Lauren quite pleased with one of her better rolls.

No visit to Indiana would be complete without a game of Greedy. This game, played with 7 die, was a favorite of Eunice. You can roll the dice as long as you want, winning points for certain combinations, but if you do not roll a one or a five you lose everything. This year featured not one, but two epidsodes of passing the dice to the next person by way of their filled drink cups.

Today we travelled to Lake Holiday in Crawfordsville to spend a few days with Larry.

Two and half year old Bradley was the center of attention. He is the sweetest little boy and at that perfect age for enjoying the wonder of Christmas.

Gabriel, our other nephew and father of Bradley, featured in the next photo.

Our niece and nephew, Erica and Luke, with our brother-in-law Bob.

Jeanine’s sister Susan, visiting from her temporary home in Austin, Texas, is thanked by Nicolai for the present he received.

Sister Lauren is our host and has prepared a feast for the family.

Jeanine’s father Larry, one of this web sites most frequent visitors, looks on as the children exchange presents.

In the afternoon, we flew to Indianapolis to join Jeanine’s family for the remainder of Christmas day.

All the men received black sweaters which was sufficient reason for an all too rare father and sons portrait.

On a more serious note, Kyle received a bass to add to his collection of musical instruments.

Kyle received a pair of used, smelly indoor soccer shoes from his father. Kyle now wears the same size shoe as I do and has frequently absconded with my shoes (he even wanted to lend them to his friend after one of his games). Kyle appreciated the humor of this gift and I bought myself a new pair which will remain under lock and key.

Nicolai’s big present was a Shiatsu back massaging bed pillow complete with built in reading lamp, arm rests, and cup holder. Naturally, all members of the family had to test the therapeutic effectiveness of the massage and I think it is safe to say that Nicolai received the most relaxing gift of the season.