Ok. .. so I am back.. even if I’ve been hiding out a bit. Coming back from vacation is always a rough transition for me.

My Christmas was a long week filled with family activities beginning with a party on the day I arrived. My uncle steve had a bunch of people over to his house in Appleton. That night my brother and his kids and I stayed over at my parent’s house in New London. The next day was my cousin’s daughter’s birthday party outside of Manawa. Afterwards we headed back to Oak Creek, the suburb of Milwaukee where my brother lives, and that is where I stayed for the rest of the week.

At my brother’s I had a few quiet moments with my nieces, which I treasure, but much of the week was a flurry of relatives in and out of the house. Each night we kind of just slept where we landed, be that a bed, the couch, the floor, a sleeping bag, or an air mattress. I think that everyone in WI is sick, and my niece Jessica is teething so that didn’t really help anyone get a good night’s sleep. I, myself, was sick but only for one night.

Christmas to me is a time to spend with family & close friends and amid all of the hustle and bustle that is what I got to do this holiday so for that I am thankful. I spent a lot of time with my brother and his family and with my parents. I also got to see some of my extended family. My parents are both from big families (both from families with 8 kids) so seeing everyone is always hard to do. Also, Nancy and Josh were finally well enough at the end of the week so that we could spend a day together and they join my brother and I in seeing Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.

My entire family has digital cameras now (digital elphs rule!) so I’ve been sifting through hundreds of photos. Over the next few days I will start to publish them, small sets at a time.

Also, I learned a valuable lesson.. that no matter how tempting it is to skip your flight from Milwaukee to Chicago with a 3 1/2 hour layover in Chicago to drive there when it only takes an hour and to take the opportunity on the drive to stop at the outlet mall in Kenosha, you shouldn’t do it. I learned when I got to Chicago that when you miss your departure flight your entire flight is cancelled. Nice.

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