The Wallin Christmas 2015

My title is actually a misnomer on two counts: there are only 2 Wallins, with 7 Lindsays, 4 Sherfs and 5 Eberlys in our family. Andy and I are slightly outnumbered, although I guess we can still claim the name since we started the whole thing of our family! The other detail that contributes to the misnomer is the year. We actually celebrated our family Christmas on New Year's Day 2016. In spite of those incorrect details, we had a good time together. 

The girls and I provided the food and the presents. There are a lot of people to fit in our dining room but we still manage to make it work so that we can all be at the same table in the same room.

 

It was a challenge getting 17 people in the picture but mission accomplished! I didn't realize Katy had her tongue out, but I'm keeping her in because it's a great improvement over her crying whenever a camera was pointing at her! It also provides proof of her mischievous personality.

After the meal, we all moved to the living room to open the presents. Everyone waited patiently for their turn. We had everyone wait as we went from youngest to oldest.

It's very satisfying to see their pleased expressions as they open their gifts.

All too soon it was time for everyone to leave. It was wild and crazy while they were here - a nice change from the usual quiet at our house.

Andy and I have "found" a new place to hike. At least it's new to us. A friend told me about it and then I just had to go explore it. We went Thursday afternoon since I finished work early. It's the Black Run Preserve - only a few miles from our house. It's a gem. There are lots of trails with woods, water, trees - everything we so enjoy.

This preserve is a real find. It is a 1,300 acre parcel of land set aside for preservation. There are many trails. On Thursday, we started on the green trail which became the blue trail, then we switched to the orange trail, which connected to the purple trail. There are also a black trail, white trail and red trail, all of which we have yet to explore. 

On Saturday after I did the laundry and ran the vacuum cleaner, we decided to go back. It was a beautiful day, perfect for hiking. I much prefer to hike in winter where we don't have to worry about sweating or dealing with annoying bugs. We donned hats, scarves, gloves and fleeces and were quite comfortable. It's not so cold in the woods, anyway, where the wind is not as fierce because of the trees. 

I love how the sun sparkles on the water.

We took a side tour onto "Bog Spur."
 

Then we saw this tree that had fallen, creating an unusual shape. The forest is amazing - always something interesting to see and experience.

As much fun as we had with all the holiday festivities, I confess I'm glad to get back to the routine and familiar.