The Last Days of 2014

Anthony and Dominic show off the puzzle the kids and I finished on the day after Christmas.

"Oh, my goodness, this puzzle was full of crazy pieces!"

A great puzzle for Christmas.

That afternoon it was time to try out the new croquet set, given to the kids by Dan's mom.

Dominic was ready to whack that ball.

Anne lined up her shot.

Two days later, Dan's brother and his family came over for Christmas fun.

Fun with cousins.

The girls have so much fun together.

Our little goddaughter.

Kids opened their new Foosball table from their aunt and uncle.

Boys all got lumps of coal (really chocolate, but it was funny).

The next day, Daddy put the Foosball table together.

Learning how to play.

The kids have gotten really good at it (way better than me!).

The next day, Anne went shopping with Daddy, and they stopped at a coffeehouse for a treat.

Christmas Day 2014

Family photo taken after Christmas Mass.

Tried to take photo of kids by Christmas tree at church.

This was mostly the result.

As good as it's going to get.

Chocolate on Christmas is a must!

From bottom left:  Dill pickle spears, pickled carrots, bread and butter pickles, dilly beans (hot dilly beans to the side), pickled turnips, pickled okra, and in the center, pickled beets.  It was gratifying to see summer's hard work in the midst of winter!

Ready for Christmas dinner.

Ham, twice-baked potatoes, and other sides.  Yum!

Christmas Eve 2014

Stockings!

Joseph was thrilled with his new horseshoe magnet.

Christmas Eve morning art session, closely watched by Anthony.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo for Christmas Eve dinner.

Candlelight dinner, complete with reading the Nativity story from the Bible.

Anne was ready to open Christmas presents!

Joseph opened a gift from one of his siblings.

Anne's present from Catherine.

It was great fun to see what the kids made/bought for each other for Christmas.

Dominic got a new treasure.

Anthony got a set of Magnatiles, which he loves to build with. (They have also come in handy in geometry, when studying solid shapes.)

Joseph got rocks and minerals for Christmas.  :)

Anne's new place to store her secrets.

Dominic got new binoculars, and guess what, they are still in one piece!

Legos are always a hit.

Darth Vader made an appearance.

Light saber battle.

Daddy got a gift from Mommy.

My turn.

Daddy got a call from St. Nick, who made a delivery while the kids waited in another room.

Gifts from St. Nicholas.

The telescope, a gift to all of the kids!

Catherine with her cute little Zoomer Zuppy.

Christmas Before Christmas

The weekend before Christmas, we travelled to my parents' house for an early Christmas celebration. All of my siblings were there(except Fr. Brian, who is currently stationed in Germany) with their families. We drove up in our new-to-us Suburban, which we got in the middle of December. Goodbye to the no longer reliable minivan!

Watching movies with fancy wireless headphones, which were part of  the deal for our new car.

Catherine got to play Risk with her cousin Andrew...

...and a word game with Grandpa.

Joseph and Grandma.

All 16 of the grandkids.

Silly picture!

Grandpa and Grandma with all of their grandchildren.

We managed to be smart enough to take pictures before dinner!

Elizabeth, Isabella, Emily and Anne

Clara, Isaac, and Anthony

After dinner, it was time for lots of Christmas gifts.

A chaotic, but fun scene.

There were gifts from grandparents, as well as a cousin gift-exchange.

Dominic and Joseph checked out their new Legos.

We had a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa and all the cousins!