Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Calhoun Christmas - December 28, 2010

Somehow, I've really been lazy since getting home from our holiday visit to the
Sacramento area.  I did my own Christmas dinner on Sunday, turkey and all, and,
after spending hours in the kitchen, I've been a bit remiss in getting back on the internet
and in posting the promised blog about our Christmas day at the home of Christine and
Roger Calhoun, the new family I acquired when my son, Alex, married his lovely, Laura. 
I couldn't be happier with my extended family.  I remember Alex commenting early on
in his relationship with Laura, "if you marry a girl, you marry her family as well so, if I
don't like them, I guess Laura won't be the one for me."  There's no question that Laura
is the girl for him and her family is terrific, too.

After spending Friday evening at Alex's, we drove to Antelope ( not sure how the name
was acquired as I didn't see any grazing as we made the half hour drive to the home of
Laura's parents ) about noon on Christmas day, carrying my spiced black olives,
artichoke fritatta, and garlic cheese ball.  Besides Christine and Roger Calhoun, Laura's
mom and stepdad, her grandmother, Trudy Gilkey was there and, soon after we arrived,
her brother, Robert Winterhalter, his wife, Kristen, and their little son, Conner, came. 
Later in the day, Kristen's parents also stopped by.  We had a lovely afternoon, opening
gifts, and watching Conner open his.  I had to laugh, though.  He seemed to get the most
enjoyment out of the little Snowman box which his Grammy Gilkey had filled with Kix
cereal!  Finally, we all settled down to a delicious feast and lots of good conversation
and reminisces.


 Somehow, this one is all blurry - but it's still pretty.


The Nativity scene - child friendly


Jeremy with his mom, wearing her "Queen" Santa hat


Laura with her husband, Alex, and brother-in-laws, Shawn and Jeremy


Santa left something for Gus!


Here's a little help from Christine


Wow, new tennis balls for me


Bliss!


Okay, who's next?


Lumberjack Santa



Cheers from Carmen


Robert, Kirsten, and Conner Winterhalter


Robert, Laura and Conner with "Grammy" Gilkey and Christine, their mother ( Conner's grandmother )


The Winterhalter clan ( before Christine and Laura married )


Conner with his grandparents


Trudy Gilkey


Time to eat


15 comments:

  1. Love that table it's so festive and accommodating with different chairs everyone is bound to find just the right size :) Happy WW and upcoming New Year!

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  2. always such a pleasure to see you having a great time!!!

    cheers!!

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  3. You look great Carmen!
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  4. Your Christmas looked to be lovely.....:-)Hugs

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  5. Great Christmas post, thanks for the comment. LOve San Francisco - my daughter spent a year at San Francisco State and I visited, stay in the Mission area and got hooked on Mexican food.

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  6. Nice to see you smiling Carmen and surrounded by your family. Big hugs for you.

    Valery

    [Barcelona Daily Photo]

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  7. Looks like you had a lot of fun. Your son is wise. I loved both my In-laws and I am sure that made for a much smoother life.
    Cheers,
    Kat

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  8. Anonymous7:12 AM

    i like queen carmen!

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  9. Is it just me or does Laura look just like Trudy!? Beautiful people all around, nothing like family....Happy New Year to you Queen Carmen!

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  10. no doubt you've been busy my dear Carmen. It's great to see you with your family and the smiles say it all...
    thanks for sharing
    hoping the new year is full of joy and love for you and your dear ones
    hugs
    xox

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  11. Lovely family times.Thanks for sharing your boys!

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  12. Great photos - glad you had an enjoyable time! I can understand the laziness, I'm the same way! Haven't gone running in weeks... I think it's post-holiday fatigue :)

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  13. Sukhmandir Kaur -
    It was a very nice Christmas Day dinner with
    my son's in laws.


    magiceye -
    We had a great time with the in laws. My son married into a fun and welcoming family.


    The Chair Speaks -
    I am definitely on the mend from my November hospitalization and feeling much better. Celebrating with family definitely puts on in a nice state of mind.


    Bernie -
    Our Christmas visit to the Sacramento area was lovely.


    Peter -
    Where are you from? Nice that you got to spend so much time in San Francisco. I fell in love with the city during a stop over en route to Hawaii at the age of 18 and vowed I'd live here someday...it's now been 34 years!


    Irredento Urbanita -
    It was a nice Christmas. I enjoy it when all my boys are together. They act as goofy as they did when they were little!


    Kat_RN -
    Alex was very lucky to have such great in-laws. They made us feel like part of the family from the get go.


    Kamana -
    There's a group of five of us forensic nurses who cruise together that were given that title by the crew of the Monarch of the Seas. We've indulged ourselves with all kinds of crown things - wine glasses, shirts, jewelry!


    abby jenkins -
    You are absolutely right. I think Laura really resembles her grandmother. At her bridal shower, especially, I have some photos where the resemblance is really striking.


    Dulce -
    It was a lovely Christmas eve and Christmas. It seems too infrequent that I'm together with all three sons.


    Sharkbytes (TM) -
    Alex is only a hundred miles away but we just can't seem to find the time for all of us to get together that often. It's always nice when we finally manage to do so.


    Geeta -
    It was a nice Christmas for us. Somehow, with Alex a hundred miles away in Sacramento, we see much less of him. I imagine I'll go up more when my grandchild arrives in late July!

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  14. Beautiful family photos. All the smiles are so nice and bright, happiness is shone through.

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  15. Self Sagacity -
    I'm glad you were able to meet my family in the Christmas photos. We had a lovely day at my son's in laws. They're terrific.

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