Happy New Year!

So last post was Christmas Day morning after Christmas Eve - life moves on at a rapid pace!  We had Christmas dinner at our house with Chris, Amy, Alex and Lucy and were delighted to have Amy's sister Katie and her family join us.  The kids have a great time and it so reminds me of my house growing up with all my cousins and "tearing around" as the parents called it.  I asked them to pose for a nice photo and this was the best of 4.

We all love games and are all quite serious about it.  This was my gift from Chris and Amy called Twin Cities Opoly and Ross bankrupted the other 3 of us - dang!  That and the 750 piece puzzle kept us occupied for a long time.

Daughter Jenny and granddaughter Rooke arrive tomorrow from California and since this is only the 2nd time Rooke will see snow here we were disappointed with the green grass on December 26!

12 hours later - be careful what you wish for!

One of my greatest holiday cards was from my friend Fran who will join our Ladies Tour to Italy this spring.  First in line is a good friend from my home town Theresa, 2nd one is me, 3rd and 4th are coworkers and last in line is Fran.  Someone wanted to take our picture at the exit sign holding briefcases which were not ours.  We were leaving our government jobs with the Defense Dept in 1968 and Fran, Theresa and I were headed to Los Angeles - 3 girls in 2 Mustangs and what a way to go all over the country from Washington DC to New Orleans, Houston, Colorado, Arizona and finally LA.  I did not have a car so rotated on the trip - no cell phones no specific plan no worries.

Christmas 1978 - Chris 4 years old and Jenny 2 years old and I do love this picture.

My nephew Garrett and his friend spent a couple nights with us over New Year's and it's always good to get caught up and continue as either the Jones Hotel B&B or the House of the Revolving Door - call it what you wish.

 Moving to tomorrow - daughter Jenny and granddaughter Rooke arrive and we are having another Christmas holiday and looking forward to it.  I think I have lost track of how many holiday meals I have made for one holiday season!

So the 6 ladies who will go to Italy will I am sure enjoy the cooking lessons from the chef of the school.  I think he teaches the classes and his wife Sally manages all the details and so far has done a fantastic job for us.

So it's a new year, planning  trips, making air reservations, checking out restaurant reviews and planning dinners with friends - off we go once more and I'm thankful for a great 2014 and look forward to 2015 with gusto!