An old tradition with a new twist

Zeus and I have a blended family. In fact, whenever any of us has to explain our family tree there is likely to be much stuttering and and then we are usually met with puzzled looks. How do I explain that my stepson is four years older than I or that we are now adding great-grandchildren while I am still on "guest status" in my Adults Only subdivision? Add to that the "acquired" family and grandchildren such as the Duke, Duchess and the Princess who have become part of us. And how could we not include the many special friends that are intricately woven into our everyday lives?

So this year we made a big change in our family party. We doubled the invitations and in the process, we tripled the fun! The gift exchange was done away with and replaced with games. The food became multicultural with tamales and other interesting (and spicy!) dishes added. Two pinatas were filled with candy and prizes waiting to be broken at the end of the night. Due to the size of the group we again rented an historic log cabin that was large enough to comfortably hold all of us.

Most of our guests had met in the past so we were all ready for some fun. The guys started the afternoon with a poker game. At five the kids arrived and a "nickle game" replaced the poker. It is one that even the youngest kids can play and at times can get quite noisy.

Then on to the balloon game, a new one for me. It involved tying balloons around the kids' ankles with string. The object of the game is to step on your opponents balloons to pop them and the last one with a balloon is the winner. The kids were divided into younger and older groups. What a fun game!

After a delicious dinner of roast beef, tamales and lots of other assorted dishes (thanks to all of you!) it was time to break the two pinatas. The kids all got a chance to take a swing and gather up sackfuls of candy and prizes.

It was a great evening with smiles and laughter galore. Zeus and I would like to thank all of our family and friends for making this such a great time. We are looking forward to doing it all again next year! And to those of you who are out of state or at home with a sick child, please know that you were all missed.

As usual, more photos at the Shooting Blog.

Santa report to follow tomorrow.