Wrapping it up.

The last Christmas cookie has been thrown out eaten, the kids are back in school, and the parentals have left the building.  And finally, after a whole entire week of 2011 has passed, I am getting around to recording the final events in 2010.

There was Christmas Eve. We went for the slightly untraditional--Brown Bag Burgers!  The kids and Grandma and Grandpa Franklin had never had them, so in the name of Christmas spirit, we splurged and everyone had delicious burgers and fries.  We did stick with the traditional Christmas cookies for dessert.  Never fear.

There was the opening of the "Secret Santa" gifts. This year, not so secret, due to certain people who like to have their noses in everyone's bidness.  Still fun nevertheless.

There was Christmas morning, which blissfully did not start around here until 8:30.  We have trained our children well.

 

There was Christmas Day, spent with the Ryans and the Franklins.  More Christmas cookies.

There was Christmas Night, when Grandma and Grandpa Brooks arrived with Teddy.  There was not a lot of picture-taking, but I am pretty sure there were some Christmas cookies.

There was a piano recital.  Planned by Jill, performed beautifully by the children (they have an amazing teacher!), attended by a handful of family and friends.  Jill is doing an exceptional job with her first go as a piano teacher.  The kids listen to and respect her, and she does the same to them.  She expects a lot of them, but loves to laugh and have fun as well.  If it weren't for her, certain children would have completely given up on playing the piano, I gay-rone-tee.  She put on a lovely evening for all of us.  Cupcakes (not Christmas cookies) were served afterwards.

There was a trip to the toboggan run in the Metro Parks.  They say the toboggans are only 45 pounds.  They lie.  Between the crowds and the gargantuan size of the toboggans, the most rides anyone in our group had was four.  But they were four really fun rides, and most of us would go back again in a minute.  We were pooped, but we refueled with Christmas cookies later that evening.

There was New Year's Eve.  I am so sorry that most of you dear readers did not get to eat what we got to eat.  Jill called it the best appetizer party (our traditional N.Y.E. weapon of choice) EVER.  But I think she says that every year.  Very very yummy.  We played some games, watched Shrek Forever, and broke out the chocolate fountain.  No, we did not dip the Christmas cookies in it.  Although that might not have been a bad idea...

The weather was so lovely and mild that the adults went on the back patio.  It reminded me that we will indeed have spring again someday.

We settled in to watch the ball drop and the living room looked like the Astrodome after Katrina.  People packed in everywhere.  While some adults dropped off, all children over the age of three made it till the bitter end.  Oh wait, there was one who woke up at about 11:57 feeling very uncomfortable from a not-yet-undiagnosed ear infection.  He and his mom rang in the New Year in the other room with some screaming and futile attempts to calm, respectively.  Nothing a little antibiotics can't handle, and January 1st was a happy day for all.

Teddy has no desire to prove he can stay up until midnight.

Are we celebrating the new year?  Or rejoicing that we don't have to eat another Christmas cookie for eleven more months???

And that, my friends, is how 2010 (and all its Christmas cookies) became history.