Christmas Eve 2011

Saturday night we hosted our annual Christmas Eve shindig, with Aunt Lori & Uncle Larry, cousins Emily & Elisabeth, Grandma & Grandpa B., Gloria & Larry C., and Michelle.  Unfortunately, Aunt Lani & Uncle Ryan were feeling under the weather and couldn't come.  The kids got lots of great gifts, and the grown-ups had fun doing a "re-gift" themed gift exchange, and deciding who had the worst presents.  We're already plotting what trinkets we can squirrel away for next year's exchange....

We were so busy enjoying the company of our guests that we didn't get many pictures (and none that turned out well) but you'll get the idea:

I'm not sure what I did differently this year, but whatever it was, worked great, because after everyone left, we had very little cleaning up to do, and half the number of dishes as usual waiting to be washed.  Which gave us time to relax after putting the kids to bed- awesome!  Andrew zonked pretty quickly, but Evyn stayed up until close to midnight, putting together treats for Santa:

Aunt Lori's cookies, a pair of Hershey's kisses, fruit salad (because Santa needs something healthy to give him energy!), extra-chocolatey chocolate milk, and celery for the reindeer.  Evyn was pleased to find an empty tray on Christmas morning.

Great-Grandma Martin

Scott's Grandma died early this morning.  We had taken the children to see her last night after dinner, and while we will miss her very much, I am confident that she is glad to have rejoined Grandpa after a three year separation.

Dorothy P. Martin
2011-12-01

Dorothy P. Martin, 89, formerly of Reading Road, East Earl, died December 1, 2011, at Ephrata Manor. She was preceded in death by her husband Lester H. Martin in 2008. Born in Caernarvon Twp., she was the daughter of the late Barton M. and Rita (Kessler) Huyett. A homemaker, Dorothy was a member of Churchtown United Methodist Church where she had taught Sunday School for 30 years. Surviving her are children: Eugene L., married to Audrey (Graybill) Martin, New Holland, Harold R., married to Beverly (Fryberger) Martin, Mohnton, Sandra F., married to David Bailey of Ephrata, and Randy L., married to Rosalie (Myer) Martin of Reinholds; eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren; two sisters, Evelyn Miller and Geraldine Huyett, both of New Holland, and two brothers Raymond L. Huyett, of Lancaster, and Melvin Huyett, Ephrata. She was preceded in death by her sisters Ruth Kurtz, Mildred McEldorney, Arlene Gregg, Blanche Yohn and Alice Hollenbaugh. Funeral services will be held on Monday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. at Churchtown U.M. Church, 2170 Main Street, Churchtown (Narvon), with Pastor James Bamberger, D. Min. and the Reverend E. Earl Trauger officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Family will receive friends on Monday from 9 a. m. until the time of service at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Arthritis Foundation, Central PA Chapter-SE Branch, 204 Butler Ave., Ste. 102, Lancaster, PA 17601. Arrangements are with Groff-High Funeral Home, New Holland. Online condolences may be posted on our website, www.groffeckenroth.com.

smilebooth

The smilebooth at the reception was a big hit - lots of fun, even if we were looking a bit worse for the wear after 7 hours.

these are pictures of pictures - please forgive the poor photo quality
click each pic to see larger images

this is a riot - must watch:

Chad and Trisha Wedding : Smilebooth from Brooke Courtney on Vimeo.

reception

After the wedding Evyn spent another half hour or so doing more photos before being introduced at the reception dinner. We caught up with her a few times, still in strike-a-pose mode:



Andrew roamed the grounds with Pops:




Evyn loved running around the paths. She and Liz were
playing "chase the boy" - poor Kobe!

waiting for dinner

eating grapes

flower girl

Congratulations, Chad & Trisha!

Evyn got to serve as flower girl in Scott's cousin's wedding on Saturday.

It was a very long day but Evyn did great and had a blast. The afternoon started at 2pm with primping, followed by posing for lots of pictures around and about Lime Spring Farm.
to read more about the nearly 300 year old property, click here





Andrew and Scott (and other guests) began arriving at 4pm.




4:30 - showtime!



Andrew thought the ceremony was quite interesting. OK, actually he was just interested in finding all the bribes I had tucked in my bag.




Evyn was pretty nervous, especially because she had to walk with a boy.
But she loves being "on stage!"








Post-wedding pictures coming soon!

Party at Great Grandma's

Great Grandma R. hosted a party on Saturday February 20th. It was great spending time with my many of my cousins and second-cousins who we haven't seen for a while.





Andrew shared his toys with Alex... and Alex helped Andrew with his water: