Christmas 2023

The first family member arrived on the 17th. Mark stayed with us, worked during the day, ate 24/7, and he and I watched Jeopardy every night. He won.

His brother Ted arrived in the wee hours of the 21st after multiple delays. Whether or not to pick him up at 2:00 am or pay for his Uber was discussed for way too long, and became a thread on Redditt's Was I an Asshole. 

It was a 50/50 split.

Tom picked up Ted and got the brownie points.

Their parents, Mark's wife Emily, and Tom's brother Dick arrived on the 22nd, followed on the next day by Tom's sister Nancy and her three children. Husband Brad arrived a couple days later after testing negative for COVID. 

Christmas Eve day was our Yankee Exchange. 

And the requisite photo ops.

Then, we left them at the rental house, and Oleg and I watched our traditional Die Hard movie before assisting Santa with stockings and filling the crockpot with breakfast.

Christmas morning our family ripped into our presents.

At noon, Oleg's family arrived for brunch and stockings, and we ate, drank, and unwrapped Santa's gifts.

We ended the night with all of us back at the rental house for Christmas dinner, cards, and games. 

Favorite game: Monikers

Craziest gift: I received two massage guns. Apparently, I must complain about pain.

Most Anticipated gift: My daily hunk calendar. All my SnapChat peeps look forward to that!

Steelers gifts: A new flag, a new shirt, and a new mailbox.

Highlights: Conversations with my nieces and nephews.

And yes, there was crying. Because it isn't Christmas until someone cries. 

Merry, Merry to all! Hope everyone had a safe and memorable holiday.

Scenes from an engagement party

Our family is thrilled! We consider Oleg and his family as ours, but now it will be official! We gave speeches, but all we wish for is a happy, healthy life for both of them with lots of laughter and love! 

Congrats, you two! We love you SO much!

 

My baby said yes!

Oleg told us a couple of weeks ago the date he was asking for Darcy's hand in marriage. It coincided with my brother in town, so Oleg's mother and I planned a celebration for the day after the big engagement.

Darcy has known about the ring. She worked with a jeweler to design it but had yet to see the finished product, and she hadn't a clue when he would present it.

She made a lot of comments.

Darcy: "He's had it since April. What's he waiting for? It's October!"

Darcy: "Well, I don't have a ring on my finger..."

Oleg got their friends to help him, and despite Darcy unintentionally sabotaging things, they pulled it off. 

Example: Darcy said she had to have her nails done before any proposal was allowed to happen. Several days before the date, Darcy's friend took her to have a mani/pedi. This is something the two do often, so Darcy wasn't suspicious. But she did decide not to have a manicure since she had some issues with one of her fingers. The friend had to cajole her into it, telling Darcy it was her treat. 

Example: The proposal was happening while they played putt-putt. That day, after a night spent with their friends, Darcy tried to talk them out of going. She was too tired.

Example: Oleg worked it out with the photographer that he and his fiance would play behind their group, but when everyone was in line, Darcy forgot her sunglasses and wanted to get out of line to get them.

Example: The ring was in the hole, but Darcy spotted it sticking out. Irritated because the course used flags and her ball kept bouncing off that, she exclaimed loudly that something was blocking the hole. 

Still, it happened. Oleg got the box out of the hole. Darcy asked what it was. He dropped to his knee, and the rest is history. She said yes!

They facetimed us to tell us the story.

Me: "Are you going out to celebrate now?"

Darcy: "No, I've got a game to win! Then we can go celebrate."

That's my girl!