Christmas Time

Soon after returning from Colorado, Brandeis had its final exams and we began to prepare for the Christmas season.

Seth and I went over to Mark and Gina's to help trim their tree. Adah and Kate were the official candy cane testers.

It snowed pretty well one morning

We had the gang over for some spicy Bo Kho, a Vietnamese beef stew. Mark looks awkwardly tall here, but impressed us by not dribbling down his sweater (Bo Kho stains are really bad!).

Last week we grabbed Lorenzo and drove up to NY. The kitchen was in the process of being remodeled so everything was moved into the dining room. Though it was a little crowded, it was convenient being able to reach into the fridge, microwave, or oven without having to stand up :P

Seth's dad and brother working on the kitchen. The nice new cabinets were built and installed by Amish fellows--in case you were wondering, they did wear suspenders but sadly did not arrive in a horse-drawn buggy.

Mid-week we grabbed Lorenzo again and took the big trip down south to NC. It had snowed quite a bit the days before so it was nice having something pretty to look at on the way down. Not surprisingly, there was snow the entire way until we reached Wake County, where Raleigh is situated.

It has been really nice being at home. I hadn't spent Christmas in Raleigh with my family for four years, and in fact it was the first time we had all been together for the holiday (ie. with Jennifer, Carter, and Seth). It was a bit strange, however, to swap snow, wind and single digits for sun, t-shirts and near 60 degree weather. Not quite a white Christmas, but pleasant and nice for evening walks.

Our tree on Christmas morning

Carter diving into his 75 piece Thomas the Train set from Santa. It was pure kiddie bliss--for him, there was no need for further presents.

A really nice Christmas!