In the great cycle of holiday rotation it was our turn to host Christmas, which was good considering the fact that this year the whole extended family went in together to purchase the kids a trampoline. Now, we have hauled an amazing amount of things back and forth across this great state, but I think strapping a 14-foot trampoline atop the vehicle would have put us in an entirely new category of questionable decision-making. Alas, it was a huge hit and continues to be the place the kids run to directly after school. On a related note, every muscle in my body has filed official complaint with the trampoline company.

Steve’s birthday was a great success and his new race-car grill (also a gift from the entire family) was used in the making of this year’s birthday dinner selection of wings and burgers. The Haws and Bakers joined us, the kids ran amok, and once everyone said their good-byes and went home to tend to their own Christmas Eve preparations, the men at 111 set about assembling the trampoline. Wagers were being placed on how long it would take and how many injuries would ensue, however Steve was bouncing on it within an hour and a half. They were justifiably smug about their accomplishment.

I was beyond bad at taking photos this year, but thankfully my parents decided to purchase themselves a new digital SLR as an early Christmas present, and my mom did an excellent job of taking up the slack. I put together a very quick slideshow (my criteria was to constrain the selections to what could fit within one song). If you are interested in all of the gory details, you can find complete sets over on Flickr.

May this be the last Christmas song you have to hear for the next 11 months….