The first Christmas party!

On Saturday, we had our first Christmas get-together. We (our family, Bill's mom, and Mandy & her crew) went down to Niles and spent the day with Bill's Uncle Bob, Aunt Joyce, and cousins Katherine, Jennifer and her husband, and Chris and his wife. I have no idea how long this had been planned, as I only learned about it six days earlier. Bill needs a palm pilot, a secretary, or he needs to start writing things on his hand. Thankfully, we had the day free!


The boys had a blast. Uncle Bob took TJ, Sam, and Owen out for a tractor ride. He made the mistake of showing TJ how to raise and lower the basket. Apparently, TJ slammed it into the ground a few times, making for a quick and uncomfortable stop. Sam was a bit hesitant about the tractor, so his ride was a bit shorter. Later, Dan and Kevin had TJ and Owen playing pool (with no sticks, since neither TJ or Owen is big enough to handle those).



Nolan (whose middle name is in honor of Uncle Bob) was extremely fascinated with his great-uncle. Whenever Uncle Bob was in the room, Nolan was staring at him. Maybe Nolan was trying to tell him he wanted a tractor ride too!





The boys got their annual gift of a new CAT vehicle. Audrey got a doll (finally, a child for Aunt Joyce to shop for!). Bill got a 300 ft measuring tape. He was thrilled with it. I think of it as another tool to get him in trouble. I got a green kitchen knife (it's pretty cool!) and my annual Precious Moments ornament.



It's too bad life is so busy...we always have so much fun with the Knapps! Maybe next year I can do less chasing and policing of children and have more time to sit and chat.