December was a month of serious partying. First, we had Bryce's big one year celebration. We had a small group of family over that consisted of grandparents and the "duckies". When it came time to sing to him he wanted to grab the flame so badly that he had to be restrained. Here's a picture of the moment:

Chase also had his birthday in December. Once again, it was a low key affair with just grandparents.

Christmas was a particular joy because everyone was fairly healthy - something we haven't enjoyed for years. We had a fantastic Christmas Eve out in Spanish Springs at the S. household. On Christmas day we went to Emilie's parents for a fabulous prime rib Christmas dinner. After dinner we spent the rest of Christmas at my parent's home. Between Christmas and New Years we had a lot of fun family time. As previously stated, it was doubly fun because no one was sick.

In addition to the family partying, we also attended my work Christmas party. The food was okay, but we were mystified that the Christmas party had a "Studio 54" theme. To make it all the more authentic, the ballroom was scattered with "exotic dancers". No joke. I'm not sure if they were intentionally trying to be offensive or if they just wanted to make everyone extremely uncomfortable. Either way, they certainly achieved their goal. They sent out a survey asking for feedback about the party. I said it was okay, but maybe next year it would be cool to have Andrew Dice Clay come do an act. Or they could do a "Silence of the Lambs" theme. That would certainly open up a lot of possibilities for dining and entertainment. We'll see if they actually take the feedback seriously or not.

The most exciting thing about the party is that we got real babysitters to come watch the kids for us. Not even family members - just a couple of young women from church. Shockingly, everything seemed to work out okay. Maybe one day we'll get to do it again. One day...