Friday, January 04, 2013

Christmas in a nutshell. And Welcome 2013!

Whoa.  So that was a bit of a bloggy break, huh?!

Happy New Year, dudes!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, spent lots of time with family & friends hollying & jollying, and that 2013 is being good to you so far!

I never intended to be absent from the blog for this long, but… it was a busy time!  Christmas gatherings, so much food, lots of time spent watching movies and reading books, hanging out with my nieces and nephew… it was a wonderful break!  But now I’m looking forward to catching up with all of you – I’m sorry I haven’t been by to see you guys in so long!

OK.  So.  First of all… Santa rocked.  (Or, I should say, my brother-in-law, Chris, rocked.  He drew my name in our Secret Santa exchange.)  I got a several of the items from my Wish List (including CK perfume, The Big Bang Theory Season 5, a car adaptor for my iPod, and Rock of Ages on DVD – he explained that he just COULDN’T get me Magic Mike. Understandable. Also, my momma disobeyed the Secret Santa rules and got me a panini maker, the book Dead Man’s Hand, and she knit me a scarf, hat, and mitts.  She is forgiven for breaking the rules.) – so yeah, I was one happy kid on Christmas morning.  Thank you, Chris & Mom!!

You know, there’s just too much to tell you about in just words.  I think it’s time for a holiday photo dump.  Here we go…

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Christmas Eve Cutie Cousins!  We told Caden & Danica to watch Neve’s head – so of course, it looks like the babe’s in a headlock! lol!

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This is our Young Family traditional Christmas Eve party at Patti & Randy’s – here’s Uncle Garry singing for the littles :)

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The ladies showing Cousin Jim some love!

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With my Uncle Garry, one of the best guys I know!

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Tessa, Tiff, Brando, Benny & Jumbotron!

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The adorable Kayla & Ben :)

Yes, folks.  The Coconut Song is alive and well.  Although this may be the strangest version I’ve ever logged on film… it captures some of my family members & neighbours at their finest, to be sure.   Danny appears to be blurting out curse words and Jaime is trying to shush him.  For a while, I think I’m singing all by myself.  And then Ben jumps in with some serious enthusiasm.  My only regret is that my memory card ran out and all I have to show for it is this wee snippet.  Enjoy.

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Santa’s a good lad…Nothing makes me smile bigger than seeing the gifts under the tree Christmas morning!!  It always kind of takes my breath away.  We are blessed!

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Our adorable little Elf Baby

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A 7-year-old’s excitement Christmas morning is priceless…

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…and so is the magic of a baby’s first Christmas!

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I just love this pic.  The Christmas morning hustle & bustle makes a wee one sleepy!

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While my brother and sister were off Christmas Day to celebrate with their in-laws, my mom & I headed for my Aunt Marion & Uncle Eric’s to have Christmas dinner with the Draper family.  These two little guys are brothers Gordie and Will, and they were begging someone to take their picture while they posed by the fireplace.  I didn’t hesitate to oblige! ;)

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On Boxing Day, we had our family dinner at Mom’s.  This was Take #1 of a family pic – Danica refused to look, Chris’ eyes are closed, Kara & Neve aren’t looking, and Caden is SERIOUSLY pissed off about something! LOL!

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Take #2 was a little more successful!!

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Princess Danica

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My brother and his baby

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Caden making Baby Girl laugh :)

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Danica & Neve showing off their flexibility lol!

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics from New Year’s Eve, but it was a fun night as well – a little more low-key than I’m used to (No, Sadie didn’t even show up) – but fun all the same!  My sister’s birthday is NYE, so she came up to Mom’s with the kids, and we invited some people in to play cards, have some snacks, and a few drinks.  We had a great time!

On New Year’s Day, this was the scene on my mom’s front lawn…

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Due to the snow we got during the Christmas holidays (yay!!!), my mom’s shrubs in her front yard were suffering from the heavy weight of it – so she sent Danica out with a broom to sweep the snow off them.  She took her job pretty seriously and did an admirable job! haha!

Well…that about puts a wrap on the Holiday Recap!  I have big things going on already for 2013… details to come next week…

Happy 2013 to all of you!  Best Wishes for the New Year :)

11 comments:

Nicole said...

Oh yey, you didn't fall off the face of bloggy planet! :). Looks like y'all had a fabulous Christmas. I'll have to check out the video at home on my internet there! Great photos girly!

Sheena said...

I got Big Bang Theory Season 5 and Dead Man's Hand too! :)

Nicole said...

I do know that song and if that was you I heard a lot... you have a lovely voice!

Stacie said...

She's back! Looks like you had a great Christmas. Happy New Year!

Carly Ann said...

Ooooh a panini press! I'm jealous!

Nancy said...

I missed you over the holidays. Glad everything went well, and that you were spoiled for gifts. Lovely photos, thanks for posting them!

LeeLu Creations said...

Looks like your holidays were great! I've gotta get back into taking pics!

Welcome back.

Anonymous said...

Wow. What a great post! So many happy moments and smiling faces. ALL beautiful, handsome and out right ADORABLE! I loved the video. It made me smile - a lot. Glad to see you're back. You were missed! :D

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas!

Nancy said...

Oh, Jillian, I should never have watched the video....that frigging coconut song is stuck in my head. It was a fight to get it out when I was trying to meditate yesterday. I really like how dressed up everyone was...Uncle Gary looks great in his suit. Lovely pictures!

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