A little more low key this year than last ... but the time I spend with them is more than enough celebration for me no matter what we do.

We met at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse for the day ... perfect weather too, which was amazing for January. We saw a movie when we first got there, and then we headed off to an Italian lunch....Birthday cake after of course, and then some walking around the mall while catching up.

Happy Birthday Mickie!



Oh, and Mickie has this thing called "crust" which is the edges of her food, etc. And Bob always picks on her for it...so we sent home her "crust" for him so we took a picture of him with it ... he laughed...so funny.

Besides celebrating Ariana's 7th (no way!) Birthday it was also the last time we'd be seeing Anna before she left for Arizona...bitter sweet.
:(

Happy Birthday Ariana!!!


Look in the bottom left corner of this photo...she STILL carries a stuffed version of Buddy around with her...we gave that to her at least 5 years ago...she still loves it and asks about Buddy. so sweet!



We got her a lot of clothes, but I loved these fun magnets too!





Bye Anna... we'll all be thinking of you as you soak in the sunshine and warmth ... thank you so much for coming home for the holidays ...we LOVE you!

We spent the weekend in Albany visiting with mom and Peter, Carrie, Jim, and Mickie, and my dad. It always goes way too fast.

Here's mom and Peter with their presents...all the kids chipped in to get mom an ipod Nano which she can't stop telling us how much she's loving it ... I got her the armband she's got on her arm in the picture...for portability. Peter had a Harley Christmas...new hat, and shirt!



It was just the four of us this year...everyone was away. It makes such a difference celebrating Christmas with kids...we missed seeing all the babies a lot. Thank you mom and Peter for everything! We love you!
We had a nice leisurely breakfast ... beautiful table...

We got ready and went to see a matinee of "Seven Pounds".
Wow... really really good... mom and I were balling after, but in a good way.

We all helped with dinner, and then Bob and I headed out to visit with Carrie, Jim, and Mickie. We normally go over to the Dutchers to hang, but unfortunately Mrs. Dutcher wasn't feeling very good; I was really bummed because there's nothing like Christmas at the Dutchers ... BUT, there's a Wedding this year!! The son, Chris is getting married in August, and that is going to be a major party; can't wait for that!

So, we met up at a restaurant to hang out for a few hours.
There's the guys...who didn't need to get wings, but who ever needs to ... you just can't help it sometimes...what a pair :)


And us ~ that night went so fast.

The family gave Bob and I a disc of all the pictures they took from our Wedding and I still cannot even believe it. It was amazing to see all the different ones from their points of view...they're family to me so to get so many pictures of them together is such a blessing. They got some great shots...here's some of my favorites:

I think this is the only shot of Bob and I at our rehearsal dinner ... Thank You! I had my camera and I got a few shots, but I just couldn't focus on shooting because I wanted to keep visiting...



I'm so happy to have this shot too! Mickie and Susan helped me carve that morning...it took way longer than I expected...thank you both so much for the help, they turned out great! :)



And the next morning, Mickie and I getting our hair done...great shot!



I LOVE every single picture they took and have way more favorites than this, but want to at least share a few

















Thank you all SO much for these pictures...they are going to make the perfect additions to our album (if I ever find the time to make one). I can't stop looking through these and truly truly appreciate to no end you giving them to us...what an amazing collection of memories!!


The next day it was already time to head back to Rochester...time flies! We hung out with my dad for a while and then we were off. I LOVE you dad! Stay warm in the new Irish cap...you're stylin'! LOVE my book, thank you!!



Back to work...new Years next!
:)

Anna came home from Arizona for Christmas! We were all so happy she could be with us to celebrate the holidays and she was especially happy to spend the extra time with her grand kids, Ariana and Daniel. Before she got to Rochester, Bob and I setup her Christmas tree so when she walked into her home from her long trip, it would be all lit up ready to be enjoyed.
:)We LOVE you mom!


She prepared an amazing dinner as always and the table was beautiful. Thank you so much Anna for everything you do for all of us; we are so grateful.


After dinner, the kids were running all around waiting to open their presents...so cute!















The best part was when the kids opened Mario Kart ... Dan Dan hugged it and hugged it and hugged it running all around with excitement!! Unfortunately we didn't video tape it, but here's a link to hundreds of kids around the world with the same unbelievable excitement.

click here to see wii reactions

After all the excitement, we all settled down to enjoy our traditional oven roasted chesnuts...mmmm!



We spent the next day, Christmas day, together at Lillian's house...I brought sugar cookies over for the kids to decorate...so cute!










We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family ... Thank you all for your gifts, and for another year of treasured memories.