Decorating the Tree

     Went to my mom's tonight to decorate the Christmas tree!!!  It was super fun!  My mom and dad and brother and grandma and Alex were all there.  We had some food (a dip "platter" of veggies, chips, and dip, then salad and pizza, and a yummy cinnamon cake for dessert that my grandma made)  We all sat down together and ate and had some fun and interesting conversations.  Then, after dessert we all put the decorations on the tree together.

     My mom was pretty funny.  She was having trouble with her pre-lit Christmas tree.  There were certain sections that just didn't want to light for some reason.  She tried re-plugging things in to make sure they were connected in the right spots, she tried changing fuses, changing bulbs.  Finally she decided we should just turn the side with the most lights out toward the wall.  She always wants everything to be so perfect.  It's nice, of course, the way she presents things so well, but I worry that she lets herself go so far with it that she gets stressed out.  Obviously, I don't want her to feel that way, but I also understand her desire to have things the way she wants them.  I know I am the same way, go figure!

     My brother is the funny guy, and of course, he was up to his usual hilarious behavior.  He took a couple gold Christmas balls and hung them on his shorts.  Silly kid.  I wanted to snap a picture, but grandma was looking rather disapproving, so I told Jason to chill w/the teenage boy routine.  Sometimes it surprises me how far our "sense of humor" goes before she starts to feel uncomfortable.  I think, in exchange for her open-mindedness, we should try not to shock her TOO much.

     It was really nice to spend time with everyone and decorating the tree went really fast and was highly entertaining.  I was glad Alex was there to share it with us, too.  My family has been very welcoming toward him lately, and it's nice to have one less thing to worry about.  I guess I'm a pretty lucky person.