Curtis Family Get-Together

You know there are those friends that you've had for years.  They are the ones who are there through thick and thin...you celebrate every significant milestone with, go on vacations with, etc.  Growing up, our family was privileged to have several families who we were very close with.  Throughout the years we have celebrated birthdays, vacations, and lots of memories.  Now, we have celebrated weddings and babies together!  It has been a tradition for MANY years that we all get together close to Christmas.  We ALWAYS have it at Mrs. Lisa's house and every year there is a theme - this year it was "Candy Cane Christmas."  Mrs. Lisa goes all out with her beautiful decorations and everyone usually brings the same food year after year.  I LOVE our family friends so much!

Playing Pac-Man with Mark and Wyatt...
for the record this vest is a JOKE!  Mrs. Lisa saw Ryan wearing it on Facebook for the Ugly Sweater Party we
had and said "I HAVE THAT VEST AND I LOVE IT!"  We decided that Ryan and Mrs. Lisa would both
wear it to our Christmas celebration! HA!

Brynn, Frankie, and Wyatt!
For the record - Brynn ate SO MUCH BETTER at the kid table today than the other night!  HA!
It might have had something to do with the fact that all the moms were sitting RIGHT there!

Mrs. Lisa (rocking that awesome vest!) explaining the theme of this year.

We were looking back at pictures from years (and years and years) past and it is just crazy how we have all
changed so much...we were laughing at some of the different boys (and girls) who have been there through
the years and how now we are all (almost...Billy is just in college so no pressure yet Billy!) married!

There is usually a reading of some sort that we all have to participate in.  This year's reading about the Candy Cane
was pretty short, so only one person had to do it.  This was Curt's first year as an "official" member of the
family Christmas so he was voted to do it.  Let's just say he made the reading quite interesting! HA!

This was the first year that the "kids" got to sit in the "adult" room!  Mrs. Lisa said "the kids groups keeps expanding
and the adults are definitely not going to do that!"

One tradition is that we ALWAYS have to take a huge family friends picture!
(With the timer, which always makes it more fun and interesting!)

Take 2 - you can see Sloane a little better in this one, right Em?

There were several new additions this year...Mark and Emily had Sloane in March, Erin and Trey had Colton in July (look at Trey...this cracks me up...Colton was asleep in a back bedroom so Trey used a Cabbage Patch Doll as a stand-in...HA!), and Erin and Pete had their FIRST baby, little girl Zetta Mae, in November!  Lindsey and Curt are holding Frankie...I know they aren't ready to have kids yet, but I think they look like naturals!  HAHA!

The Pingel, Curtis, Jones, and Hildebrand Families of 2012!