Saturday, January 1, 2011

January 1, 2011

1-1-11.  It's a new year, and I wanted to start out right and post on the first day of 2011.

I've been off work since Thursday, with family visiting from Vacaville and celebrating our whole family Christmas at my son's house on Thursday.

My daughter Kristy and her husband Matt, and kids Andrew and Lauren arrived Wednesday evening.  I don't how I'm ever going to keep track of what day it is when I'm retired.  I'm having a problem remembering what we did and which day while the kids were here.  : )

Kristy's family stayed with me, but we all met at Tom and Trish's house since it's a large home and had lots of room for meals, opening more gifts, the kids had lots of room to play, etc.


 Tom making the Eggs Benedict - a family specialty
The eggs were PERFECT, and the bacon crisp!

We had Eggs Benedict for breakfast at Tom and Trish's one morning - delicious!  Tom is a great cook and did most of the meal cooking, with everyone else helping out when needed.

Afterward we opened more presents and got lots of great photos for the scrapbooks.  The kids played and had a great time together.

Thursday evening everyone except me and my youngest granddaughter, Lauren, went to the Holiday Bowl. Lauren and I had a "girls night." I got some great one-on-one time with Lauren, but didn't spend a lot of quality time individually with the other grandkids.  They were so happy to see each other, the adults faded into the background the whole visit.  But I did get the next best thing, watching them all having fun and enjoying each other.  Lots of running, lots of playing, lots of noise, lots of fun.  I got lots of good photos of Lauren, here are a few:


Lauren, 3, loves to cook. We made chocolate pudding.
Lauren did her puzzle "all by herself!"

I love this photo. Lauren looks great in hats.

We had Christmas and everyone got lots of great presents.  I don't get all the grandchildren together very much during the year, so I lined them up and snapped.  They are so good about it:

They are such good "posers" except for Graydin - maybe next year : )

Another group shot.
Andrew, Kennedy, Lauren, Gavin, Graydin

Before opening presents.

Both boys like Star Wars - they loved this book.
Graydin loved his new chair!

Even Katie loves her new sweater.

Friday we all again met up at Tom and Trish's house. We ate Chili Reano, Chicken Enchiladas,  a huge salad that friends brought, beans and rice. Home made guac and sour cream - it was delicious.  Pies, boxes of See's Candies, and my home-made fudge completed the dinner.  Another great meal at Tom's house.  

We had an East Coast New Years with Champagne and Sparkling Cider, and a bit after 9:00 I drove home, followed by Kristy and her family.  They were up and on the road by 6:00 am this morning.

Katie and I pretty much took it easy all day today. The house is so quiet with everyone gone.  

We had a wonderful couple of weeks of holidays with family, and now I'm looking forward to 2011.  I wonder what it will bring.  Lots of good things for everyone, I hope.

(This is the year we're buying our first RV!)

So, on the first day of 2011, Me and My Dog, Katie wish you all a Happy New Year!  : )

11 comments:

  1. what a special time you spent with your family!!..thanks for sharing all the photos..the kids are so cute!!!!
    happy new year to you and katie!!..we wish you good health,joy, happiness and safe travels..when you get your RV!!!
    Cheers!!

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  2. You had the best kind of Christmas!

    Can't wait to see your first RV.

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  3. Your grandchildren are adorable! Grandchildren have a way of making the holidays special and they don't even know it :)
    Happy 2011!

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  4. Happy new year to you! The kids are lovely - its great that you can get them together even once in a while - so many familes are spread across the country or even the globe (my family). They are totally adorable.

    About keeping track of the days - I've started a daily journal with software I purchased off the internet. So far I'm liking it. Plus I have a gadget on my desktop that shows the day and date.

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  5. Family times like that are fun, chaotic, and exhausting. Glad you got to enjoy the holidays that way. :)

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  6. Great family stories, and really fun photos! By the way, you DON'T keep track of what day it is when you are retired and No One Cares!

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  7. You sure have the beautiful grandkid thing going on in your family. Never saw so many in one shot before... Hope you and Katie have a great New Year, and lots of fun picking out your perfect for you RV.

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  8. One of the beautiful things about "retirement" is that you really don't have to keep track of your days. Appointments, yes, they still require tracking but my smartphone takes care of all of that for me, giving me a heads up the day before the appointment so I can plan accordingly.

    Good luck with your choice of RV. I look forward to watching your thought process as discussed on your blog. Happy 2011.

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  9. It looks like you started off the New Year perfectly!

    Thanks for stopping by our blog! I'll look forward to comparing notes with you!

    Will we meet in Q?

    Take good care!
    Cyndi and Stumpy @ RVly Ever After

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  10. OH! I almost forgot two things...

    Katie is adorable. I'm a huge dog lover so I hope katie and stumpy get a chance to meet and play, too

    and

    Wishing you and yours many sunny(but not too hot) days, many happy trails, love, laughter, good health and success in all your endeavors, throughout the New Year!
    Cyndi and Stumpy @ RVly Ever After

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  11. Your grandchildren are adorable! Yum...See's candy! The only place I can get them out here is in airports :) My son gave me a box for Christmas this year!

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