Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007 was a whirlwind of people, noise and family!

We spent the Christmas holidays with the Fishers in Raleigh, NC. (Laurette Fisher is Mike's sister). With us were Rick and Laurette, and their children Josh, Joe, Micah and Evan, and Belle, their dog; also there were Harold & Gloria Pierce.

I must admit that I live a pretty quiet life. Grommet does bark at people coming in the door, but otherwise, the office is small and uneventful, our house is quiet, and my life is generally peaceful.

Not so at Christmas! Four nephews kept us busy, and there was always something happening!

Christmas Eve was quiet - we enjoyed a nice dinner of seafood Gumbo (a Fisher tradition) with a chocolate fruit fondue for dessert. We played a game of cards with the Pierces and Josh & Joey, then the kids went to bed and the adults wrapped presents. Mike flew in to RDU in the evening - he was schedule to be ahead of Santa, but ended up arriving after midnight. Fortunately, the airport is only 20 minutes away from the Fisher residence.

Christmas morning we were awoken by Joe & Micah at 7:15 (not enough sleep!!!), and the whole family congregated near the fireplace to open stockings. After a healthy breakfast of Toaster Strudels (yes, my low-carb high protein diet did not survive the holidays), we opened the main gifts in a confusion of wrapping paper.

Christmas dinner was served in the early evening - Turkey, pumpkin pie, green bean and corn casserole.

After the Christmas rush was over, we drove up to Washington DC for a few days (Mike had to return to CA for work). A 3 1/2 hour drive turned into a 7 hour drive with traffic and bad weather along the way.

DC is wonderful - the architecture tries to make a statement about the power and wealth of the U.S. On Thursday morning, the family split up, with some going to museums, and some going to Art Galleries. Josh & I walked the Mall, viewing the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and various other memorials along the way. We also managed to catch a glimpse of the White House.

We met the family for lunch at the National Art Gallery, and then Rick, Joe, Micah, Josh & I purchased tickets for a double-decker bus tour of DC. It was cold on the open upper deck of the bus!

DC is definitely worth a longer visit.

The rest of the time was spent just hanging out with family: Sunday evening we enjoyed a live performance of 'White Christmas' (with Mike flying back to RDU just in time).

New Year's Eve was spent watching 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets' as the clock ticked down.

What a great way to spend the holidays!