I'm Back!

 I am back and I have so much to share. Unfortunately, no crafts this time but lots of holiday fun.

My holiday started on Christmas Eve when I headed to daughter #3 early in the afternoon. She was hosting a cookie decorating and ornament crafting party. I was a bit late getting there because I was trying to get my house set up for the next day so I missed the beginnings of the fun but there were several people there that I haven't seen in a bit so I ended up doing more talking than decorating or even picture taking. I got one of a few of the folks still there later in the day and one of a few of the cookies.

By early evening we were off to church and then driving around to look at some lights before returning home for dinner.

Christmas day saw my entire family gathered as well as most of the extended family. We were 18 people and 2 dogs strong! Lol We got the obligatory "whole gang" and "Nana and her 7" photos and all of the rest are just scattered as I thought about taking them-which wasn't anywhere near as often as I usually do. Lol

We had appetizers, opened gifts, played our White Elephant game and then ate dinner. It was a long but beautiful day. After dinner, the "kids" set out for a rousing game of Michigan Rummy while the adults found quieter spaces to sit and reflect on another beautiful holiday soon to be "in the books".

Here is school teacher Hannah going over the rules for the few who have never played this game before.

Friday was a beautiful day but most ended up sleeping in a bit and getting a slow start before those who could headed out to "The World Equestrian Center" This place does an incredible pre-Christmas extravaganza with LIGHTS, tons of entertainment, Santa, the Grinch and food trucks added to the always gorgeous decor of the main hotel and shops. It is definitely something to see but it is CROWDED. After Christmas, the lights are still up and of course, the decor in the hotel so it is a much simpler, slower paced visit and we enjoyed it! We took advantage of some of the photo ops and had an early dinner in one of our favorite restaurants in the hotel, The Yellow Pony. In just a few days, the second hotel with all of their restaurants, patisseries, shops, etc. will be opening on the grounds so next years things will be even more beautiful! The only thing the kids were sad about is that there were no horse activities planned during this time. It really is something when this place is full of all sorts of beautiful horse events!

Appetizers were a soft pretzel and onion rings.

I had a falafel "burger" with fries and homemade pickles but I confess that I got into it before I remembered that I wanted a picture-it looked a lot better than this when it got to the table. Lol But, it was delicious! I'm not much of a "fry" girl so I told everyone that they were welcome to share-and, it's a good thing that I did and I couldn't go back on my promise or I would have finished every one of those things. They were some good fries!

And then the girls ordered dessert. I'm not a dessert girl so I'm not really even sure what this is but I think they said "bananas foster" cake with dolce de leche gelato. They said it was wonderful.

We made a stop at their incredible toy store and bakery before heading out to the grounds. On the way to the lobby we passed this year's gingerbread creation.

There were "critters" everywhere in this year's lobby and almost every one of them was animated. It was beautiful!

By the time we left, we were tired so we headed home and had a good old-fashioned granddaughter sleepover in the family room. They spread out everywhere and we watched the finale of the Harry Potter Baking Challenge and then a movie before calling it a day-a very late day!

By Saturday afternoon the last of the crew was leaving just as two of my other grand dogs were arriving to spend four days with me while daughter #3 and her family were off on their Christmas vacation.

About my only challenge this week is to take good care of the dogs and finish eating all of the Christmas leftovers! Not a bad gig if I do say so myself. Lol

As you all know, my Christmas decor will be up until at least January 1-if not January 2. Then we will head full steam into Valentine's Day. I will admit to already spending some time browsing last year's Valentine decor and knowing already that there are some things that need to be changed. I am already seeing lots of Valentine ads from stores and posts from blogs so maybe, just maybe, there will be some new ideas out there-fingers crossed.

I'm off to take the dogs out for a bit of a run so they will be tired while I come back in for some lunch and maybe a movie as I do some laundry to catch up on the last week. Stay safe and stay tuned.