We came bearing gifts and received as well. We played with little boys and savored fabulous meals. We were with our tribe and it was wonderful.
Christmas didn't play out for us in December. Between our isolating and Covid hitting the kids' house (thank you, day care!), we were behind the game. So, we reverted to something my cousins and I actually did back in the day when families were either too large or not well enough to travel far at the holidays: Christmas in February.
We headed down to their house for a wonderful day/overnight and within minutes play had begun!
And we did a lot! Lots of games.
Puzzles!
And, after Miss Molly managed to put together a most complicated train track...
Trains!
We went bowling in the basement...
...and went to Candyland!
Chef Kevin handled most of the dinner....
....with a little help from his dad.
The table was pretty, with the most fantastic grilled lamb, potatoes from the air fryer, and fabulous beans.
Molly made a terrific s'mores pie and these to-die-for trail mix bars.
And yes, you DO want the recipe! (Sept. Better Homes and Gardens).
The little guys huddled around the ipad while we prepped.
And then we opened gifts. Once our little Bumblebee put his new jammies on...
He was transformed into a car!
We needed a dose of cheer and this was just the ticket! Every visit brings a few inches taller, loads of hugs and lots of laughter.
It couldn't have been better!
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60 comments:
I am so glad you finally got to celebrate Christmas and I bet the littles loved it more than on the true Christmas with all the other excitement and goings on. They look like they had a wonderful time too.
Cathy
Wow, what a wonderful Christmas in February! The best for you and the kids for sure!
Great photos Jeanie :)
How wonderful to see them!
We're doing Christmas in January, as well. My daughter has had visitors, and JB has his cancer treatment this month. Better to be safe!
Our kids out west all had COVID last week. What a time.
Looks like a wonderful time!
Wonderful Jeanie. Everything turned out beautifully. And being with the little ones - you can't get better than that. They have a way of making all things bright. : )
~Sheri
Merry Christmas in February! What fun!
I am so glad you got to celebrate! I actually think it is nice to spread the gift season out a bit. Our kids got so much around Christmas - it's pretty overwhelming and they forget what they have gotten! So having a little break between gift openings is really nice actually. It sounds like the perfect gathering! And how nice to have someone else doing the cooking, too! That is always a treat!
Family fun in February, a Merry Christmas story.
What a lovely time you had! I've enjoyed seeing how you celebrated a belated Christmas.
It must have been all that much sweeter after the delay.
Looks like a great time.
So much adorableness! Looks like everyone had a great time with great food, great games (CandyLand!), and an amazing new train set ... fwiw, I'm totally charmed by the idea of bumblebee pajamas inspiring transformation into a CAR! So glad you got to celebrate with everybody...
I'm so glad you got to see everyone and just spend time together. I was a big Candyland fan back in the day 100 years ago. I pray you can get together again real soon.
Hello Jeanie,
The boys are growing up fast. Christmas in February looks like a fun time for all. A yummy dinner and dessert and fun games, all sounds wonderful. Take care, enjoy your day and week ahead.
So glad you got to see your loved ones. The boys are growing so quickly, time goes by so fast. Stay safe, hugs, Valerie
Hurrah you got to celebrate with the cuties. I'm sure it was tough waiting, but smart to wait also. And those boys looked like they had a lot of fun. Hopefully omicron is on the decrease so we can have more of those get togethers. Hope you get to see the boys again soon and have more fun! hugs-Erika
Very smart idea, and I can tell everyone had a blast! The trail mix bars look yummy...I might have to try them. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Sounds like you had fun!
Christmas in February looked like so much fun! Wish I was there for dinner. The menu sounded divine! Looks like the the boys loved their presents too! Janice
So many wonders. Fun, gifts, fellowship and great food.
Any reason to get together with family is a good one.
Christmas in February looked like a Big Time had by all, so glad, these are those precious Memories to hold onto forever and ever. Glad Post-Rona everyone is now Well... it burned thru most of our Household in January too, ugh, but a relief of sorts to know I can now Survive it.
How lovely that you were able to postpone and still give the children a really special time.
Christmas in February sounds pretty amazing and fun. This means you'll have 2 Christmasses in one year, who is not happy about that?! xx
How wonderful for the children to see that it is the family that is the love - not the day. Enjoy each and every one of them! Merry Merry Christmas!
Looks like a great visit!
Christmas is for Littles and the contagion spreads..a good contagion:) ADorbs Jeanie and bars look yum too!
Merry February Christmas! Sounds like the day couldn't be more perfect. The boys are adorable, and the food looked delis h! Glad you had a wonderful day making new memories!
I'm so glad your celebrations finally were possible. It looks like wonderful fun, and wonderful food -- always a good combination.
Jeanie, I can only imagine what a wonderful "Grandma", "Nana", "Oma" you are. This is such a fun writing. I get the flavor extraorinarily. Thanks! and I copied the recipe for the PB&J Bars.
