Family Flashback – New Year’s 1998

This year marked Zack and Andy’s first New Year’s party. They had lots of fun playing games, eating treats and trying to stay up until the new year.

  Unfortunately they didn’t make it until midnight… :o(

It’s too bad because we really did have fun bringing in 1998! ;o)

Christmas in Seattle

Friday was our final family Christmas for 2012… We met at Aunt Margaret’s place for some good  eats and fun times with family!

Zack got to open the first gift of the day; his graduation quilt handmade by Aunt Margaret. It turned out gorgeous!!!

We counted down the minutes until Sarah arrived and we could open gifts… ;o)

The boys had lots of fun with Ben and with some of the fun gifts they got!

 

 

Especially the bug-out bags from Uncle Tom!

Both Leingang brothers got light-up gifts from their mom.

Chris got this pretty solar-powered lamp…

Tom got this funky light-up Christmas ornament…

There were also a whole lot of fun handmade gifts (by the givers or someone else…)

indoor fire pit with rocks and fondue pot fuel

This quilt art is gorgeous!

       I can’t wait to figure out these napkins Cindi made!

I got stuff that I love: old stuff and kitchen stuff! :o)

Since real gas masks weren’t enough… Andy got a gas mask camo coat! :o)

A Very Sausage New Year

It’s our family tradition to get together with the McMurry family every year on New Year’s Day. This year school starts on the 2nd for the McMurry clan, so we got together to celebrate a bit early. This year’s theme was sausage!

We picked up 80 pounds of pork butt and made our own 7 varieties of homemade sausages! Wow!

Spicy Italian seasonings

into the mixer

grinding more pork

 

making link sausages (no jokes please!) LOL

NO! We didn’t eat all 80 pounds for dinner! Our fridge is full of over 40 pounds of sausage and smells like a German deli… ;o)

It was a very fun evening! Now we just have to decide what kinds to make next time???

Christmas Day

I sent the boys to bed at 11:00 on Christmas Eve. Santa was just too tired to stay up late. They vowed revenge, swearing they would get up early and wake us up by jumping on our bed! (Which, by the way, they’ve NEVER done their whole life!)

But we foiled their evil plot by getting up before they got the chance… LOL

Before hitting the presents, we made some hot cocoa & pumpkin spice chai. Yum!

Then it was time to see what was under the tree…

But first, stockings…

Ok, you can look at the gun first… ;o)

 

Then it was time to open gifts…

It’s hard to look like a tough survivalist in a Snuggie… LOL

  

Maybe the Survival Manual will help???

Andy was excited about the frames before he even got the Dr Who posters!

Zack got a comfy desk chair! He may never come out of his room now… ;o)

    All of the boys got an air soft mask…

Zack got everyone gifts this year now that he has a job…

a camera case for Will

  

a PS3 remote for me because I hate using the game controller to watch movies ;o)

an iHome for Andy and ammo for Dad

Dad got some fun gifts: a camelback & walking sticks (he wanted one after going to Hawaii)

I fixed the lamp he’s had since before we were married…

Will got him a cargo bar for the truck. That should really come in handy!

Andy got him a chemistry model kit. You’d think it was an actual toy they were having so much fun with it…

Like father like son…

     William got the Lego Bible (pardon the nudity on the cover) LOL

Christmas wears you out and leaves a bit of a mess…

We spent the rest of the day putting things away and watching the newest Bourne movie we got from Santa!

Then we went down to Portland for dinner at my parents’…

   Yup! It was a very Merry Christmas!