christmas with the family

holidays with my mom's side of the family has always been loud and fun (in that order) and this christmas didn't disappoint! my mom is one of eight children and my grandparents are still alive and kickin' at the ripe ages of 84 and 89 so that can make for a lot of people. we had 24 people this year who like to have a good time and laugh together. (two of my uncles are in the middle east working - one in afghanistan and one in kuwait, so their families stayed home. and then, the other two siblings didn't come.)

the men talk just as much as the women. it's a close call as to which one talks the most...uncle buddy, my bro erik, or my dad. matt looses this one. he's the token listener.

 aunt marsha and cousin nichole. i love these two!

nichole's cheeseball was a hit - from the little ones to the wiser ones!

 brody got a baseball glove and tee-balls for christmas. 

paw-paw was the best one to teach brody and matson the ropes. (matson LOVED the glove. i see one in his future.)

this is my me-maw with four of her daughters. it's hard getting a picture of all of them together and 

having all of them pleased with how they look. i like this candid shot of them reviewing for approval.

reesey was asking her great me-maw for help to get one of the other kids who was locked 

behind the stair gate. i love that i caught this sweet moment.

 everyone hangs in the kitchen.

 jokes by paw-paw in the kitchen. the jury's still out debating whether it was an appropriate joke or not.
he sure did get everybody!

 thankfully the bar is long enough for everyone.

my mom has a game tradition. she always hosts some fun game for us to play by family groups
when christmas is at her house. this year it was "guess the christmas carol" or something like that.
the smarty uncle buddy won.