Thirty of my favorite people were in my house today! All of my sibs, their kids (minus one), my mom and dad, and my aunt were here.
We did the smart thing (thanks to my morningpersonhusband) and brought the family to early Mass which was not obnoxious and overrun with Chreasters. It gave us some extra time to tweak the cleaning job we'd been working on since Friday night. I love having events and parties here because it forces me to do all (or MOST) of the things I've been putting off in the way of organizing or shaping up the house.
Mom and Dad provided the ham, the paperware (which was very convenient! I only had to do a half a load of dishes when everyone left!), stuffing, and 3 deserts. Nick and Deb brought homemade pickles (I ate about 10 of them), olives, rolls, and cheeses. Nellie and Pete (well, NELLIE did...but she said that Pete and the kids helped by critiquing the first batch she made for them to test out the recipe) brought a huge tub of potatoes, YUMMY! Uncle Rudy brought the stuff from Mom and Dad and some pop to boot. Anna brought her Easter Bunny/deviled egg making abilities. Trine brought the PW salad that was so pretty (and a HUGE hit, even with the kids!) that I had to take a picture of it:
Here are some more pictures of the day and a video at the end. Katrina and Matty complain about being the oldest cousins but it's so nice that they are looked up to like they are. Katrina is like a nicer, more patient mom to them and Matty is their lego hero who makes them stuff.
Thoughtful Bubby (refusing to give his "Auntie Yoda" a smooch. Hmph, I'll get him later!)
Pretty Trina
Wigglemonkey Kids...
...That drive Auntie Nellie to DRINKIN'! (Heehee, not really!)
Sheesh, no wonder we hardly ever get family portraits taken around here!
Bubby and Cia Share Some Treats
My baby brother, Nick (Taken from my ACTUAL point of view! I was brushing by him in the kitchen and marvelled at how huge he is so I snapped this shot of him from waaaaay down where I live.)
The Lunch Line
"IwannaseeIwannasee!"
Uncle Pete shakes his fist at mother nature and shouts, "SCREEEWWWW YEEEWWWWWW!" by starting a collection of wild, Hawaiian shirts and not wearing a coat. In Minnesota. In 30 degree weather. In March.
He and his family will be going to Florida next week.
Little Miss Stinkerpantsinchurchthismorning Looks Like an Angel To ME!
(She was rubbing her eyes right before I took this, but I just love her big blues so I took the picture anyway because she was holding STILL)
More Big Blues
Since I was busy with the baby or wiping up messes, I didn't get pics of EVERYONE so here's a little video of everyone else (Trine's family had gone home by this time.)
