Group Christmas Dinner Re-cap

Our Group Christmas dinner was at Jenn and Josh's house this year. We ate in their new dining room!

Notice in the below next picture how Ben and/or Andy stocked up on their sodas...they didn't have a waitress to bring them re-fills so they came to the table prepared! Sounds like Ben and Andy (they tip their waitresses based on how well their drinks are re-filled) and in years passed, they have come to the table w/sodas stuffed in all of their pockets! With manners like ours, we're ready to dine with royalty, baby!

We had plenty, PLENTY of food! And, pay special attention to those mashed potatoes.



Did you see those mashed potatoes?

Every year, I am in charge of bringing the mashed potatoes and every year I have made instant mashed potatoes. Well, this year, I wanted to surprise everyone and make REAL mashed potatoes! I am so proud of myself! I made them with out a hitch! No fires, no smoke-alarms...I only thought one time that there might be a fire when the boiling water over-flowed onto the stove (we have a gas stove now) and the flames under the pot grew exponentially! I was scared for just a second. Anyway, thanks to MUCH coaching from my Martha Stewart sis-in-law, Jo, my potatoes were GREAT! And, they're SO EASY to make! Who would've thought?! They were fluffy and creamy and got the seal of approval from the group! I cannot talk about my mashed potatoes with out mentioning my helper. Dave, my husband, who was actually very helpful, thank goodness for me!

We ate so much, too much, that we all got bloated bellies:

So, we decided that we must open presents before dessert!

I must mention, Ben took FOREVER opening his present! Jeez, he needs a little more practice! (Snicker, snicker, I drew Ben's name and I wrapped 3 fake presents, stuffing each one in the next and then wrapping it again and I used lots of tape...he usually covers our presents in duct tape though, so, this was just payback...thanks for the lovely idea, Paula! Hahaha)

His real present was too big to wrap:

No offense to anyone; but, I think I got the best present of the night:

My own Mini Keurig one cup coffee maker of whatever flavor I choose! "Heaven, I'm in Heaven..."

To Paula, Michelle, Joe, Jason and Adrian...your presence surely was missed. There were only seven of us. It was a little, just a little, quieter! We love you. We miss you. Merry Christmas! Can't wait to see you guys next year! Hope you enjoyed the pics.

To everyone else, hope you enjoyed the pics, too!