Sunday, December 20, 2009

And the Festivities begin...

Andre's Cookies


(Most Photos by Joe Sands, except those he is in obviously, and this one of me eating, why did I take a picture of myself eating? We women generally shy away from this kind of thing. But it was delicious!)

Joe and I have the pleasure of celebrating about four different Christmases each year. One of the few perks of having divorced parents means that you get to spread birthdays and holidays out over an extended period of time! So more celebrations and more presents!

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

Today was our first Christmas get together of the season with Joe, my dad, stepmom and brother. We've established our own traditions, non traditional traditions that we relish.



Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009


















We don't have a big fancy dinner with an enormous turkey, we don't dress up or stress out. We get together, eat snacky things like pigs in a blanket, dips, cheese and crackers, olives and sliced veggies. With a fire roaring in the fireplace, we veg out and watch Love Actually at least every other year, sometimes substituting a little Wii bowling. We exchange gifts, often of the iTunes, educational, or cooking variety (we are nerdy like that) and we just hang out.



Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

This year we took the dogs for a walk around the park since it was mild and sunny. And a good opportunity to walk off a little of the diabolical peanut butter bars. Bars so buttery, chocolaty and mouthwatering that they are only made once a year. It was a good day. And on my quest to lose weight, today wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either. A little exercise, plenty of veggies, and just a few indulgent treats.

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

And more importantly I got to spend all day with some of my favorite people. Thanks, Dad and Kristy and Joe and Mike, for making today another warm, funny and joyful celebration. I love you guys.

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

Stallings-Sands Christmas 2009

7 comments:

Mike Stalls said...

I had a great time with you all today!! Sorry I had to leave early, darn work!! See I'm addicted to exclamation points too. haha I love you Kass and am now a follower of my own sister, sounds weirder than it is huh? haha

Anonymous said...

Looks like a wonderful way to spend the holiday season!!!! Merry Christmas and lots of love!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh! yea, that last comment was from me....

Tara!

Love you!

Katrina said...

Looks like a nice holiday! We have spread the love of Christmas out too. :) The first Christmas Matt and I were married I think we had like 10 or something crazy like that. That was WAY too much. We are now down to 5 no wait 6. :) Can't wait to see you guys soon.

Kristendom said...

Hey - what about our fancy Christmas dinner at Five Guys - doesn't that officially count as your first holiday party? :) Love your dad's hat. Totally stylin'. And I love the picture of you eating - it's a great pic!

Sherry said...

looking forward to your Omaha festivities in a couple of days!! Love the pics.

Kassie said...

Tara- Travel safely and call us after the wedding! Love you too.

Katrina- Can't wait to see you guys Wed. Looking forward to a group 7 days shot!

Kristen- How could I not count Five Guys? My bad. Another totally fun, stress free gathering. Note that we got Aedan totally clean, boring books, nothing messy or sandy! Keep this in mind when we have kids!