CELEBRATING DALLAS-STYLE

Baby Bro "Wooly"

Sorry for going AWOL on you, but we headed up to Dallas early Friday morning for a three-day Christmas party with my sibs and their families. It began Friday evening with most of us going uptown for dinner at a new place called Grain.  Pretty yummy, but I should probably warn ya' -- be prepared for a veeeeery leisurely meal. (like, three hours!)

On Saturday I got to spend the whole day hanging with sister Gus, to help her get ready for the evening's festivities. We did, however, manage to squeeze in lunch at Rosa's Cafe, an old favorite from our days in Midland, TX, plus a stop at one of our favorite artsy stores. The guys, of course, made a beeline for Fry's Electronics, followed by a good bit of this...

and this.

Then came the usual last minute angst and craziness.

Turns out, now that all the older generation has passed on, we've got nobody left who wants to be the official turkey-carver!  My hubby flat out refused, so Unkie Bud stepped up to the plate, be he wasn't all that happy about it! Has anyone else run into that problem? I myself still have difficulties just dividing a chicken into recognizable parts. Lost arts, people! Lost arts.

Once the gang arrived, however, the laughter returned.

Great Minds Dress Alike

We Thomases love our Christmas poppers/crackers...

for without them we would never get to sit around the table wearing the goofiest hats ever, and reading all those ridiculous puns and riddles. Just wouldn't be Christmas without them.

After that came the much-anticipated gift exchange, but I'll save that for tomorrow.