Christmas Eve with the Battles - 2013

Becky always sets a beautiful table.  Becky reads a story as a reminder of the reason for the season. 

 

Always a fun variety of gifts.

 

Mike never misses a beat!  Hahahaha!

Swedish Tea Rings

Many years ago, Bill and Teri wanted to give gifts to the employees of the Eatonville Post Office.  Somehow we started making these Swedish tea rings back in the early 1980's.  To have enough for every employee to have their own, we made 16 tea rings each year.  There have been a few years that we didn't do tea rings but now we make about 8 a year to give to family and neighbors.

Merry's 16th Birthday

Merry turned 16 on December 12, 2013.  She had a special celebration with some of her friends and family.  The house was decorated with a special touch for the birthday girl.  Happy 16th, Merry!



Christmas Shoes - A German Tradition

Kathleen told us that in Germany there was a Christmas shoe tradition similar to our Christmas stocking tradition.  The shoes are set out on the night of December 5th and St. Nicholas fills them with gifts.

 

Thanksgiving 2013

Lots of family - that's what Thanksgiving is all about!!  The Battles and Sherwoods from Yakima brought their RV's to Jason and Courtney's to spend the weekend.  We traveled on Thursday so we celebrated our Thanksgiving on Friday.  Brett, Kelly, Kyle and Brian and his girlfriend spent a lot of time visiting with us while we were there.  Courtney's sister, Heather, and her husband, William, and their two children joined us, too.  

There was lots of cooking done in preparation for Friday's feast.  With everyone contributing their specialties, we had 11 different dishes to enjoy.  We are blessed with fabulous cooks in our family so the food was out of this world.

Some more pictures of family.

Jason set up a duck blind on the back of his property.  Even though there wasn't as much water as he would have liked, Brandon still got a duck.  Special treat for those who want to hunt.

Sisters and their Sweethearts

Bill and Teri, Coralee and Lance, and Kay and Lee met at Mazatlan's on South Hill for a nice lunch on Thanksgiving weekend.  Fun to get together every now and then!

Brandon's 8th Grade Basketball

Waiting to play.  Yay #52!!

Watching this team play was so much fun.  They have great skills and work very well as a team.  Brandon did a great job at making baskets, rebounds and assists.