and Karen spoiled us with her home made tacos [quite literally the BEST tacos on the planet.  Be jealous.]

Apples to Apples... less fun when you have crappy cards!

TENZI!!!  New dice game... sooooo much fun!  Fast and Easy, too!

After discovering that Barbar has enough Christmas lights and decorations to light an entire village [Ron was helping Barbar go through her basement storage before preparing to move], we hit the road [this time with Porter staying in the back seat thanks to his new Thunder Shirt!].  We made it back home with just enough time to take down Christmas decorations, enjoy and put away christmas gifts, slightly tidy up the house, do laundry, ignore dishes, run some errands, visit cousin Koa, play monopoly, pretend we don't have to go back to work tomorrow and blog about about our very own Christmas vacation. :)