Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was a teeny bit different for me. For the past two years (as if it's already a tradition for me), I've spent Christmas with my family and then flown to Vegas to spend with H2B and his family. Since H2B had a lot of work to do, he went to Vegas for a quick trip (12/23 - 12/25) and left me behind. Boo!

On the other hand, yay! As a tradition, my family gathered together for dinner on Christmas Eve. This year, we met at Gramma's house. I brought her home on the 23rd after I dropped H2B off at LAX and then later that night, Attorney Cousin and Pastor Aunty arrived from SF around 8 PM, shortly after I got back from the gym.**

**Working in a wealthy neighborhood means TONS of yummy sweets available during the whole month of December...which also means an extra 2 -3 pounds of weight gained!

The next morning, I woke up early and went for a morning walk/jog around the block before everyone got up. Around noon, Attorney Cousin and I headed out in her awesome "new" (bought used) Infiniti G35 Sedan to buy last minute gifts and groceries. For whatever reason, our adventures around Rancho Cucamonga (within a 5-mile radius) was really fun. We went to Target (to pick-up my bro's GC from Pastor Aunty), Barnes & Nobles (for first cousin once-removed's gift from Atty. Cousin), Starbucks (where I tried the peppermint white mocha and highly do not recommend it), Ralphs, and McDonald's (gift card for a distant cousin). When we got home, Bro had arrived and we ate a quick lunch. Afterwards, we found another reason to head back out in Cousin's awesome G35, which she had purchased on 12/22. This time, we three went to Home Depot to get Pastor Aunty's gift (a fancy lamp). Daddy and Wendy arrived shortly after we got back, then Pre-M.D. Cousin, then her family, then Pastor Aunty's clan, including a few surprise special guests: Cousin-in-Law's sister and doggies!

This was our first time meeting crazy Louis/Louie:

Cousin and wifey rescued Luey from the pound for First-Cousin-Once-Removed's birthday.

We also had 2 more surprise guests - Gramma's cousin(?) and her daughter, both from Japan or Taiwan. (Clearly, I did not know of these distant relatives; it was my first time hearing about them and meeting them.)

Dinner began around 5:30 PM, and as always, us "kids" sat at the Kids' Table (in the breakfast room) and the adults ate in the Dining Room. We didn't have any traditional Christmas foods -- instead, we had a hodgepodge of Asian foods, mostly prepared by Daddy and Wendy, and plenty of alcohol (thanks to the Chen Cousins!).

Later on, we gathered in the Family Room to hang out...and watch Pastor Aunty dance. Dude, it was awesome. Cousin-in-Law and I were washing dishes and playing commentator while Bro DJ'd and Top 2 Cousins got down with their mom. Hopefully, the video will one day be on YouTube and circulated with top ratings.

Later on, we gathered in the Living Room to open gifts and take more pictures.



Our last relatives (the Genius Family) arrived shortly after and joined in the festivities. We all hung out some more, drank, and was merry. :) It was wonderful to have all of the relatives together for Christmas.