Rogers' Christmas Present

Dear 'A',
You are one lucky little girl to have so much family living so close by. You are already surrounded by a large loving family. We spend quite a bit of time with the Rogers family. They plan a lot of family events like dinner every Sunday night and summer vacations. The really wonderful part is that we all have so much fun when we are together.

Our last Rogers family vacation was Fripp Island, SC for Thanksgiving. The morning after Thanksgiving, Grandma and "Papa Daddy" (you will just call him Papa) transformed the day into the Christmas spirit. The harvest smelling candle was replaced with a Christmas one. Grandma was in the kitchen cooking Christmas imprinted pancakes in antlers and Papa was surfing the Internet in antlers. Later that morning we started making Christmas ornaments (Grandma always has fun crafts for everyone). The drive to Fripp Island was about 5 hours and on the way back home, I still had Christmas on my mind....I was trying to come up with gifts for Grandma and Papa.

Then it came to me.... a family portrait! Grandma LOVES family pictures (unfortunately your father is not a fan of having his picture taken). We were going to take a family picture during our Thanksgiving trip, but time got away from us and the weather turned rainy. So, I scheduled an appointment and texted everyone: "I need you at 10:45am on Saturday, 12-20." I soon told the brothers and sisters what was going on, but kept it a secret form Grandma and Papa. Finally, the week before they were told to wear dark jeans and a blue long-sleeved top (I figured they had to have some warning in case laundry had to be done). Grandma suspected pictures after she was told what to wear, but was unsure due to your father dislike.

Well, today was the today. And I have to say we have quite a beautiful family! The pictures are gorgeous (I'll try to post some later- I have to get Grandma to send me some via e-mail)! I am excited at the thought of our next family pictures for two reasons: #1 (the most important reason) is that you will be in that picture with all your cousins and #2 I won't look so much like a boat! We had so much fun laughing at each other trying to get the grandchildren to look at the camera and smile- we looked certifiably crazy! Then we all went out to lunch at the Macaroni Grill and we both enjoyed some yummy fettuccine alfredo.

So, we all had a great time together as we made a lasting memory of our family. Also, the outing taught me, I need to carry my camera around to snap pictures for you and our posts. (I've included some of the Thanksgiving trip).

Mucho,
Mama