Christmas Day Magic

Christmas Day dawned bright and beautiful--the warmest day in the forecast by far.

And so, Jason and I slipped away to go for a run while Talia took Pickles for a wander.

Invigorated by the easy breathing at low altitude, Jason went for a full ten miles, making his way along some beautiful shoreline.

I only ran half the distance but still discovered some lovely views.

Northport's idyllic Main Street.

The Christmas tree created by the local fishermen was smelly but fun.

Of course, this incredible home is the best sight of them all.

Arriving back at Woodbine Avenue, we were delighted to discover that Katelyn had brought Willow to make friends with Pickles.

Looks like Anders would like a puppy ride!

Because you can never have too many dog photos.

Or Nettie photos.

Speaking of photos, we gathered everyone for a family photo just as the sun was going down. We maybe should have started earlier so there would be a bit more light. But just for the record, from back left we have Jason, Brooklyn, Talia, Eli, Adam, Callie, Papa Kay, Willow, Katelyn, Ryan, Jeanette, NomiAnn, Eila, Annika, Alesia, Janet (Front row) Kara, Rebecca, Greg, Snowman, Anders, and Pickles.

 

The sunset was beautiful. You can tell we have some sleepy kids though!

I'm glad to have these pictures of Greg and Rebecca--we didn't see as much of them after they caught a yicky stomach bug. No fun!

Not too worry--the rest of the party was about arrive, bringing energy and delicious appetizers. Thank you, LaFroscias!

Oh man, I do love me a good charcuterie board!

Mozzarella tomato basil? Yes, please!

Don't even get me started on the brie. Yum!

Jason's a big fan. He has the best smile!

Family photo shoot round two!  This one is even better because the Aunt Alison and her kids had arrived. Starting from bottom left his time: Anders, Willow, Katelyn, Ryan, Jeanette Alesia, Emily, Alex

Middle row: Adam, Cathy, Kay, Janet, Talia, Eli, Greg, Rebecca, Kathryn, Nick, Alison

Back tow: Callie, Eila, Brooklyn, Jason, Annika, and Kara. Plus, don't forget the two plastic snowmen in Jay's honor!

Silly time! (Except for stoic Uncle Adam.)

Pickles is blushing.

Special honorary photos with the snowman. Uncle Jay garbage picked this snowman on the way to Lake George just so that he could annoy my father. (Papa Kay loves to complain about how awful they are.)

Aunt Alison and my mom join in the fun, letting the snowman be their surrogate brother.

Little did we know that this connection to plastic Christmas figurines stemmed all the way back to Janet and Jay's wedding day. What an adventurous life they had!

I promised Janet that if I posted any wedding photos, I would at least share one with the flower girls. My Mom sewed these dresses for myself (left), Callie (middle) and Catherine. We loved them! Still, it's probably best that Callie didn't have much cleavage.

Speaking of weddings, this is an exciting year for our families. Both of the Katy/Katie cousins are engaged! Kathryn La Froscia is marrying Nick on June 19th and Katelyn is engaged to marry Nick. (Date TBD.) So many congratulations to both couples!

Back to Christmas, the dining room was stunning. I think we had 25 people represening Utah, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and of course, New York!

The food was delicious as well. I love a Christmas ham!

Alison, Kate, and Nick.

Ryan, Alex, and Emily

For dessert there was an amazing collection of cookies, including six kinds of delicious German Christmas cookies that Rebecca's family made. Also, the brownie balls at the top were a fortunate accident. NomiAnn dropped the plate of brownies, so we made these tasty gems instead. Perfect!

Wrapping up with the highlight of our night--the ornament exchange. It was a riot! With no limit on the number of times an ornament could be stolen, it was seriously the most entertaining exchange I've ever participated in. Between Alesia's hand-crafted ornament, Pokemon critters, a hand-painted shell of Northport, an ornament from Madrid, bottle brush forest animals, a campfire, a Swiss Mix, and an ornament filled with wolf-hair, there was something for everyone.

Fingers crossed for something good!

Alesia has a juicy ornament to offer.

But NomiAnn has questions: is that a tomato or a persimmon?

Pinball machine!

Laughs and fun for days! Everyone left happy and exhausted. I'm gonna say--the bar has been raised! We'll never have another Christmas quite like this. Soooo many thanks to the Wells family for hosting us all! I'm so glad we could share this time together.