Getting Our Christmas Tree

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to get our Christmas tree.  It wasn’t too cold and the kids had a lot of fun running around and looking at all the different trees.  Brad wanted one that was at least 12 feet tall.  We have a very high ceiling in our new living room and he was so excited to have a tall tree.  I felt like 12 feet was a bit over board, but it looked really nice.

Everyone was helping Daddy

It is always easier to cut down a tree with a 3 yr old sitting on your legs.

Cecilia, Vincent and Joel

When we got home Joel couldn’t wait to set up the tree and for Christmas in general.  It turns out that this year he loves Christmas.  We set up our little pencil tree in the basement and he was in Heaven!  Normally he doesn’t like when it is dark in the basement, but when the tree was down there he insisted that all the lights were off so he could see the lights on the Christmas tree.  He danced around the basement singing “Its Christmas night.  Its Christmas night!” Cecilia was quick to chime in and Vincent was confused by the fact that they were making up a song.  The excitement was contagious!

Our first year to ever have a wreath.

Large tree, a lot of lights and not a great ladder, and a husband who thinks the tree should have been taller.

All the lights up and the star!

It took a day or two before Brad got the lights up and I (with a little help from the kids) was able to get all the ornaments on.  It involved a very wobbly ladder and wishing I was taller than what I really am.  This was the first year we haven’t had to have baby gates around the tree.  We did lose a few ornaments, but it had nothing to do with the kids.  Most of the ornaments toward the bottom were rearranged by the kids (mostly Joel and Cecilia) more than once!

Vincent woke up early to hang ornaments on the tree.

Joel decided to join in the fun too!  He LOVED Christmas this year.

The Martison's Visit

Brad's cousin Molly and her family were in town from Colorado for Thanksgiving.  They came out to our house one night for dinner.  We were excited to have them over and the kids were really excited to play with their little cousins.  Graham and Hunter are Joel’s age, but they are as tall or taller than Vincent.  Vincent had a hard time remembering they were little and not 5 years old.  Cecilia liked tagging along with the older kids but was very fascinated by Elliot who is 6 months old.  The boys had fun playing in the basement and upstairs and by the end of the night no one was being shy anymore.

Graham, Hunter, Joel and Cecilia playing Hungry, Hungry, Hippo

Dinner time was entertaining.  Vincent had set the table earlier and had picked out where he thought everyone should sit.  We were using our 3 bar stools at the table because we didn’t have enough booster seats for everyone.  Plus my kids think it is super cool to sit on the stools at the table.  Vincent wanted to sit by Graham and Hunter, but they both wanted to be by their dad.  Joel wanted to be in his blue booster seat and Cecilia insisted she was sitting on a stool.  After 3-4 seat changes Vincent wanted Graham and Hunter and himself to have the three stools.  Graham and Hunter ended up by their dad on chairs.  Vincent was in a chair near them and Brad, Kurt and I ended up on stools.  By the time all the rearranging was done Joel was done eating and off playing toys and the rest of the kids were ready to join him.  It was entertaining to say the least!

Most of the kids looking at the camera!

We had a great night getting to visit with Kurt, Molly and their 3 boys!  It is too bad we couldn’t all live closer together and see each other more often. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!  Time set aside to thank God for everything we have with no pressure on finding the perfect gift.  Plus I get to see cousins, aunts, and uncles that I don’t see very often.  Oh, and eat delicious food.

Eddy, my dad, and Uncle Joe

Alyse, Azra, Jill and Aunt Mary

Cousins!

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is the mass emails that go out before hand to figure out who is coming to Thanksgiving and what everyone is bringing.  Along with t-shirt orders and a little teasing back and forth.  We aren’t talking 5-10 emails.  There were 50+ emails sent in the first 24 hours!

A handful of Ruggiero Cousins!

1 of 6 delicious turkeys

Thanksgiving was the usual running around with cousins; older cousins, aunt and uncles telling stories and giving each other a hard time by the fire pit and grills, and people visiting in the house.  Plus the usual fight over turkey cookies!  It is really a great time and one of my favorite holidays.

Story time

The kids were all sound asleep in the car when we arrived, so we left them in the car and kept going back and forth to check on them.  I went back to check on them one time and Cecilia was awake and Vincent was missing.  She told me Vincent tried to undo her buckle and that he woke her up.  All probably true.  Vincent's shoes were still in the car along with his coat and he was nowhere to be found outside.  I went in the house and he was sitting on the couch with some cousins and chatting like it was no big deal he just broke out of his car seat and the car and didn't even seem to care where his parents happened to be.

Cecilia and Daddy

Nanno and Joel

Thanksgiving Morning

As usual we spent our Thanksgiving morning making pies.  I make 2 pumpkin pie, a cherry pie and 2 apple pies.  Not that we need that many pies!  Two of my dad’s cousins and my uncle usually end up with pies to take home.  Eddy takes the cherry, actually he usually hides it as soon as I get there.  Jimmy takes an apple pie and my Uncle Joe usually ends up with some of one of the pumpkin pies.  Brad is a lot of help when it comes to making pies.  He helps entertain the children and he peels, and cuts all the apples with a little tool that we have.  It goes really fast and he does a great job.  He let Vincent help him a little bit this year!

Cecilia found a golf ball!

Joel looking for golf balls

While the last pie was cooking I suggested we all go for a walk in the woods and go golf ball hunting.  It was pretty cold out so we all put on snowsuits to keep warm.  The kids can barely walk in snowsuits, but at least they weren’t complaining about being cold.  The horses were very excited to see us all outside and in the pasture with them.  They were a little too excited and wouldn’t leave us alone.  They just kept following us everywhere, which normally isn’t a problem, but when you are kneeling on the ground trying to dig golf balls out of the frozen ground it isn’t fun having them hover over you. 

