Merry Christmas!

We're wrapping up a wonderful Christmas day in MN. Far too many Christmas Eve/Christmas Day pictures to post on the blog... A few are pasted below; you can also check out some more here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cdavie/Christmas2009InProgress?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyo8InD-86gtQE&feat=directlink

We were in MN this August, but flew home 2 days before Ellis (Nathan's 12th cousin) was born. Betsy took a long weekend trip back to MN in September, but Nathan and I just got see see Ellis for the first time! In addition to having an absolute blast with his other cousins in MN, Nathan has been very excited to see Ellis. Just one of several kisses he has given to Ellis so far...

(Ellis, Christmas Day 2009, ca. 4 months old)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The First Thanksgiving

So it was the first Thanksgiving hosted by our family. I cooked my first turkey, first homemade stuffing, first cranberry sauce, you get the idea. Overall, things worked out pretty well thanks to a LOT of help from various family members. Most of all, the company was terrific. It was a good start to the holiday season.

Cooked the turkey in a bag - thanks for the suggestion Julie and Tim!

Pumpkin pie is tasty!

Nathan's new favorite game - stack and "cut the wood" (cushions)

2009 Christmas tree - before decoration

After...