I’m going to try and keep this short (for me) because otherwise I’ll never catch up on posting.  Personally I think that it is unfair that I have been blessed with children who are photogenic and do cute things faster than I can tell people about it, but I’m doing the best I can.  Anyway, here we go…This year we traveled back up to the beautifully soggy Northwest to share Festivus with the entire Richards family – which I feel I should add is starting to give Amway a run for its money in terms of growth.  At least my sister finally realizes this and has accepted that it might be a little difficult to continue all her favorite family traditions… OH WAIT, no, she didn’t.  In accordance with Caitlin’s demands heartfelt requests this year, Christmas Eve was definitely cozy.  For those of you who don’t know, as children me and my siblings used to sleep in the same room the night before Christmas, a tradition my sister has latched on to for some reason.  Although she was benevolent enough this year to expand the definition of “room” to “brother’s house”, this still meant that Christmas Eve found my brother and his wife in their room with their newborn, their two boys in a bunkbed next door with Jonah on the floor and Calvin in a pack and play next to him, Jenn, Hazel, and Caitlin all somehow sleeping on the same couch, my other sister on an air mattress in front of them, and me sleeping on the floor between mattress and couch using blanket runoff from the couch to stay warm.  On the upside, if I ever deploy I can’t imagine sleeping conditions being tighter.

Caitlin’s craziness aside (see previous posts), Christmas was awesome!  Even with all the afore mentioned players plus both of my parents who showed up before kids awoke, the morning went of without a hitch.  Everyone plowed through the biggest mountain of presents I’ve ever seen without a single fight or tear.  My brother managed to cook a gourmet breakfast to feed everyone, and after about eight hours I finally figured out how to transform Jonah’s Transformer.  More pictures here, although I know some of you family members are holding out on me with some more; you’ve got my email.

Best Christmas Moments:

Me:  Really, you don’t have to split up the toys just so Jonah and Calvin get a stocking.  Rayna:  It’s Ok, we all know we’re doing this all for Caitlin, not the boys.

Tex: (After being surprised by his wife Caitlin with a 47″ TV and a 50 gallon fish tank) Holy Crap!  I’m such an —hole, I bought you a new battery for your computer!

Caitlin:  No, we can’t play Monopoly until Ryan gets back; I need him in my pocket to finish off my plans.

And lastly, no quotes, but picture both my sisters as they, in an attempt to avoid a potential bedwetting, prop my poor son up in a standing position and force him to use the bathroom without ever waking up.  I fully expect some therapy bill repayment somewhere down the line.