December 25, 2002

Xmas With the Fam

The Holidays just wouldn't be the holiday without my wacky family. So I headed out to tha EnJay to spend some quality time with the three lunatics otherwise known as my mom, my dad and my brother.

Monday, December 23rd

mom — So it's like two days before Christmas and we're all sitting in the living room catching up and I look up on top of our Christmas tree and I'm like "Um Mom, why is there a Klansman on top of our tree?" She's like, "It's not a Klansman, it's a "White Santa." This was followed by a silence as we all eyed my mom suspiciously wondering what else her evil KKKristmas would have in store for us...

We decided to take immediate action - we removed the evil, White-Pride Santa and replaced it with the giant, light-up lawn gnome I got my brother for Xmas.

brett, dad — Mission accomplished. My father and my brother pose in front of our handiwork!

Tuesday, December 24th

uncle walt — Christmas Eve we drove down to spent some time with my Uncle Walt (who's a dead-ringer for the actor who played the father in "A Christmas Story.")..

aunt ann, brett, me — ...and my Aunt Ann.

dad, mom — Here's another pic of my mom and dad included just so you could get a real good look at dad's festive Christmas tie! Noice!

dad, mom — After visiting with Ann and Walt - we hopped in the car and headed north for the Battjer's Annual Trip to Church™ (Christmas Eve services at midnight, baby).

brett — In my family, we buy ourselves what we want for Christmas, and we open whatever we bought well before Christmas arrives...so on Xmas eve, we only have a few, smaller gifts to open. Here's Brett holding his bounty of two books.

I managed to net a much larger fish - check me out holding my fancy "Learn to Speak Spanish" software that I asked for.

Dad to me a few weeks later: "So, is the Spanish software working?"
Me: "Yes."
My Dad: "En espanol, por favor." Me: "Si."

dad — Dad, pictured here doin' what he calls "a little jig," shows off the "learn how to not slice when you swing" golf club we bought him.

dad, me

mom — Mom and her new putter. Look out Tiger, Mrs. Battjer's on tha up and up. (Oh, and look at the tree in the background, White Power Santa's back! But only because the lightbulb inside the light-up lawn gnome we put on the tree started to melt the plastic needles of our fake tree and it smelled like burning. A likely story Mom...or shoud I call you EVA?)

Wednesday, December 25th

aunt elaine, brett, chad, dad, grandma, grandpa, lindsey, mom, uncle wayne — On Christmas Day it was snowing like crazy! We piled in the car and risked life and limb (literally!) to drive 45 minutes to Clark, NJ to eat Xmas dinner with my Grandparents and one of my mom's sisters and her family.

casey c, mom, rachael — Later on Christmas night, my mom and I went down the street to meet up with Rachael (my high school sweetheart, aw...) and her little (not-so-little anymore) sister Casey for some serious sleighriding action.

mom — Check out my mom rocking the toboggan in her aqua snowsuit with hot magenta boots! (She looks like one of the female supervillans from a James Bond flick circa '84).

casey c, rachael — Rachael climbs the hills for another run.

casey c — Casey on the Sno-Tube, which proved to be the sled of choice for the evening.

casey c, rachael — Casey was lamenting the fact that she wasn't blessed with the same big boobs that her sister and her mother have - so Rachael started sculpting giant snowboobs on her.

me, rachael — Rachael and me.

Thursday, December 26th

liam — The day after Christmas, Amy and Scott came by my parents house to visit with the kids. Liam opens a gift from my mom and dad.

abbey, scott — Scott and Abbey.

liam — Christmas makes me tired too, Liam. Happy Holidays!