Hectic holidays

Christmas may still be about two weeks away, but we spent this past weekend making plenty of merry.

I had the day off from work on Friday. That worked out well, because Nolan wound up having the day off from school. We were supposed to get four to eight inches of snow Friday. By 7 a.m. there were two or three inches on the ground, so school was cancelled. However, we never got more than three inches in the end. They could have easily gotten by with just a delay—closing down for the whole day was a bit of an overreaction.

But, like I said, it worked out—not only because I had the day off, but also because Kris’ sister Kim and her husband John made the drive from Syracuse to spend the day with us and deliver some Christmas gifts for the kids. We had a very nice visit with them.

Saturday was spent helping my mom put up her Christmas tree and some other decorations around her house.

Then later that night we got all dressed up and it was off to the company holiday party. It’s an annual tradition: we show up for our free meal and drinks, verify that we’re not winning a prize, dance to a couple slow songs and then hit the road. The prizes we did not win include: a trip to Las Vegas, a night at the Desmond, a $100 gift certificate to Crossgates, a gift basket valued at $100, a gift basket valued at $75 and various promotional crap related some of shows we carry. This was our 11th Christmas Party and I still haven’t won anything—but I’m not bitter.

Sunday was a busy day with not one, not two, but three Christmas parties in one day. After church Kris took Nolan to a party for all of the kids taking religion classes at our church while I took Thomas to Tumbling Tykes for a Christmas party for kids adopted from Korea and China. Then later in the afternoon we went to the home of my friend Scott and his family for a gathering of some of my high school friends and our families. Everyone always enjoys seeing “the next generation” get together.

>>Pictured here are Emma Price, Alyssa Lortie, Oliver & Cameron Brownsey, Nolan & Thomas Rooney, Evan Price and Maggie Gray. Unable to attend was Mara Colosimo. Present but not pictured are Bret Lortie and soon-to-be-born “Baby Hull.” Thanks to Shannon for the picture.>>

By the time our kids went to bed Sunday night, the weekend had caught up to me and I was ready to crash myself. But instead I sucked into “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” on TNT and wound up staying up until midnight (although I fell asleep near the end, somewhere in the middle of the Battle of Helm’s Deep).