Christmas 2014 - Family

Warning:  Lots of pictures.  Lots.

My present this Christmas was to go to see Mom and Eric in Maryland.  It was fantastic.  I took pictures.  So did Ma, and James and Rachel and Samantha and Charlotte.  SO did Eric and Abbey.  Lots of pictures.  This is the highlight reel.

We went to Hershey Park.  It was fun.  It was crowded and still fun.

 

The BallTeam posing with the candy house at Hershey Park.  This house was about 8 feet tall and fully covered in candy.  Kisses, cups and chocolate everywhere.  Lollipops were hanging as the Christmas lights.  It was amazing.

At Eric's house on the bear stairs.  The BallTeam and Gavin.

Abbey, Eric and Gavin (14).

Christmas morning at Ma's house - Charlotte (11), JMichael (6) and Josephine (10).

Eric and Tina, or Beans.  Eric's wife is Tina.  When Eric and Tina started dating, and Tina and I worked at the same law firm, back a few years ago when we were in our twenties, we decided that I would be Beans and she would be Abbey, since her maiden name was Abbott.  Having two Tinas in the same office and same family is confusing.

Ma, enjoying game night.  Every night was game night.

Josephine (10) and Samantha (15) at game night.

Rachel (16), and Josephine and Samantha.  Rachel won a lot at game night.

 

James and JMichael braving the cold to test out the remote control truck.  Fun is more important than temperature, right?

Ma had not been back to the grave since Dad died.  She cried.  I think this was the first time that my kids had visited a grave of their relative.  They were respectful and asked questions and comforted Ma.  It was bittersweet.

The BallTeam and Ma with the Christmas tree.  We didn't put up a tree in Arkansas and the kids all liked seeing Ma's tree and letting her explain the ornaments.  Their favorite was finding their names.  I wish I had a picture, but, Ma "wrote" their names in pipe cleaners and placed them in the tree.  Better than finding a pickle.

James and me with the tree.

The kids table at Eric's house.

If we had a balcony at our house it looks like those phone cases would be getting an extra workload.

This is the house I used to live in in Salisbury, Maryland, on Camden Avenue.  It's divided into four apartments, two on top and two on bottom.  I lived on the top north.  It had an amazing porch and a tiny tiny kitchen.  I spent a few years here and this is where I was living when I met James.

This is our Goosley Road house in Yorktown, VA.  When we lived here there was no front porch, just a stoop.  The trees were bigger and the house was older and more run down.  It was good to come back and see it.  We did not notice the No Trespassing sign.  Oh well.  We just sat in the driveway and the big ladies remembered which window was their room.  Samantha remembered the tree she was in when she fell and dislocated her elbow.  They remembered the redbuds in the front yard and they thought the house looked smaller and sadder.  After this we headed straight to the beach, but, I already posted those pictures.

Merry Christmas from Samantha.