Christmas in Tennessee with EVERYONE!

Christmas in Tennessee was definitely one to remember! 

Everyone came and it was the first time the two baby boys met.

We didn't have a lot planned, just wanted to relax, play with the boys, and enjoy our time together. 

But we actually did even less than expected because our house was plagued with a terrible stomach flu. It was a little bit like the movie, Contagion, where Alex was patient 0, and we each fell, one at a time, as each day passed! 

The good news is that it only lasted 24 hours per person. The bad news is we hardly had a day where all 9 people were out of the bedroom and healthy. BUT we still managed to have a magical time as a family. 

We did lots of reading. 

and lots of playing outside in the 70 degree weather. 

We went on many, many walks. 

and Tennessee tractor rides. Despite Alex's mood in this pic, Grandpa Jack is a huge hit

And he even invited Santa over to the house!

Sometimes it's hard to remember to get down to the dock in the winter, but this time we made sure to  spent lots of time down there. 

Unfortunately Alex did not return my love for him quite as well as I had hoped. He is in the stage of stranger danger and wasn't so sure of this lady he did not know. 

The good that came of THAT is Mike and Heather decided to buy plane tickets to come to Denver over MLK weekend (blog post of that BEST weekend ever coming soon). 

Jason's dog, Abe, is probably the funniest, most lovable dog I've ever known. He is insanely loyal to Jason and his family, even escaping out of the house and running down the street after their car thinking they were leaving him when in fact they were only going to Walmart. 

But for Abe to be invited to the lake house, he had to promise to wear booties so that he didn't scratch my mom's beloved wood floors with his nails. 

He was less than thrilled about this, but put up with them nonetheless, to ensure he was surrounded by people as much as possible at all times. 

I say this often and I will take it to my grave. I definitely won the family lottery.