NJ Explorations, Traditions

Last year during my Christmas NJ time, my father took some vacation days and toured me through parts of the state that I had been curious about; this year, we decided it'd become tradition.  Hence, Thursday morning, we rolled down 287 toward Morristown, to see what there was to see.

We found ourselves [by way of a closed attraction we'd been planning first] at the local museum, where I enjoyed the toy room the best, and these pieces of art the most:

Puzzle pieces, in circular motion...

Those beads you iron together...ironed together COOL

pot holders!

A tower of junked matchbox cars

Look at this! It's the alphabet, carved into pencils!

Scrabbley birds...


Then, it was time for lunch. 

 We found this yummy pizza at a place downtown and gobbled it up.  Then, we asked the people working the place where we should go to next, and they suggested:

Washington's Headquarters. 

The Continental Army camped near Morristown in the winter of 1779 you see, and this is the house that Washington and his men commandeered.  We took the tour,

and I enjoyed seeing such an old, neat house.

Then, to 287 we returned, for my dad to hand me over to my mom, who took me shopping.

[We have traditions too you see, including but not limited to the Crate & Barrel after Christmas Sale.]

Then, we hit the road again.

We sat in merging traffic, knowing that any amount of NJ rubber necking was well worth our next tradition:

 Bobby's Burger Palace is Bobby Flay's restaurant,

 which is fun,

 and DELICIOUS.

 Uncle John and Aunt Nancy met us [in what has also become tradition] and we enjoyed each other's company one last time.

 [Right girls?]

Celebrations and Traditions over, I left the next morning for my next phase of fun, fully full.

Events, the Eve and the Day

Hor d'oeuvres, Kara style

Grandma, gettin' feisty

Gifts, many

A little spillage...

The most depressed reindeer. [Maybe it was because we began referring to him by his elf name, Happy Pickle Pants.]

Smiles, many

Laughter, much

Christmas Morning Muffins!

Possibly the best picture of Grandma, ever. [She's smiling!]

UJ's amazing rib roast.

Grandma's,

getting,

sleepy.

My Christmas Book, restfully.

Our littlest one, and other cuteness

Remember that 'star of every show' that appeared on our horizon recently?  Always cute as a bug, this Christmas she played her merry little way further into our hearts.

She arrived at Grandma's house to find her favorite toys,

 [I love the drunken joy of this picture...]

and to present herself as the subject for my next dissertation.

She took care of the needs of those around her,

 making sure Grandma got her cake,

and ate [a lot of] it too.

[She also helped Grandma clean as the day went along,

which further seals the deal:
she can stay, in case there was any doubt.]

Gifts abounding,

 she enjoyed receiving the ones brought just for her,

especially this bubble maker extraordinaire.

Since 'bubble' is her favorite word 

[other than 'mama' and 'dada' of course],

there were bubbles in her stocking too [goodies!] 

 and another bubble maker at her beck and call.

 Very patiently she waited for the bottle to open,

 [is it open?!] 

 in order to revel in the bubbles floating through the air.

Soon she was ready to take over production,

which caused our other source 

of massive cuteness to desire a turn.

Our Christmases these days sure look different,

 what with the needs of baby and dog,

 but the fun they bring makes it difficult 

to remember what we ever did without them.

Cuteness, every one!

Merry Fake Christmas!

The Saturday before the real day

I left the Christmas coziness of my house,

and arrived at the coziness of another, in time for some togetherness with my Kooistra people.

Not yet Christmas day, 

Sunday morning dawned close enough to celebrate,

so I got myself busy in the kitchen in preparation for

a Christmas feast!

[This is a charming picture, and the only one taken of the enjoyment of the spread...enjoyment, indeed.]

 Then, it was time for stockings!

[We love stockings. Such goodies!]

 The rest of the afternoon unwrapped itself,

 with anticipation

and surprise;

 with joy,

 appreciation,

 and met needs.

Even our littlest member got in on the action,

saying 'Hey guys! It's so exciting!...

It might not be the day of, but it's ours.  A Merry Fake Christmas!!'