south bend christmas

ledger was having so much fun with the whole christmas thing that he didn't want it to be over just yet!  well, it just so happens that its not!  we packed our bags and headed down to south bend for a christmas celebration with her family!  you know what that means- more presents for ledger to open!
there was quite a large group of family and friends to get together and celebrate: diana's mom and david, barbara and james, diana's dad, grandma, alanna and tavish, and even miranda and levi stopped by to join us.  one thing that i always love about her family is that its sort of a free for all- all are welcome and there's no fuss to be made.  its so cozy and comfortable!
all morning ledger and tavish kept asking about when we would get to open the gifts.  as each visitor arrived the question was desperately asked again 'can we open them now?!?'  'not yet boys!'.  they actually did really well with being patient and keeping their hands off the gifts until it was time.  they each got to open one right away, and then they had to wait for the rest until after we had lunch.  finally it was gift giving time and everyone had a blast!  ledger made out pretty well for himself!  i'm sure he will have fun with all these toys for months to come!
(more pics: 1, 2)

after dinner

chad and miyuki brought her family back to the hotel, but werent exactly wanting to call it a night just yet.  tim, jill, diana, and i all made plans with them to head downtown and hang out for a while longer before they left town.  we planned to meet up at hopcats, but there was a big event doing on at the van andel arena that had just let out, so the place was swamped- over an hour to get a table!  we put our name in anyway and wandered around to find a different place that might not be as crowded.  after three attempts at other places, which were just as crowded, we went back to hopcats- and our name was just being called to be seated!  what luck!  we spend the rest of the night talking, catching up, and laughing together- three siblings, three spouses, and a lot of fun!

a sort of reception

after the photos were taken we headed back home to change into some more comfortable clothes.  then we all met up for a really nice dinner together to celebrate.  we went to firerock grille, and it was fantastic!  i had never been there before and was really impressed with the great food.  we spend an hour or so just hanging out and having a great time with miyuki's family as we got to feast on the delicious cuisine.  it was all chad and miyuki's treat- a sort of wedding reception that they never got to have!
it was the last time all of us were going to be together, so it was also a little bittersweet as well.  the next day chad, miyuki, and her family were all going back to chad's.  her family stuck around visiting with them for another week, but it was our last chance to spend time with them.  the whole visit was a lot of fun and it was awesome to get the chance to meet my new sister-in-law's family!

say cheese!

with chad and miyuki visiting, its the first time since they got married that the whole family has been together.  mom wanted to take advantage of this by getting some professional family photos done.  it worked out perfectly too because miyuki wanted to have some wedding style photos of her, chad, and both families!  with her family in town for christmas, my mom scheduled a sitting to get a whole bunch of photos of everyone and everything.  miyuki even had a wedding dress and chad had a nice suit so they could get some really great shots.  the whole thing was a lot of fun, the cousins had a lot of fun playing around and striking poses!  each of the families got the chance to get a portrait, and we had some great pictures of all the guys, of all the girls, and a whole bunch of different combinations of kids/grandkids/grandparents.  we all look forward to seeing the final product and getting some prints to display of our happy- now bigger- family.
(more pics)