It's a Stark Street Pizza Christmas.

We didn't get together with Lisa's family a day after or right before Christmas, like we usually do, so we did it tonight. We planned to gather at my house, but everyone was excited for Stark Street Pizza. Yeah, seriously. To be honest, I was just too lazy to do anything, especially clean, so I was glad, too. :)

It was a lovely time at the pizza joint for a holiday celebration...especially the large (real) stuffed bear on display there (see above photo). Ella and the four boys had a string of questions for me, asking which body parts were real and which weren't. They decided the tongue and eyes definitely weren't. I told them they were probably right. That was interesting dinner conversation.

We exchanged some gifts. Andy made (read: whittled - I'm not joking - like the Owen Wilson character in "Meet the Parents") the kids' presents. He'd made them a Harry Potter wand once before. This Christmas, he whittled them bows and arrows (see photos to the right). The arrows are padded at the end. They go fast and far (!), but don't do damage...what a great, great handmade gift for them.

It was an interesting Christmas exchange. The weather this year made everything a little different. Lisa's like a sister to me (the only non-family member at my wedding, for goodness sakes), so this was part of the holidays we couldn't miss.