Christmas Eve with the Comande Family

My mom's parents always throw a great party on Christmas Eve. After a wonderful meal, we all gathered in their living room to open presents and celebrate another exciting year. We gave Grandma & Grandpa our usual gift -- a "coupon book" full of things that we'll do for them throughout the year, including taking them out to dinner, taking Grandpa to Arlington race track, and helping Grandma type reunion luncheon invitations on the computer.

The other highlight is the usual gag gift exchange between Jenelle/Holly and Randy, which I was lucky enough to capture on video. I also included a clip of all of us singing "Jingle Bells". Check out the video on the movie blog right now! :)

It's almost February, but I've got one more Christmas-themed post coming soon!

And then there were five!

I am overjoyed to report that I am an uncle for the fifth time! Kellan Andrew Isaacson was born yesterday at 11:17 a.m. Details here on Holly and Andrew's blog.

I'm not sure when I'll get to see him in person, but probably sometime in the next couple of months. Congrats to Andrew, Holly, Ella, and Lily on the blessing of a new son / brother!

One more thing -- Kellan arrived one day before Holly's birthday, which is today! Happy Birthday!

Hangin' with the parents

This past Christmas was great for so many reasons. One is that there were quite a few gift giving and receiving occasions (December 19, 23, 24, 25, and 31). Jenelle and I went to my parents' house on the 23rd. We all got lots of cool stuff, some of which I captured on digital film. Here's the album.

Christmas at Gail's

On Saturday, December 19, Jenelle and I traveled to Lodi to celebrate "Isaacson Christmas" with all of dad's family. Aunt Gail and Uncle Mike hosted an amazing party. Andrew, Ella, and Lily made the trip from Minnesota. Also joining us were Dan & Sandy from Ohio, who picked up Katie and her boyfriend, Chris, in Chicago on the way. Todd, my cousin from the Houston area, had flown up to Wisconsin for the holidays, so he joined us as well, along with Uncle Jerry. Grandpa Milt's "lady-friend", Jeri, was also able to make it.

We celebrated with great food, Christmas songs, and lots of catching up with family from near and far. Here's a movie that shows everyone there (except for Uncle Mike and Jeri -- sorry about that!)

We had lots of fun, and time flew by while we there. Gail & Mike were nice enough to let Mom, Dad, Andrew, Ella, Lily, Jenelle and me spend the night. It was a wonderful trip!

The Little Red Car

There should be lots more posts here in the coming days, as I begin to post Christmas photo albums and share some of the great family times we had. But first, I'd like to tell you about Jenelle's 1997 Toyota Corolla.

Jenelle bought the Corolla from a college friend while she was at Northwestern. We've been impressed with how little maintenance has been required to keep it running. It now has over 100,000 miles on it, and we don't have any plans to retire it.

At the end of last year, this car survived three separate mishaps, each of which occurred because of a male with the last name "Isaacson":

1) While Jenelle and I were in Oregon, the Corolla was parked in my parents' driveway. At some point during the trip, my brother, who was in town visiting for the holidays, accidentally backed in to it, though it was barely a gentle bump. There may be a tiny scratch on the front bumper, but the car has so many love marks of this kind that I don't really notice anymore.

2) The morning of our return from Oregon, my dad had the wonderful thought of warming up the car for us so that it would be ready to drive home. This was especially nice, considering that we had to take three flights during the course of the night to get home (PDX-SEA, SEA-MSP, MSP-MKE). Unfortunately, he locked the keys in the car with the engine running. My uncle, a locksmith, came over to fix it within a couple of hours, before we got back from the airport. The car was certainly nice and warm when we got in. :)

3) The last mistake can be traced to none other than ME. I must have been tired after all that traveling, because I left the lights on when I parked the car in the driveway. It usually beeps at the driver when this is done, but I must not have heard it. So, the battery was dead. Thankfully, my brother came over later with a battery charger that my dad has in the garage. After a few hours of charging, the car ran as good as new.

Here's to all the years you served us well, Corolla. And many, many more.