This is what my van looked like when we woke up today. We had to shovel out the driveway for the third and final time for this storm. We decided to shovel the entire driveway this time, not just half, since I had a job scheduled Monday morning.
Almost there. What I didn't take a picture of was the horrible job the snow plows did. They didn't plow very close to the curb, so we had about 10 extra feet out into the street we had to shovel. Plus we had to shovel out our mailbox so the mail lady could get to it.
These are the pathways we shoveled in the backyard last night for Ferris. They were covered up again by morning. We had to shovel pathways for him because the snow is taller than he is. And he likes to walk around and find the perfect spot to do his business. We waited until tonight to clear them out again.
After shoveling the driveway (and street) we drove to Harrisburg to have an early Christmas with Fred's family. These are all of Rachel's cousins on Fred's side.
We made fleece blankets for all the kids and Fred's parents. Soccer blankets for Kati, Delaney and Haleigh,
cheerleading for Jade, and
Phillies for Zach and
Meemaw and
Pawpaw.
Rachel got a Rubiks cube 360 from Aunt Karri and Uncle Drew. Here she's explaining it to Uncle Jim and Jade.
After all the presents were open we had dessert. Pies, cakes and 17 different kinds of cookies. My mother-in-law always serves a great meal, and the desserts are to die for. What I didn't get a picture of was the earlier commotion in the kitchen. She had made seafood bisque, and it was in the crockpot. One of Fred's brothers was trying to heat up the bisque a little faster, so he took the pot out of the crockpot and put it on a burner. Needless to say, the ceramic pot broke and seafood bisque was everywhere. They got it cleaned up pretty quickly, but for the rest of the day the dogs kept going over to the stove and licking underneath it.
Half an hour later, another brother got a pan of rolls out of the oven, burned his hand and sent the rolls flying. The rest of the food was served with no problems! And it was all very good.
After dinner we headed home. We were worried, with good reason, about the roads in New Jersey getting icy. When we got home it was obvious they hadn't plowed our neighborhood since before we left for Harrisburg. It would actually be three days before they plowed again.
This is how the day started out. More snow, and Ferris wasn't liking it. When I first opened the door for him to go out, he took two steps and turned around and tried to come back in. Then he tried to go under the table on the deck. Finally he realized he had go thru the snow go potty.
This year we played some Rock Band. Fred was playing guitar, and so was Mike. Or one of them might have been doing bass. I don't know for sure. Kevin was playing drums and Dave was singing. Brian was watching. We did get him to sing once. Dave's wife Frani and I were the only women who played Rock Band. But there's no pictures to prove it. You'll have to take my word for it. Frani played drums on a couple songs. I played drums, then sang, then played guitar. I'm definitely best at guitar. 
Look out, Brian!
The kids played some games, too. Here they're playing Apples to Apples.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
