Just a spoonful of sugar

Christmas was really fun.  Everybody except Allison showed up so there were a multiplicity of adults, children and even pets because Lindsay and Ashley brought their dogs also.  It was a busy two weeks and lots of noise, but there's nothing better than having family all together.  I loved it.  We did a lot of cooking, baking, and eating, as is tradition when everyone is together.  I was most excited about the pumpkin pie for Christmas Eve dinner.  We spent most of the day in the kitchen and there was a lot of rushing about, getting all the recipes made and getting all the food prepped and ready to go.  It all went off without a hitch (or so we thought) and it was delicious.  We waited a bit after dinner so we could fully enjoy the pie we made for dessert-- 2 pumpkins, a pecan, and an apple.  I of course, went straight for the pumpkin when it was time.  This is where we discovered the hitch-- I left the sugar out of the pumpkin pies!  Both of them!  So sad.  There was no sugar and that was a serious disappointment.  Not to be deterred, Chad scooped out all the filling out of the one we hadn't even cut into yet, heaped a bunch of powdered sugar into it, and then spread it back into the pie crust, covered it with whipped cream, and stuck it back into the fridge.  I was too sad to eat any more but everyone else said it was okay and you couldn't tell the difference.  But sheesh!  I'm sure I'll never live that down.  That was the only unsweetened part of the whole vacation though.  The rest was filled with trips to the movie theater, golf course and paintball range for the boys, trips the the American Girl store and shopping for girls, and lots of hanging out. And food, lots of food that was cooked correctly.