For us, Epiphany (Jan 6th) marks the end of our Christmas season. We celebrate the Magi's visit to Jesus with friends, exchanging gifts over pizza. Yes, a classy celebration known as "Pizza and Epiphany." This year, I'd like to add an Epiphany Cake, using this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
To recap our holidays, I'm doing so with pictures. Not good pictures. They're blurry, most likely taken with my camera and sticky fingers from too many sweets. My real camera sat idle this year, battery dead, in its case. The camera roll on my phone is filled to the brim and it's time it gets "simplified" and goes on a "diet."
So, the purge of pictures begins with celebrating St. Nicholas with my side of the family. We celebrate weeks earlier than Christmas-which makes things a lot easier on our schedule. Typically we dine over crab legs, lobster tails and shrimp. Proven to be too much work, this year we enjoyed traditional lasagna, mushroom lasagna and Grandma Sweethearts coconut ice cream dessert.
The boys did not get a new vacuum and if they did I doubt you'd see smiles and thumbs up. The joy of deceptive wrapping at its best. C did get new golf clubs tho and that produced big smiles.
Christmas Eve started with a visit to our neighbors open house, then Mass followed by the return of the "Cowboy Christmas" at my in-laws. Cowboys costumes in tact, we gathered together for the hayride through the neighborhood looking at lights. We were fortunate enough to enjoy my BIL's solo serenading performances, too.
Most of the kiddos performed a very short version of the Christmas story as they awaited Santa's arrival. This year we had quite a surprise when he did not stop in for a visit but instead left a bag of gifts on the door step and included a letter explaining his whereabouts and the need to be with less fortunate children. The evening ends with the traditional passing out of PJ's from "Coach" Dan and Papa Bob. The "team" is growing every year as we await the birth of "Rotner #9."
The kiddos awoke Christmas morning by 7, thanks be to God. A couple hours at home to open gifts, play with toys, fuel ourselves with coffee and make one heck of a mess.
Can you spot the tween in the photo above?
The Christmas morning hangover.
Throw up of gifts included.
Then onto visiting the grandparents and cousins that included backyard football and front yard baseball.
Christmas day simply would not be the same without the Polar Plunge for J and my BIL.
Crazies.
In between Christmas and New Years, we took advantage of the cold weather and enjoyed the fire pit with friends. All we needed was snow to make it perfect.
My sis and hubby celebrated a big anniversary on New Years and gathered a few friends to celebrate with them. Small shin dig with big fun.
Now I can take a deep breath as this post loomed over my head, knowing each day that passed was time ticking.
For those of you still with me, I leave you with the best story of our holiday season--
Some of you are familiar with a website that runs throughout December and shows live reindeer at a farm with the bonus glimpse of Santa feeding them three times a day. It's awesome. So is the fact that on the sidebar runs the "good list." My boys scouted out their cousins and friends names, waiting to see their names scroll by. C was most enlightened by one particular name that of course was on the good list.
"Mom and Dad, did you know Jesus' last name is Lopez?"
