photos of merriment

ah, christmas. all of the anticipation paid off and amounted to a wonderful day. my family is entirely too kind to me and i so enjoy just being in their presence. it's like that stage in a relationship when you get to the point of being fine if you're with someone and not talking. that to me is complete comfort. and that's what you get when you're around family.

the week i was home consisted of a lot of driving, shopping, eating and monk. yes, monk. my family is obsessed and i too have joined in the craze. if you haven't seen it, watch one episode. guaranteed love at first viewing.

let us not forget other highlights of christmas which do include the annual gift giving. my sweet dad put together over 300 pages of family history. i can only imagine the time and effort that went into that book. it's complete with photos, personal write-ups and even ads from his childhood. i'm not quite sure how you top that. the only thing that i could think of is if he made a movie that told our family story. i'm pretty sure nicole kidman would do a great job at playing me.

my mom also made a book of family history for us. i love that there's been this "trend" in my family to give gifts that are family history-centered. i really feel as though i need to study up on these people, especially now that i have all of the background so readily available. i was reading through her book and read a story on one of my ancestors joining the church that i had never read before. where has that been?

i simply love going home and regret that i didn't stay home longer. and yet here i sit, two days later, reeling that christmas is in fact over and i am in fact back to "real" life. i laugh at how skewed a perception of "real" life can be. i equate it to being back to work and paying bills and routines when really how much more real can life be than being at home with one's family, celebrating christmas? making memories and laughing and simply being around family, that is what life is about. (insert "business? business? mankind was my business!" from the christmas carol).

my dear dad and the picture of antigua, guatemala that i gave he and carol


no trip home is complete without a trip to good ole cracker barrel

my dad and me with "our" journal that we will write entries in and then mail back and forth to each other


skip-bo. this game took up a good chunk of my sunday. yet with as many rounds as we played, i somehow never won once.


christmas day photo. kent, mom, me, bro aaron and his fiance amanda


this photo's for you, mauri. now we can make caramel apples anytime...