I wanted to take a Christmas morning family shot. Unfortunately, Shane has read too much Calvin and Hobbes lately.
If he stopped after a couple of times, it would've been funny. He didn't quit even when we got mad, so I accepted this as "good enough."
It was a quiet (and cold!) Christmas morning. Pop is still under his post-transplant quarantine, so we didn't travel anywhere. It was a good way to recover from the prior night.
So the quiet morning was needed. Laura and Amy took the day off, too, so we did barn chores as a family.
I caught a photo of this little lady afterward. We've been seeing her around lately. She bolts if she hears a door open, so it's always from afar. This won't be the last you'll hear of her.
We did have plans for Christmas linner. Carrie made a purple sweet potato pie (no food coloring!).
And we all saddled up to visit Sarah's.
Shane, Lilly, and Wyatt started to run and bounce off walls post haste!
Sarah was at work in the kitchen, but Jason was still outside finishing up farm chores. Carrie offered to help and ran outside (possibly to avoid the noise!).
Naturally, I went with her. Jason told us where he needed help the most and went to it (save the time I stopped for a quick picture!).
Everything was going fine when we got back inside. The kids were still having a ball!
Sarah kept at it in the kitchen, Carrie set the table, and I took photos while watching the kids.
Which mostly meant I took photos.
The kids "took care" of themselves!
I did my best to answer "When's Landie getting here?" a new way each time it was asked. She and Ellie were running late, and the kids wanted more kids to party with! Landie was recently diagnosed with celiac disease, so Carrie baked some special gluten-free treats for her.
The hyper-wild was starting to spill into the dining room when Landie did arrive!
There was much rejoicing.
Eventually, the food was ready and we all gathered at the table.
Sarah's Christmas poppers were a big hit!
This selfie with Carrie is the only picture I got of myself!
Yes, the paper crowns all stayed on.
I was excited when it was time to eat!
The kids were a little too excited and a Wyatt's milk was an early casualty.
After dinner, the ladies gathered to talk life and animals.
Ellie dreamed up a Christmas tree chartreuse platter that she brought to life.
We'd been hanging our for nearly four hours, but we couldn't go home until after presents.
The kids tore into their packages like buzzsaws. It didn't take long!
The dogs missed us terribly. They accused us of being unfaithful after discovering Sarah's dogs' scents all over us (and maybe the ham, too!).
It was great to have somewhere to go on Christmas. Sarah and Ellie are two of Carrie's closest horse friends in the area.
But we hadn't seen the last of everyone yet. The next day, started off like many others. The dogs were active, underfoot, and engaged in some hybrid of playing and flirting.
It was super cold. Eddie sported poopsicles.
And Ellie and Landie dropped by!
Ellie had left their presents at home yesterday, so she and Landie were doing home deliveries today.
Ellie may have had an ulterior motive, as well.
She wanted to meet Felix!
Landie got to run out some of her energy with Shane while the ladies played with the pony.
Shane brings out the energy in little kids. They never sit still when he's around.
Which the dogs were all for. Kila was scared of Landie, but Loki could smell Buddha on her.
He forgot all about chasing Kila's tail and tried to make best friends with Landie instead!
The rest of the day was fairly quiet. I'm trying to remember if we watched a movie together or what. I got this picture of Carrie snuggled up with a selection of our house pets.
And so Christmas 2022 came and went. It won't go down in the books as one of my favorites, but sometimes a low-key holiday helps reset expectations to reasonable levels. In particular, I missed not being able to see my family or go anywhere. We were active enough it didn't feel hollow or misspent, but my favorite Christmas memories always include lots of loved ones! Hopefully, our presence at Sarah's helped make the holiday special for them and their kids.
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