Christmas Afternoon

Once we packed up our food, Christmas DVDs and CDs, and gifts, we made the 1 hour drive to Jack's cousin Brad's house.  Jack's uncle and his family were there as well to celebrate the day, and Brad's mom lives with Brad and Wendy so she was quite the jovial host.  The kids took a few minutes to warm up to each other since we hadn't seen  Brad and Wendy and little Mikayla since the summer, but it didn't take long.  It was nice of Brad and Wendy to invite us over.  Wendy grew up in Canada, so she appreciates a good Christmas spread.  Wendy had made yummy sour cream mashed potatoes, stuffing, bacon wrapped shrimp and rice cake appetizers, salad, and gravy.  The main dish was not turkey, but KFC chicken. 

Yes, that's right: we had KFC.  Now, initally one might think this rather redneck and, yes, admittedly, it is a little, but it was not bad at all when paired with all the yummy side dishes.  Brad had a bad turkey experience so hates turkey.  When I heard we were going to have KFC chicken, initially I was like "No way am I going."  But, I put my Scrooge aside and remembered that getting to hang with family was the best part and the food was just a nice extra.  So, I sucked it up and decided to not judge.  It was actually great.  The kids ate the chicken better than they usually eat turky, and I'm sure the cost of the chicken was way less that getting a semi-cooked turkey from the army base (we had to cook ours last year after bringing it home since it was pink on the inside, and the turkey dinner had cost us over $100).  Next year, while we might not order KFC, Jack and I decided that buying a couple of whole chickens and roasting them in our oven might be a great way to celebrate the day.

The after dinner entertainment was superb.  Per request, Dahin belted out a few tunes and Mikayla surprised us all by serving as back-up dancer.  She stole the show--so incredibly cute.

Mikayla truly appreciated her hat.  Not only did she put it on and insist several photos should be taken of her in her new hat, but she walked around with the hat on for quite a while despite the toasty temp in their apartment. I tell you what, it was great to know she appreciated it. I was worried she's be like "what the heck is this? a hat?!? where's the toy?" but she was just thrilled with it.  I had used double strands of yarn to make this hat a good one for outdoor play time and walks.  It gets bitter cold and windy here in the winter.  One of her cousins gave her some new snow shoes and she put those on as well and walked around with the new boots on until nap time. Now that's a kid who appreciates gifts.

Then it was time for some coffee and pumpkin pie.  I have to say, this was the best pumpkin pie I have ever made.  This was mostly due to the crust (so flaky and melt-in-your-mouth delicate), but also due to the fact that I had not tasted my version of pumpkin pie for two years.  Last year, we had the pumpkin pie that came with the turkey dinner from the base, and it was good, but not as good as my pie.  Paired with some vanilla icecream, the pie was so yummy, it was gone by the end of the afternoon.  Those gathered also loved the cookies the kids had made.  Later, the grownups enjoyed some wine and champaign as we watched the 1930s version of  A Christmas Carol my mom had sent me in last week's holiday package.

The kids entertained themselves by playing games, like this game of Twister Santa had brought.  Dahin enjoyed playing with her cousin, who is just as cute as a button.

Later, Tashi resigned himself to the fact that he should use his new bed (a resignation I helped by hiding the pillow and putting some treats in the bed) . He shared his new place with Oliver, who helped keep Tashi cozy by covering him with his jacket as well as blankie.  Dahin's robe was also a part of the cuddle mix.  After a few minutes of snuggling and Tashi kisses, the two fell asleep after a full day of presents, good food, and family. And all was right with the world.