Happy New Year

Christmas in the Zeilinger household was a great one. The tree was beautiful and everyone had a wonderful time.

The family photo - always a tradition, and a nice one at that.

There was laughter as Bunni and Brooke each received 1 boot:
The dogs got into the act too:
Then with another family tradition, we all got to play in the paper, ribbon and bows:

We always have a wonderful time when we visit. It was good to see all of the grandchildren together again. With Zach now away at college, we don't see him as much. Danny and I had fun as we decided to make this a "silly" Christmas as well as a fun loving one. Santa would have been thrilled with us if he had seen us Christmas morning in our get-ups.

As luck would have it, we ended up with a wonderful gift of a white Christmas Day: not ice, only snow!

My but how they have grown. I feel downright short now. Yes these are our three grandkids, L->R
Blake, Brooke, me and Zach.

 can you believe how they have grown?

All too soon the festivities are gone and remain only in memories, but what memories they are...

New Years was seen in along with literally thousands of others in downtown Dallas's Victory Square. It was an outdoor get-together to watch and wait while drinking beer and champagne, should you so choose, and eating gourmet foods. We rode the light rail to the venue but when it came to returning to the hotel, all the other thousands were also trying to ride. So we decided to walk it. The night was crisp, we were dressed warmly and it was not so far. Besides, it gave us a chance to witness the festivities of downtown Dallas in the West End and do our favorite pastime - people watch. We had our celebratory champagne sitting in a sidewalk (read -> outside) boutique Irish pub, watching people and all their antics. Great fun! Soon the chill became bone-chilling (after about an hour and a half of sitting) and we returned to the hotel. Definitely a once a year late night but a fun one at that.

Aaaah, 2013 - another year, more unique Sherrod experiences to be had. And so we begin ... closing the door on our past, keeping the memories, and anticipating the future.