The holidays in a nutshell

It was a great holiday season for us. The Smith Family came in Thursday evening, Dec 20th and the party began!
We started off by playing poker. Ronnie came over since he was off work Friday and Angie & Patrick joined the table. I was sitting next to Ronnie and had to reprimand him a few times for his constant chatter. I know it's hard to believe but he was talking so much that it was annoying. I got so fed up that I had to echo his own words from the past, "Are we playing cards here or what?"
I was off work Friday and we went to the Science Center to see Body Worlds 3. It was pretty neat and somewhat creepy seeing bodies with no skin on them. I had sent the website to Joyce & Scott to make sure they thought it would be appropriate for Devon & Madison and they said okay. I don't think the girls liked it too much but, hey, I pride myself in trying to shock them. We also went to the Hill so Joyce could buy the blocks of provel cheese and salami that she likes to take back to South Bend. That night Ron & Janet came up and we went to see a light display that was synchronized to music in the O'Fallon area. It was really cool but we had to cut it short since Scott had to use the restroom and Ronnie whined about being hungry. Another night of poker rounded out Friday.
Saturday was the only day we planned on staying home but managed to go visit Mom for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The girls got the opportunity to see my & Jim's handiwork as we had decorated Mom's front porch. There was a competition in her complex and Mom wanted to beat the lady who won last year. Imagine that, competitive at age 76! I went over there to take the decorations down the other day and she told me that she won and she's got more ideas for next year. I can't wait!
Sunday we went to Matt & Sharon's house and played more poker.
Monday, Christmas Eve, Jim & I went to his dad's for the Miller celebration. While we were there I got a telephone call from Jennifer as she was supposed to pick up Mom and there was no answer at her door or on her phone. I won't get into the details but suffice it to say that Mom gave us all a scare. It seems she's getting forgetful these days. By the time Jim & I got back to the house, the party was in full swing. We played rob your neighbor and the number game and everyone had a good time. Uncle Tony was absolutely delighted with the GM jacket Matt had contributed and Greg was thrilled with the purse he ended up with. He even posed for pictures! It was a great time with family, food & drink.
Christmas Day we went to Ron & Janet's for an open house. It was fun visiting with her brother, sister-in-law, nephews and Gene & Maggie Schuermann. We played more poker and I ended up winning back what I had lost (sorry Mike) on previous nights.
The Smiths left Wednesday after breakfast. All-in-all, it was a great holiday season but I did miss my big sister & her gang.