Going Home for the Holidays

the merry little Christmas roadtrip

All four of us piled into the family van (which was the Camry) and took the 14 hour trip to Indiana in style.

We left the day after a huge snowstorm and that morning was absolutely beautiful as you can see.

We met Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the local Food City in Newport, Tennessee:  Brookston tried to snack on Mrs. Claus’ glove and she found this uniquely endearing.

 

The stoplights are numbered in Newport, and we liked it.

If you look closely, you’ll see that this is stoplight number five.  We drove thru this stoplight after obeying all traffic laws.  We Empeys believe in that sort of thing.

 

We arrived at my parents house in good time and still in style.  We were fashionably on time of course.

 

Brookston, enjoying not being in his car seat.

 

 

  My parents Christmas tree.

 

The 12 days of Christmas Hair loss:

Nick was rocking around the Christmas spirit with an ever changing facial hair display.  Most men seem to enjoy this type of endeavor and Nick is no different.

Here we have the progression for your jolly-ficaton.  (note: it started with a full beard, but sadly we have no documentation of the early beginnings.

 

one goatee grinning

 

two handlebars

three pics of disconcertion

four hairs left in a soul patch

five …um, eh, I can’t keep this up… then a haircut, and then a buzz: a man from his hair set free (it’s uncannily like that partridge in a pear tree).

 

Christmas Adam

We made gingerbread houses with my parents on Christmas Adam*.   Here’s how they turned out                                                                          (*The day before Christmas Eve) 

 

Christmas DAy

We spent Christmas day at my brother’s.  I donned a Christmas onesie in honor of the occasion.  Donner the reindeer inspired me.  That and it’s an honorable Burke tradition that dates back, you know, centuries.

 

opening gifts:

     

^Sarah with Brookston.

<My brother with B & E.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any good pictures with the triplets and the twins together.  Those boys are fast.  I did get an all-star video of them however and I’ll have to figure out how to get it on here somehow.

 

The End of this Long Holiday post

There are our Christmas events.  I’m going to leave New Year’s up to Nick – stay tuned.