The whole fam-damily

As promised, finally, here is the picture of the gang. It is hard to get us all to smile at once.

We had a very nice Christmas. We had stew and presents at the Curtis house on Christmas eve and Tess got tons of presents. Grandma and Grandpa Palen got snowed and iced in but braved the roads Christmas morning and made it in time for lunch at Herb and Phyllis's with family and neighbors. Tess really got into ripping wrapping paper, so it was a fun Christmas, and we were lucky to get to spend it with family and friends.

Tess is learning new words and actions. She surprises us every day. She now knows one-two-three, Up-Down, and loves to open and shut doors. We spent ALOT of time closing the door, knocking on it, coming in and saying hi, then saying bye and going out and shutting the door. OVER and OVER. She also loves to feed the dogs and tell them to "dit" or "down." I think Spike thinks life has hit a new low when he has to get bossed by a 1.5 year old to get a treat.

Happy new year!