A holiday recap

(This is going to be a lengthy post...lots of photos with minimal wording.)

Christmas 2018 has come and gone and I'm kind of sad.  We spend so much time preparing for the holidays and then they're over just like that.

We hosted the celebration at our house this year.  It included a couple skating sessions.

Lacing the skates on is always such an ordeal.

There's a fine line between too tight and not tight enough.  I always prefer as tight as possible so the ankles have support.

For most of us it had been a few years since we had last been on skates.

Okay, if I'm being truthful it may have been a decade or two since some of us had been on the ice.  As a youth I used to ice skate quite a lot, I even took lessons from a pro.  I was quite shaky on the ice, but by the end of the hour I was getting the feel of it again and guess what?  It was a heck of a lot of fun.

It's pretty cool when you live in Colorado Springs and the Olympic Training Site opens its doors for a public skating session around the holidays.  I was proud that all of us got out there and gave it a shot and of course Miss G was the star.

This ice is home to Olympic greats such as Apolo Ohno and...

...the great Peggy Flemming who was a member of the Broadmoor Skating Club.

During the holidays we also drank our share of mulled wine and there were even some emergency calls for more mulling spices when we ran out.  My wine rack is completely empty now.

There were some Shenanigans of what to do with the Elf on the Shelf for her last night before returning to the North Pole.  (This may have been after all the mulled wine was drank.)

There was also preparation for the annual dessert contest.  Miss G had fun tasting the various batters.

I thought I had a sure winner since I knew what Mr. Beans' favorite dessert is.

There were carrots for the horses and...

...Miss G got to ride her horse, Doc, a couple times.

Everyone contributed to the feast and as always the kitchen was the main gathering area.  I love that our kitchen is right in the center, or heart, of our home.

Dana decided to go with a different type of dessert which involved some champagne and beautifully adorned glasses.

Jillian got all fancy with her homemade German Chocolate cupcakes.

The champagne was chilled and...

the feast was served.

Everything from ham and turkey to mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, and even the Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese.

We always set a table so that the entire family can sit together.  This year I really appreciated having my parent's dining table because it has extensions that pull out and it can easily sit nine people.  Our meal starts with crackers...a new tradition since Adam joined the family.  It's always fun to wear the crowns and see the small gifts that everyone gets.

That's my desert...mud pie that has green and red layers.  The top is adorned with a replica of the artistic steel slats that our current leader wants to erect to divide our country even further.  A reminder of the hundreds of thousands of government employees who were furloughed or forced to work without pay right before Christmas.  

Back to the desserts--Mary brought this beautiful chocolate espresso roll that was beautifully presented.

Dana put the finishing touches on her champagne concoction.  (Fancy pants!) 

Our two emcees conducted the contest.  Each contestant presented her dessert.  The vote was taken.

Mary and I were immediately placed at the bottom of the class.  The two remaining contestants joined hands as the final results were revealed.

The German Chocolate cupcakes were the winners!  Jillian is the 2018 Dessert Champion.

Then we had our traditional Christmas Eve game night...a game called something about Hitler.  Then we all went to bed and got up early the next morning to find that Santa has visited the farm.

This is my one and only photo of Christmas.

After Mr. Beans got home we got a photo of him in all his new medieval gear.  I made him that tunic in his desired red and white.  Red is for blood and white for purity (I think).  I'm pretty sure he liked it. 

The next day we headed downtown for another ice skating session, this time outdoors in the park.  Miss G got to try her new skates that Santa brought her.

This little girl is quite the skater.  I can't wait until she moves to Colorado Springs to join the Broadmoor Skating Club. 

The little girl had been hoping for snow every day and on her last night here we got a little snow.  She was so excited to make snow angels.

This group of people mean the world to me.  Holidays are always more fun when we're all together!

I hope everyone had a wonder holiday!  What are your traditions?