Back in Austin........

We got home late on Dec 2 and have been very busy since then!  First order of business: catching up with friends and family.  

Bryan and Ania were sweet enough to have a dinner for us...and of course we didn't starve!!

Why are there 7 girls in the bathroom?  Well, didn't you know that's where we like to hang out?  Actually, we were all in there admiring Ania's new tub/shower/vanities/etc.  Very nice!

Even Jello the Cat joined the festivities.  Here, he makes friends with Chloe and Cari.

Me, Greg, Lauren, Amy, Ania, Bryan, Scott, half of Erika's face, Kat, Erik, Chloe, and Cari.

Uuummmm, TRYING to take a picture with the tree.  Technical difficulties.....but it looks cool!

Thanks for a great party, Bryan and Ania!

A few days later, we went to Mike and Ayse's house for homemade pasta!  Yuuuum...

So, you know all those cooking shows where the Italian grandmothers are saying how easy it is to make homemade pasta?  Not so.  It's actually kinda tricky.  But Ayse managed to pull it all together and it was delicious! 

Greg and Mike

The next week, we took Greg's mom to Buda to go to their Trail of Lights with Stephanie, Travis, and Maxie.  Austin was too broke to have their annual Trail of Lights this year...Buda's doing something right!

(Stephanie, Travis, Greg, Barbara, Maxie, Camille)

And it was great!  Lots of opportunities to take silly pictures!

Lots and LOTS of opportunities to be silly......

Oh yeah, and we got reindeer noses.....lots of fun!!

Greg's Aunt Mary lives about 30 minutes away, but we don't get to see her nearly as much as we'd like.  She was nice enough to invite us to her house for lunch with her daughter, Beth, who is a new Austin resident.  Welcome Beth!!!  And thanks for the wonderful afternoon, Aunt Mary!

Cari writes for Edible Austin and was given the assignment to write about the infused vodkas at the Side Bar. It was a sacrifice, but Amy, Ania, Erika, and I joined her for a tasting a few days before Christmas. We had an Orange vodka and a Gingerbreak vodka, made with Tito's (an Austin vodka) and as much local produce as possible.  They were sooooo good!  The hot toddies were especially delicious on that cold, blustery night!  The Side Bar makes their infused vodkas in-house and they're different every week.  Go check them out!

Here's Cari, all smiley with her gingerbread vodka and cute gift from Erika.

And then it was Christmas Eve.  Scott and Amy were out of town, so we had a party at their house.  Not really.  We just had dinner.  In the Casita.  Nothing got broken....

It's not a party without a 1,000 piece puzzle that drives everyone crazy.  

Stefon, Vince, and I put the last three pieces in.....

....wait a minute, that's not a very Christmas-sy sentiment!!!

And of course there's the Christmas tradition of Yahtzee and James Bond.  Is there anything better?

(Vince, Grandma, Barbara, Mom, Ali, Stefon, me.  Greg's there too....behind the camera)

It was a great Christmas!  We hope you had a safe holiday too.  And Happy New Year!!