A few more from Wheaton visit

The Gieser Cousins' Ornament Exchange usually happens around New Year's, complete with lots of good eats and talking and yelling & swapping of the ornaments each person chooses. We had 17 cousins in attendance this year! (Anyone recall how many years has this event been going? 10??)

This year Nate and Susie hosted the event.

We all bring a wrapped ornament, choose a number from a hat, and get to pick an ornament in that order (or swap with someone else who has already chosen). Here's Wendy giving instructions, which of course resulted in much bickering over the exact details - how many swaps allowed per gift, per round, etc. Somehow this same argument happens every year.

On Sunday morning Mom and I enjoyed making lattes on her espresso machine (a Christmas gift from a few years ago), which gave us the energy to complete a puzzle that afternoon!

Another photo with Katie and Noah before they headed out the door for the return trip to Memphis (in a packed truck).

And oh, check out these chubby cuties, Avery (left) and Bella (right). Okay so I 'stole' this photo from Tiffany, since we didn't get to see them over this Christmas. But how could I resist adding a photo of them to this post! Don't those cheeks look kissable?