mia famiglia

Celeste hosted a "celebration" dinner for the Campassi family that had gathered in town for Uncle Lou's funeral. The Campassi family is Kenny's maternal grandfather's family. Kenny's grandfather, William "Willie" Campassi, was Uncle Lou's brother

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{Kenny and Celeste in the kitchen.

Check out those cute shirts.}

{Kenny and I before dinner.}

{Kenny helping out.}

{Doug and Uncle Roland}

{Kelty & Denise, Uncle Lou's granddaughter & daughter}

{Kelty and Aunt Margaret, Uncle Lou's sister}

{Denise and Aunt Evelyn, Uncle Lou's sister}

{Ronnie, Kenny, and Denise}

{Carly, Celeste and Ronnie}

{Chuck and Aunt Margaret}

{Celeste and Uncle Roland}

{Carly and Celeste}

wise guys

[photo by Celeste]

In honor of Uncle Lou Campassi

The boys decked out in their cold weather funeral attire.

With temperatures the lowest this area has seen in a while, everyone was looking for enough clothes for the day. Temperatures were in the single digits with wind chill below zero. Look at those wool overcoats and cool little hats. They would have made Uncle Lou proud!

my room rocks!

Carly loving her new room :o)

christmas in silver city

random moments Christmas morning in Silver City

[Kacey & Robert sharing the couch with all their loot]

[Gabby got new jewelry]

[show and tell during a refreshment break]

[Carly and Finn visiting]

[Kacey helping Dad get his new computer set up!]

[Buck having too much fun!]

the first {sorta} snow of the year

Carly wanted me to go outside with her in the "snow". So we bundled up and headed out. There wasn't much snow but enough to make snowballs from flat surfaces. She wanted to have a snow ball so fight. So we made a deal. She could try and hit me in the back with snowballs and I could take pictures of her. She hit me with several snowballs and I took a couple of pictures most of which looked like.....

wordless wednesday

countdown box - door 25

inside door #25.....

"If I were a present and I wanted to hide, I probably wouldn't want to be in the cold outside.

I could hide under a bed but that would be a tease. I would probably be somewhere I could freeze."

In the freezer it said....

"It was just a joke. In a freezer, I might expire. I'm a sucker for warmth, I like a good fire"

In the fireplace....

"You are just silly! I would burn up in a fire. In that green cast your foot sure did stink. You might find me where you clean up - under a sink"

Under the sink....

Well, I'm not here either but you are catching on fast. Did I tell you how much I like to mow grass?

On the mower....

You are oh so close. I'm not very far. I'm in the _______ of the _____! {rhymes with skunk and jar} Hint: Groceries love it. So do lawn chairs.

and in the trunk of the car......

here comes santa, here comes santa

I love Santa. I mean who doesn't love the fun of Christmas morning full of traditions and surprises and SMILES. A couple of years ago, Carly declared on Christmas morning "I know this is from Santa because mama would NEVER buy this!"

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This was our first year when I know that Carly "knows" but I think she has taken the mindset "if you believe, you receive". I wasn't sure what it would feel like with this new knowledge but she was content with the way things have always been. Although later, she came up and gave me a big hug and said "thank you". I asked her for what and she said "just thank you" What a little stinker!

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At our house, Santa leaves some gifts unwrapped and others wrapped. He wraps in "santa" paper and sometimes uses those stick on bows. It always looks very different than the other presents under the tree.

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Santa frequently leaves a couple of items out that can best be described as "for-the-easily-amused". This year he left a make-your-own rubber band ball, a gecko webkin [named Geico Gary or GG for short], and a set of flower pots with 12 bouncy balls to be used to play the bouncy ball game.

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Carly got several things for her room. That cool adjustable lamp, a magnetic board, a pink garbage can, funky pillows for her bed, a rug for her bathroom and new sheets with peace signs on them. Kenny wasn't sure if these were "santa" worthy but Carly was more than excited about it all. In fact when we got home from mom & dad's and got it all set up and cleaned up, the first thing she wanted to do was to show it off.

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There was also this towel wrap. I had to use this photo because she was amusing herself by putting it on but then declaring that usually she wouldn't have on her pajamas. Her sly little grin is precious but you can't see that it has a big "C" appliqued at the bottom.

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Natasha and Julie also got a set of matching Christmas pajamas that coordinated with Carly's set. I also missed they had cute matching fuzzy slippers. Santa's elves are so clever!

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more Christmas eve

{oh, I was there!}

{Kenny read to us}

{Carly opened her traditional 3 Christmas eve presents} {MamMam and G'daddy enjoying a quiet evening of Christmas fun} {Carly opened her nativity piece for this year. She got fence pieces to go with the stable.}

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{super cute Christmas pjs}

christmas sugar cookies

Christmas eve afternoon included cookie making.

Earlier in December, Carly went to a cookie decorating party at a friend's house so I asked her did she want to skip the sugar cookies this year. I think she was slightly offended that I even suggested it. She was also insistent that we wait until later in the day so everyone would be there!

It was cold and rainy. A perfect activity to fill the afternoon.

Just like Carly wanted, we got everyone involved. Mom and Dad arrived. The bank closed at lunch so Kenny got home early. I bought a couple of different cookie cutter shapes to add to the selection - a cross and a stocking. I think the star and tree were the most popular this year. Next year I need to check into widening our color options. Although toward the end Carly and mom had collaborated on a purple stocking.