Annual "Bailey" Christmas Party

I appreciate all of the comments about my "title post" Apparently my delete button didn't work. You see, I started to make my post when I discovered I hadn't yet downloaded my pictures....it's what has come to be called "a senior moment"
Thus, I hit the delete button and figured I'd get back to it later, not knowing that it would be on my blog the next morning.

So here are the much awaited pictures!
First, our lovely host, Amy,



and her trusty mate, Dwight,

and their precious kiddies, Bailey,

Calvin,

and Howie (who brought a large green friend with him).

We were missing one of our regular families, the Bishop's :o( who broke our hearts by moving off to Utah.
But we had a new family join our group :o)
Tom, Katie, Violet,

Hazel, and Thomas. Also, our cute Ella who got left out of her family group.

And Atticus, who's learning he can trust his grandpa not to eat him.

Another regular is Sara and Morgan (who is looking adoringly at his wife).

And their kids, Wolfie,

Teddy,

and Wini, who all look quite happy to be included in the party.

Here are the only actual "Bailey", Baileys to be at the "Bailey Christmas Party"
(Did that make sense to any of you?)
David and Theresa

Poor Holly, not only had to come without Casey (who was out of town), but also had her picture taken with my camera set on the blurry setting. But she looks lovely no matter what setting is used.

Heather and Pete came again this year, along with their 3 adorable daughters,

Madison,

Tessa,

and Liesl (hope I got the spelling right).

Of course, as always, food was a big part of the evening.

Dwight's digging into the sushi as Calvin looks on anxiously awaiting his turn to try it out.

Wolfie was the first to grab some of his favorites (chips) and find a nice quiet spot to chow down.

And the part of the evening that everyone prepares for all year....The White Elephant Exchange!
I failed to get a picture of my first pick. But it was a giant jar of two kinds of fish in a jelly sauce.
It was immediately taken from me, believe it or not, by my sweet little brother, David.

Some of the gifts included:

Wolfie took an immediate liking to grandpa's "Incredibles Yoyo," so grandpa reluctantly (not!)
gave it up to him.

After losing my giant jar of fish, much to Gus' pleasure, I received this book on 1001 Ways to be Romantic! You can see how pleased he looks.

Holly also lost her first pick and then received this great little "potato shaped casserole."
You can see that she was quite happy with it and will surely find a prominent place in her home in which to display it.

Amy got these great tattoo sleeves that Howie tried on immediately. But they were a bit loose on him, so...........

Dwight took them over and I believe wore them to work the next day.

Now this is what Holly opened first. This great little Snuggle knock-off created by Amy.
But...........

this odious little gal stole it from her and then.........

had the gall to flaunt it's practical uses (like playing cards while keeping warm).

This is Wolfie's reaction to the next gift, received by Katie.

A pair of doves (it was suggested that they were of the "turtle" species).

Katie and Wolfie may not have been too pleased, but Tom seemed ecstatic.

Dwight received an actual white elephant as his "white elephant" gift.
He was very impressed, as you can see, until the paint came off on his hands, making him feel that it might not be a genuine white elephant!

We played a quick trivia game (quick because the men slaughtered us in a very timely manner), before things began to wind down.
Howie was the first call it a night.

Thanks Amy and Dwight, for a great evening of family fun. We are already working on next years white elephant gifts and looking forward to another evening of fun, food, and family.