How wonderful to finally have Christmas with your little guys that are growing into big guys. It looks just wonderful and the food looked and sounds wonderful/delicious too.
That was a wonderful visit! Christmas in February! The kids must have been so thrilled to open your gifts. I love lamb. BBQ in the snow? Wow!
What a joy! Fun for all :)
Oh, Jeanie, I know you enjoyed every moment of your time together. Yes, the sweet toddlers are soon not going to be toddlers. They are really growing.
The food looks delicious - I love lamb on the grill.
Have a great weekend!
Precious time with family. I love seeing the sweet little faces. How lovely to have chef Kevin cook a wonderful meal.
How wonderful!
Lovely Christmas celebration. love how children bring out the love and child like happiness in us all when we gather together. pictures are great and the recipe looks yummy too. Merry February Christmas Jeanie!!
Awwww!!! Couldn't have been better--yes! Priceless. :)
You just proved it's not about the date but the people with whom you spend the time and the quality of what you do. Lovely to see you all having such a wonderful time!
Very merry! Those little roads and railroads are such fun, it can be hard for the teens and adults to stop rearranging them and give the kids a chance to play with them. (Somewhere there's a snapshot of me at age 28, at friends' home, proving this. The kids weren't there yet.)
I enjoyed every picture. What a great long-awaited visit. The boys have grown so much.
Family is so special. I am happy for you you finally were able to be together.
Your food sounds great.
Jeanie, I'm so glad you got to play with the kids. They sure are growing it seems. This post made me homesick for years ago. Even now, that Jake is all grown up I miss being all together just for fun. They are so busy when they grow up so it is hard to find time sometimes but, hopefully, it will be getting better. I find that I am missing being closer to them..Happy Wednesday..xxoJudy
A sweet time all around.
What a fun-fun-fun post!!!
Haven´t seen family in ages, glad you could enjoy yours!
Hi Jeanie. Since blogger isn't letting me respond by email any longer, I wanted to answer your questions from your comment on my California journal post. So I'm doing it through comments.
I made my journal before I decided to use it for a trip journal. At first I was rather "stingy" making my pages in hopes I would have enough, since all my pages are stitched and bound together. I should have planned out what I had with my page number in advance, but nope, I just jumped in with both feet and started. I really only have 3 pages left that don't fit into what I was doing, so I will probably (haven't got there yet) use up some scrap pieces from my trip and make a page or 2 out of order to fill the book.
I hope that answers all your questions. Have a great Thursday. Are you getting snow (as it looked on the news). We have rain coming tonight but with ice and snow on the ground I hope there isn't a lot of flooding from it.
Hugs-Erika
Oh I am so glad that you were able to get together and have a fun day!! So much joy, so many smiles!!! And I had to smile at your little guy transforming into a car! So cute.
That train set looks amazing. I'm so glad you had such a wondrous time. Well worth waiting for:)
Looks like you had a wonderful time with the little fellows. They are at such a sweet stage. Enjoy, they grow so fast! Sorry you missed Christmastime but this was special too.
thanks for sharing all the cozy moments! and yes, we're finally going to celebrate Christmas with one of our daughters and her gang this weekend. better late than never!
Glad you finally got to have your Christmas celebration. And it sounds like it was amazing fun, and worth the wait.
Aw, it looks like a wonderful belated Christmas celebration. The food looks scrumptious and the children are so adorable.
Jeanie, it looks like a fabulous February Christmas. The little guys are adorable and I know you and Rick enjoyed the time spent with them The food looks wonderful and thank you for the recipe!
Hello Jeanie,:=) What a wonderful time you had. Looks like a lot of fun. The recipe looks good to try. Thank you! We also celebrated Christmas, not in February, but at Christmas, but it was the first Christmas celebration we had with our family in two years because of Covid. Nothing like a family get together.:=)
All the best.
Jeanie, it's wonderful that you and Rick got to spend that time with the darling grandsons--and their parents! They are growing up fast. I hope these past two years haven't been too hard on them.
I'm so glad you were able to get together with your loved ones. There's nothing that brightens my day like being around people I love.
Pocky are available in the US? Do you have all the different seasonal flavors? My favorites are sakura in the spring and mint chocolate in the summer.
Growing so fast! They're very cute, and I bet you and Rick were tired by the end of the visit (a good tired, to be sure....). We had a Parcheesi tournament with Sam (7) last weekend. We played 1 game for hours over 2 days until (at last) Pop Pop won. Sam is very good at strategy now - we all play for keeps!
So adorable...great fun!
Such a special Christmas! I bet the boys loved to have a second Christmas and they look like they had a lot of fun - well, everyone did! The food looks delicious, especially those green beans. Yum! Time with kids is always so much fun.
"We were with our tribe and it was wonderful."
It certainly does look wonderful ... you all had a great time together, I enjoyed seeing all of your photographs.
All the best Jan
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