Christmas Day dawned cold and foggy (which is at once both uncomfortable and beautiful). 

Granted, "dawned" for me was 10 a.m., and even then I had people grumpy with me because the kids were ready to open presents at 9 am.

An assortment of grandkids.   I think we
were missing 3.

Pictures done, people stake out places to open presents.

If the carnage on Christmas Eve is bad, this is just gluttony.

Steve records the event for posterity.

Gifts unwrapped, time to play with the toys.   Spencer got a Gameboy.

Jeff provides comic relief.

Haley, Tab and Sam relax before lunch.

Because of my nocturnal schedule and reticence to arrive at the pre-appointed time, my family had to wait for their Christmas Day picture until I arrived.  We squeezed it in between presents and lunch.

My brother is still wearing that damn cap.

See, this is why arriving at the pre-appointed time is way overhyped.  What's the point of getting up early if you have to have a nap later?

Time for lunch!

I made gingerbread cookies instead of a pie this time.  As usual, we had plenty of food.

Some of the family left right after lunch to go skiing.  The rest of us played games for a bit (there's a new family ordinance stating that Linde and I are not allowed to be on the same team; sheesh, you answer six questions in a row right to win the game while everyone else is on the third square and people get grumpy).

The next day . . .

We had lunch at my grandparents' house
(my dad's parents).

My dad and my grandfather and I talked about
genealogy for awhile, which was interesting.  Turns out I have an Irish ancestor along with my Scottish one.

Do they look alike?

The rest of the family played cards.

My brother is the luckiest damn card player I know.   He always wins, even without a sound strategy.

I went out and walked around the farm for awhile with my mom.

The cellar door.  Right out of The Hobbit.

Three generations.

Back at my parents' house the next day, my dad and Haley spend two hours lugging 5-gallon buckets of water into the living room to fill Haley's aquarium.

This is the pile of stuff I unloaded at my apartment.  I'm still not sure where I'm going to put everything . . .