December 29, 2009

We were all up later than usual and I finally got settled in around midnight, only to be woken around 2:00 by Eli's crying.  He has a leg ache occassionally, and all the activity today must have spurred one on.  Needless to say, we all slept in.

Right off the get go, Bayleigh roped Uncle Doug into helping her with one of her puzzle books . . .

while Dave and grandpa cooked breakfast.

I don't know what it is about hands, but I love to capture them doing daily ordinary tasks.  Things that we take for granted every day.  Here is Ron's hand cooking bacon . . .

After breakfast, Eli and grandpa did some exploring, through the binoculars . . .

and then we dove into the stockings.

Like the kids REALLY needed anything else. 

And instead of playing with all his new stuff, he clamped onto Scoop . . . which grandpa and grandma had picked up for less than a dollar at a garage sale. Go figure!

Bayleigh "helped" grandma put the finishing touches on dessert.

then roped her into another game of Old Maid.

Since grandma whooped her at Old Maid, she changed tactics, and "SORRY" was brought out.  Grandma, Doug, Bayleigh and I had a VERY competitive game of SORRY, but in the end, Bayleigh came out the victor.

Bayleigh also "helped" with lunch.  (Do you see a pattern here?)

I made everyone pose for a group shot, since we'll be adding one more to the photo next year. 

On the way back home, I played with my manual focus and I really love the effect in high traffic areas, at night.  So much to draw the eye . . . 

We were all glad to make it home from our whirlwind trip . . . now if we can just make it through the kid's dentist appointments tomorrow.