Christmas Eve 2015

My sister, Diane, invited us to her house for a Christmas Eve dinner this year.

I am always glad to be invited anywhere because it means I don't have to cook!

Diane's house is extra fun though because she has lots of activities for people to do...

kids can entertain themselves on pool, ping pong, movies, video games and even swimming!

No chance of anyone claiming boredom at her house.

Yay!

Both Ryan and Carter had to work so Frank and I went up alone and they came up after work.

We are feeling more and more like empty nesters these days.

I made my homemade pita chips to go with my "amazing party dip" (yes, that's the name of the dip) that I make every year...

and could not find the recipe for the dip.

I know basically what goes in it but not the amounts.

So I found a similar recipe online that I decided to try.

It was also quite tasty but we arrived at the party a little late and everyone had already been gorging on artichoke dip.

So I had quite a bit leftover which I will have to "force" myself to eat.

We talked and laughed and exchanged a few gifts.

Diane's kids opened their Christmas pajamas.

It was a nice evening together.

We missed our parents and our other siblings though.

Someday I hope we can all be together for Christmas!

Doneen gave each of us a beautiful loaf of homemade bread

.

As Dion took this picture he said, "That's creepy. Don't do that"  So I had to include it here. Of course.

Trying to be normal.

This is my niece Jenna.  She is awesome.  We both look a little insane here.

cousins

Diane is in her Christmas pjs. I was jealous. I was in my too tight jeans (darn party dip).

The men doing dishes.  I love it!

The snow was coming down as we headed home and was quite heavy on our side of the mountain.

It made for a pretty, if slippery, ride home

I made Frank stop in front of our house so I could get this picture.

Then, we had our traditional Christmas Eve activity

of reading the Christmas story from the bible

and opening new pajamas.

 Carter wouldn't model his pjs but Ryan was game.

I tried to get a few pictures of the gorgeous snowy neighborhood without actually leaving my covered porch.

This was at about 11:30 PM

The lights along my walkway are totally buried and look pretty cool glowing under the snow.

As I was taking the outdoor pictures, Carter informed me that I had a "gift" under my outdoor tree.

It is sitting just outside our back door on our covered porch...so not exactly a normal spot for an animal to go.

Nevertheless I have a lovely pile of poo on my tree skirt!

EW!

One last picture of the tree and the snowy outside in the wee hours of the morning.

I enjoy sitting by myself by the glowing tree in the early hours of Christmas day.

It's so peaceful and beautiful! 

And the snow makes it even more gorgeous.

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days.