Pre-Christmas Christmas party

When I was very little, Christmas eve was always spent with my dad's family at Grandma and Grandpa's house. When my grandma went into the nursing home in our town and Grandpa moved in with us, my parents took over the hosting duties of the Christmas eve bash. It's been that way ever since. A couple of years ago, my mom decided to switch things up and host a party when Jason and I were here so that we could join in the fun.

That was the plan this year as well. Shortly after I fueled up and made it back to the 'rents' place Saturday, my dad's youngest brother and his daughter arrived (now in high school! holy crap!)We were joined by two of my dad's other brothers, their wives, plus two cousins and their spouses that I haven't seen in ages so it was really great to get to spend some time with them.

Can you tell these guys are related?
Traditional Christmas eve fare (or in this case, pre-Christmas eve) at our house? It's chili. Sounds good to me. There were of course the usual holiday treats as well.

Sierra was her usual active self and nearly scared the pants off my two aunts when she jumped off a chair.
Check out my aunt's face post-jump. Ha! (I hope she doesn't mind that I posted that)
The evening went by quickly and I was fully stuffed with good food and too much sugar. Just as it should be. Looking forward to a repeat of good food and too much sugar in a couple days!