Favorite Christmas Memories

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe it is already 2008. The last 5 months have really flown by for us. For the year's first post, I thought I would recap some of my favorite memories from this past Christmas. We had a really great time with my parents and brother in Michigan. Our stay was too short, as it always seems to be. Still, we managed to pack in a lot of good visiting and special experiences. Some of the best:

• Watching Alex experience the snow.
• Decorating sugar cookie cut-outs.
• Our traditional pre-Christmas (used to be Christmas Eve, but it has now been moved to the Sunday before Christmas) lamb roast dinner with spiced peaches. This year we shared it with the Burtons, also affectionately know as Grandma and Grandpa "B". Always good to visit with them. Visit my dad's blog for more on what this wonderful family has meant to us over the years.
• Watching "The Polar Express" -- I especially loved seeing how mesmerized Alex was by this precious movie.
• The bottomless cookie trays -- yum yum!
• Homemade chex mix.
• Going to see the model trains at the Henry Ford Museum.
• Reading "Clarabelle the Christmas Cow" on Christmas Eve -- this has been a tradition in my family since about 1985.
• Homemade cinnamon rolls and fresh strawberries on Christmas morning.
• Opening presents on Christmas morning -- Alex really got into pulling the paper off the packages this year, so that made it fun!
• Christmas dinner with my aunt and cousins.
• Family game night -- There was no time for the traditional game of Risk, and we didn't even play Scotland Yard or eucher (a card game popular among Michiganders). We did, however, break in a nice new set of dominoes!
• Playing "Guitar Hero" with my brother -- this game rocks! He has two controls, so we played duets (he played the lead on "Expert" level, and I played bass on "Easy"). I have already told Rusty that when he gets his X-box (a promised graduation gift from my parents), we are going to get this game. It is one of the only games I have ever played that didn't make me nauseous after about 5 minutes (I know, I am a wimp).
• Turkey leftovers (especially Turkey Divan and Turkey Tortilla Soup)
• My mom's awesome home cooking -- notice how many of my favorite memories are food related? I decided this needed a bullet point of its own.

And some pictures of all the fun:

Alex in the snow

Building a car with Daddy at the Henry Ford Museum.

Alex and Uncle "Map"

Alex with Nyanya and Babu

Alex with Mommy and Daddy

Opening stockings

Opening his Brio train set (a gift from Nyanya and Babu)

"The gang" after Christmas dinner

"Speed. I am Speed."