Christmas at Pop's

Saturday morning it was time for Christmas with Pop and Nannie. We arrived just after 9 am and the kids immediately began discussing what they'd all received from Santa and playing with some of their new games. Kylie had brought a couple of board games that they got, so they played for a little while before it was time for presents.

 Presents came after games, and the chaos of wrapping paper and gift bags flying around began. They each got quite a haul! As usual, they are spoiled and loved grandkids.

 It was a good day. After presents, I ran to get the BBQ I had ordered for lunch and picked up some ice cream to go with the cookies that Jason and Heather brought. We ate, but mostly we sat around the table after we ate and laughed, the kind of laughter that makes you cry and hurts your tummy, while the kids played in another room. It was great and probably one of my top 5 moments of the year, because we were all happy and in the moment. No one was worried about Dad, and I think for just a few minutes Dad wasn't even worried about Dad. There was no cancer, no mass sitting at that table. So it was good. We all needed that.

Before we all packed up and parted ways, I took a series of family portraits because we needed a new one of all of us. Kate was not pleased with the process and this is about the best shot we got of her, but it's memorable and honest. AS we were packing our cars, Jason and Nick couldn't help but break out the frisbee. It's kind of a tradition for them to throw the frisbee around when they're together, so despite the fact that it was really cold outside, they just had to get a few minutes of playtime in.