And the madness begins!

So I can't find my camera. Well, guess this post will be without pics.

This last weekend was Steve's family's annual Christmas party. We went down to their place to have it, but all the families were spread out between Steve's parents' house and his brother's house. And the cousins had sleepovers! The girls all got to sleep in a trailer (heated) and the boys all bunked out in Grandpa's shop (heated). Needless to say, the kids had a blast! And parents got a bit of a break in the evening, lol. We went down on Friday, came back after church Sunday, and had a huge party day on Saturday. We had the actual party at the church (which ironically is in-between the two houses we stayed at), and it's a good thing. Lots of room for the kids (and adults!) to run around, play bingo, shoot off bottles on a rocket launcher, shoot darts (with a pressurized gun) at a styrofoam snowman, shoot hoops, and play other fun, fast-paced games. We had a wonderfully tasty dinner and such, which I definitely appreciated even if it was only a week after Thanksgiving (grin!), followed by a gift exchange. All in all, a fun, family-filled day. And couple evenings. We love the family get-togethers so much, especially the kids hanging with the cousins.

And now the Christmas season has officially begun. Yay! Chains links are being ripped off each day, goodies cooked anew nearly every day, doorbell ditching with goodies twice a week, decorations up (that was last week), presents arriving (I love online shopping!), kids playing in our snow, etc., etc. And even though we're incredibly busy and stuff doesn't always work out (do you know how many of the kids' graham cracker houses I had to put back together after they fell apart last night?), I love this Christmasy time of year!! Sometimes I just have to remind myself I'm having fun. But I wouldn't give up a single tradition for anything. I just need to make the toffee today along with the divinity to catch up, lol!