Merry Christmas!

For many years I've always had a Christmas picture to go along with a Christmas card.  I didn't get one this year.  For one, I was just overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and unprepared to get it all done before we left for Hawaii.  For another...I have 2 married adult children for the first time!  I really didn't know how to handle that.  They are now part of their own little family of two...for now.  I guess it is possible they could be a family of three next year, but I doubt it.  It'll cause me to be just as unprepared next year.

Christmas was pleasant.  My husband did all the Christmas shopping.  I just wrapped the gifts.  I love him for that.  I hate to shop; it ranks the same level as a root canal with me.  We had some unique gifts from Hawaii from Jordan, and we had a dangerous gift from Seth.  It is always interesting here.

The girls were excited as usual.  Jack was his usual calm self.

See what I mean by dangerous?  Seth didn't get this from the kids section, either.  As you can tell, she has already used it to chop some brush away from the path to her fort in the woods.  She loves it.  She wears it on her belt.  I drew a line when we went out to dinner last night.  She had to leave it at home.

Ivy is enjoying getting to know her keyboard.  Eva and Joy play on it, too.

Jack and his sister got into a gunfight in the living room. 

Eva got a new Marine uniform from Jordan.

And since Jordan wasn't with us this year, again, we skyped Christmas Eve and Christmas afternoon.  Her sweetheart is away, so she spent Christmas alone with her dog.  I don't feel too badly for her because she got to go here:

And, to be honest, I am so glad that she didn't take me on this hike.  I do not like heights at all.  I get nervous because all it takes is one stumble and I'm over the edge and gone.  No thanks.  My stomach gets all queasy when I look at these pictures.

And for all those who are sick of my Hawaii pictures, you can leave now....

Still here?  I just wanted to post so Jack's family and friends can see some underwater pictures of the shark cage.  We have a video and I snipped a few pictures from it.

Jack and Jordan are the ones with the black wetsuits on.

The funny thing about this picture is that the men on the boat would throw a red water bottle out to attract the sharks.  I guess that is better than bloody, stinky, chum.  Anyway, the bottle had my husband's company logo on it.  I thought that was funny that this water bottle was in Hawaii.  I don't even have one with his company logo...

Notice how Jordan made sure her feet were not sticking out of that cage?  I don't blame her.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!