Christmas Part III

A quick journey back up the Grand Parkway and we are back in Katy. Annemarie and I set to preparing the Christmas feast. Sneed and Brett put the leaves in the table and help set it up. Annemarie carefully folds napkins into Christmas trees which adds a festive touch. Brett and Annemarie wile away some time playing Hand and Foot, the game Sneed and I play just about every night. We taught them last night and they are already aficionados.

Erika, Terry, and the children arrive with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows to be browned. I put them under the broiler and went on to other things. Oops! Burnt to a crisp. A quick swipe with a spoon and we reloaded the top and watched them brown and they turned out perfect. Colin and Terry made an apple pie, and Gavin made a pumpkin pie. Adding them to the pecan pie I had made earlier gave us plenty of dessert choices.

When the Christmas repast had been eaten and the dishes cleared away, I suggested we take a walk around the block before starting dessert. Bundled up against the cold, we set forth. Aedin was on a ripstik board, Dylin was breaking in her new roller skates, and Olsin was on his Powerwing scooter. He just about scared us to death when Erika called out, "Car" as he darted from the safe side of the street to the other right in front of said car. Needless to say, he was grounded from the scooter for the rest of the walk and Colin got to enjoy riding it. The rest of us were on foot. I didn't realize that the temperature had plummeted to 39. By the time we made it back to the house, we were pretty well chilled through as evidenced by the progressive photos of Annemarie and Brett as they covered up more and more.

Dylin with her American Girl doll, Molly, that she got from Santa ~ Aedin and the ripstik board

Brett appears to be surprised at the cold ~ He pulls up the scarf over his ears ~ Annemarie soon pulls hers up as well