Meneely Christmas

Meneely Christmas began with Flat Jason and I dusting off my bowling shoes at a different bowling alley, Fast Lane in Chillicothe. (I still say it should have been Chilli Bowl, Justin.) We bowled a couple games with some of the cousins, though not everyone made it to the bowling alley for the little pre-party fun.

Next, we joined the rest of the family at Uncle John and Aunt Marilyn's for dinner at 5. There were more people than usual and there was much discussion about the seating arrangement. At one point in the evening, Steve abandoned his wife and fetus to pretend to enjoy very odd stories from the family patriarch at the adult table. Another highlight was explaining to poor Casey, our family's newest addition via Marissa, what gooseberries are and daring him to eat gooseberry pie. Ah, what are holidays without a little family torture?

I presided over the white elephant gift exchange once again this year and was pleased to see several good steals, including John stealing a lava lamp from Lauren and Grandpa stealing a stuffed animal from his great-granddaughter. (He gave it back after it was over.) Perhaps the most disheartening steal of all was when Aunt Dorlene stole the African mask from Jason that he had stolen from Grandpa. He so had his heart set on it. I'm sorry, FJ.