Sorry Ray, but we don't need your help.

Using sticks to dig out golf balls

Golf ball hunting was hilarious.  We found 30 golf balls which is a new record in one trip!  Some of those were hard won because they had been stepped on by the horses while the ground was muddy and that day everything was frozen!  We had no tools with us and kept using little sticks to dig the golf balls out.  Brad and I were being very dramatic about it and narrating what we were doing and acting like it was a matter of life or death.  The kids thought it was hilarious and joined right in.  At one point we found a pink golf ball that was stuck in the ground and Cecilia just had to have the pink golf ball!  While we were trying to get the pink golf ball out of the ground I pocket dialed my dad.  I had no idea but he later told us that he listened to us for a couple minutes as were trying to get the pink ball out of the mud.  Just after we got the golf ball out my timer went off for the pie.  I took off running up the hill and back to the house to get the pie out.  Golf balls were falling out of my pockets and Vincent was running behind me picking them up!  It was a great walk and hopefully a new tradition.

The elusive pink golf ball.

Joel came to help supervise!

Jill and Joe's Reception!

After the ceremony we did a few pictures in the church and then the bridal party loaded into the limo, all 20 of us, and headed to a forest preserve to take pictures.  It went really fast and really smooth!  Then it was on to the reception.  We got there in time to enjoy a few minutes of the cocktail hour.  Brad and Candy (Brandon’s mom who watched Joel and Cecilia for us) brought all three kids to the cocktail hour for a little while.  Then the twins went back to the hotel with Candy to get some food and wait for the dancing.  Dinner didn’t start until after 7:30 and finished around 9:30.  It was so declious and totally worth the wait!  Unfortunately the twins were sound asleep by then and missed out on the dancing.

The wedding cake.

Cute card box.

The guest book/picture

The head table.

Wow!

Beautiful table!

Table assignments

Very pretty table decorations.

The reception hall was gorgeous with big chandeliers, beautiful tables for the bridal party and really pretty table decorations.  Each person also got a small container of limencello with their name and table number on it.  I like limencello, best on the rocks, but by the end of the evening Brad and I were drinking it warm and not really caring.

*This series of pictures makes me laugh.  My dad, his cousins, my grandparents and aunts all jetting in and out of the pictures.  Everyone's facial expressions make me laugh!

Uncle Joe, Uncle Rock, Uncle Tony, Dad, Eddy, Jimmy, Nanno

Protesting getting photographed.

My dad decides to humor me and pose.

The finally agree to be photographed!  Such a great picture.

The Janet, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Carol join the picture.

Grandma joins in on the fun!

Well 1/2 are looking at the camera.

They are over taking pictures....

After the cocktail hour was over and everyone was seated my Uncle Rock announced the wedding party.  Vincent and the flower girls walked in just before one of the groomsman and I did.  They had heard us all planning out how we were going to walk in and Vincent said he wanted to do something.  I told him he could do the spin he did earlier at Nanno’s house, where he spun and then pointed his fingers, and he said ok.  Unfortunately from where I was standing I could barely see the spin he did , but I heard it was great!  He looked so handsome in his tuxedo he could have anything and looked adorable!

Mr. and Mrs. Gaza!

All the boys lined up!

Lovely Ladies!

Annie and Aunt Laurie

Mr. and Mrs. Gaza dancing

There were several great speeches that night.  My dad had a great speech, maybe a tad long, but it was good.  Alyse’s maid of honor speech was fantastic!  Perfect mix of humor and being sentimental.  Joe’s family had great toasts as well.

My dad and Jill dancing.

Dave and his brothers (Terry and Ken)

Jan and Grandpa Summers

Jill and Aunt Cindy

Grandma, Jimmy, and Nanno

My cousins and Uncle dancing!

Uncle Terry, Aunt Angie, Aunt Laurie and Uncle Ken

Bryan, Gianna, Jack, Jordyn, and Brad

We spent most of the night dancing!  It wasn’t like at some weddings were the bridal party and just a few people are on the dance floor all night.  Almost everyone was on the dance floor at some point and it was always a full dance floor!  Vincent had fun dancing with his new friends, the flower girls Rocky and Lucy.  He thought they were great.  All the excitement wore Vincent out and he fell asleep in my arms as we were dancing.  He spent the rest of the night curled up on a bed made out of chairs with a table cloth as a blanket.  It was clean and one of the waitresses gave it to me to use.

Sleeping Vincent Craig

Dancing

more dancing

Papa and Jill dancing

And more dancing!

Brad and I had a blast dancing with my cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents during the night.  I am blessed with such a fun, loving family.  I had a great with all of them.  Besides the dancing there was a photo booth which was a blast too.  I think I only ended up in there 3 or 4 times.  My mom was in there a lot more!  Vincent and I went by ourselves once and he thought it was so cool.

Aunt Ricky and Grandma Pat

My cousin Matt!

Uncle Skip and Auntie Donna

Uncle Bob, Aunt Judy and the photobomber

Aunt Marlene and Uncle Jerry...and Matt!

The big surprise of the day was getting to see my cousin Angela.  She has been teaching in South Korea since January or February and my grandma bought her a plane ticket last minute to come home for Jill’s wedding.  My grandma said it was her birthday gift to herself and she knew my aunt Carol would love it and so would Jill.  She was right, we all loved it!

Angela and me!

Angela and Jill

It was a great night!  Congratulations Jillian and Joseph Gaza!

  

My aunts, cousins and me!

Bryan, Gianna, Jack and Jordyn

Grandma, Me and Nanno!!