olsen christmas

I think this is my last Christmas post until November. I realize I'm playing a bit of catch up here but you know. This place is a space for me to record so as not to forget and well. It must be done before I well, forget.

Matt's youngest brother and his girlfriend Heidi came east from Oregon for a visit and we took that opportunity to have a gathering of the Olsen minds and the taking of the family photos. Matt's aunt and uncle joined us as well, or beach house peoples as Letty calls them. Group photos are hard.

Olsen Christmas was originally supposed to be at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house, but with a sick Letty, yet again, I asked if we could move the location to our house so she could stay nice and warm inside. Everyone obliged and brought their previously prepared appetizers and we are oh so thankful.

Dominic got to meet his Great Uncle Glenn and David got to spend lots of quality time with him as well, two peas in a pod those two. We had wine and tasty apps and donuts. Oh the donuts. We sang happy birthday to Aunt Sue over those donuts. All to be immediately followed by the opening of gifts. And what gifts there were! Letty got headphones for her iPad (thank God), Doc McStuffins scrubs, sticker books, and a stamp set. David got a large fire truck complete with lights and sounds and lots of cursing (on his end not the toy), five super nice dinosaurs that he is working on memorizing their names, and a sticker book full of trains and diggers oh my! We are a lucky bunch.

We have had a nice little start to the year. Sick children and broken appliances alike. First the dishwasher went, with smoke filling our kitchen. Then the cursed powder room toilet that is the bane of our existence for the past ten months was yet again being finicky. Followed by a stupid accident that left our cook top cracked and broken. Two new appliances and a broken toilet all within a week? Right between ouch and boing! So when presented with these issues, the property adjuster, the engineer, and the doctoral student all piled into our powder room to address the toilet concern. And low and behold - the engineer fixed it! Matt kissed him. It's the little things. He flushed the toilet about a hundred times that night juuuust to be certain it still worked.

And later, after everyone went home and all the kids were asleep I was washing the dishes and Matt was drying the dishes and we were just discussing the party as I handed him wet wine glass after wet wine glass... and it was actually kind of nice. Like in the olden times before there was automatic dishwashers or the light bulb. That is until the cracks on my hands opened up yet again and stung in all that hot soapy water. Until then.