Christmas on the Farm

That makes me feel like Fern Zuckerman.

The whole Hunt crew attended our first Christmas on the Farm event at Trader's Point Creamery.  I adore that place!  The restaurant is so beautiful and the food is fabulous.  We met up with the Fagins for some holiday crafting.

Charlotte and Georgia started with cookie decorating.

Jamie says Georgia poses like this a lot!

My parents attended to meet their quota of holiday events with the grandchildren!

It was freezing outside and our time started at 9:30.  Jojo enjoyed the festivities from the comfort of her blanket.

G donned her IU tracksuit which enabled her to craft in a quick and efficient fashion.

Even Charlotte and Caroline, our resident preteens, joined in the fun.  I don't think you're ever too old to craft with your hands.  That's why they are called handicrafts.  By handicrafts I mean crafts that you actually make with your hands. Like reindeer antlers at Christmas time, turkey feathers at Thanksgiving, and some stinking adorable potted flowers made with painted handprints for Mother's Day.  Lincoln's beard on Presidents Day.  I could go on and on.  I'm an expert.  You know why?  Because everyone has hands and people love their hands. They are handy. I tell myself parents never tire of them as I make them several times annually in room 94.

"Do you girls need a hand?  Want to make a finger puppet?"

I should move to Palm Beach.  Or Palm Springs.  See what I did there?

G moved on to a frame station.

Then it was time to have her face painted because I indulge her when it's free.  I'm not my sister Katie, so I pass on $15 face paintings that give one a serious rash.  Katie let Caroline get her face painted so often I'm surprised the child still has skin left on her face.

Jojo had a bottle in the barn like she was some kind of baby goat.

The downside of Christmas in the Barn was the lack of seating.  Apparently farmers stand a lot.  The grandparents got tired of standing around really quickly so they shimmied over to The Loft restaurant and got a table for 26 so we could actually eat breakfast.

The baby goat did not dine at the table.

As usual, Genevieve annoyed cousin Caroline.  She's so good at that.  Caroline is getting pretty good at ignoring her.

Mother and Genevieve thought they were hilarious, as usual. 

They took their vaudeville act outside to the barn again after breakfast.  

They came up with these poses on their own.  It was definitely a memorable morning.  

A Ginger Walks into the Zoo

I think my little nugget may be a ginger.  I hope that term isn't offensive.  I rather like it.  She seems to have a strawberry blonde/reddish hue to her wispy haired noggin.

I think it looks pretty red in her 2 month photo shoot.

At two months, on November 26th, she weighed in at 11 lbs 3 oz.

She's the happiest little baby on the planet.

She's a dream.  

My bestie doctor, Megan, came to visit us.  

Jojo wore a Christmas dress for the occasion.  Genevieve wore a lei, because... duh.

Oh, I just love the good doctor!

Ryan came too, but I have no photographic evidence of that.  They were in town from Jasper.  

That same evening we went to Christmas at the Zoo.

The weather was warmer, in the 40s, so we went for it!

We waited to go through this blue tunnel of lights and got highly annoyed over the people who were swimming upstream, thus congesting the whole process.  Mother was peeved.  We can't  tolerate non-rule followers in our house.

Merry Christmas, you morons!!!

Santa's reindeer were out, and so was every stinking person within a 72 mile radius of Indianapolis.  I know this to be true because YaYa and Bob came from TH, which is exactly 72 miles away.

The crowd was nanners.

Nothing says Christmas like a bunch of screaming kids pointing at lights and caged wild animals.

Robby and Genevieve rolled in their regular whip, wearing the same faces as the last time they were out in the cold, gawking at lights.

Robby wasn't interested in staying in his Radio Flyer.  Fortunately, I know the secret for keeping toddlers and/or small children in a slowly moving vehicle.

Cheezits.

I threw a bag of Cheezits in the middle of that there wagon and suddenly...BOOM!

He happily ingested copious amounts of hydrogenated corn flour and artificial orange coloring and kept his tush in that pimp wagon.

We didn't last long, but I was grateful to see the same damn dolphin show that I have seen at least a dozen times.

Our annual 1st grade field trip to the zoo has made me quite the expert on dolphin behavior.

Spoiler alert:  they are going to jump out the water and bonk their noses on those hanging red balls that are suspended above the water tank.

G got a little cold and thus was cranky.

YaYa promised treats or other such nonsense that she never would have tolerated when I was that age.

I think we may have started a new tradition of loathing other merry makers at the zoo, and looking at beautiful lights!

Hunt Law Firm Christmas Party

We enjoyed little brother Robby's office Christmas party on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  He went all out to provide for his employees. 

He has no employees.

He answers the phone, makes copies, dispenses legal advice, and makes court appearances.  

He was kind enough to provide cocktails for us.

The party coincided with the tree lighting in West Clay, where his office is.

We bundled up the youngest worker.

Her colleagues saddled up to see the lights.

They were rolling with sippy cups full of milk.

We returned to Robby's office for pizza.  

Things got pretty raucous and the party lasted until 7:30.

Thanksgiving 2018

It was the Hunt year for Thanksgiving.

The crew traversed home for the big meal.

Caroline was a bonafide baby holder.

The weather was fabulous, so we spent a lot of time outside, boozing and watching the turkey grill on the Big Green Egg.

Josephine slept.

Such is her life.

My eldest was running amok, as usual!

I dressed my girls in matching sweater attire.

Josephine Claire became acquainted with her namesake, Joseph Eugene.

Thanksgiving started with most of the family participating in the Turkey Trot.  These two were riders-

one was silent, one was not.

Can you guess which was which?

My child insisted on participating, but then decided she was cold, hungry, dying, etc.

My dear mother nearly passed out pushing all 48lbs of G for the duration of 3.1 miles in a fairly unwieldy jogging stroller.

G bitched the entire time and called me on FaceTime to cry and show me all kinds of snot in real time.

Lucky me.

The best part was as they neared the finish line, my mother said Genevieve started clapping and cheering, "we did it, YaYa, we did it!"

We?

Katie captured the moment of their mutual triumph, which I have now framed for posterity.

Just look at those faces!  

Pure joy!