Christmas in Iowa

Roger and Jenni had a new baby, Maxwell, who was the center of attention at the Schwartz abode this year at Christmas. This little bundle kicked and squirmed constantly. He also seemed to be consistently amazed by a ceiling fan. Jenni explained that it might just be the contrast of dark against light that caught his eye. Pam’s other nephew, Cooper, just two days older than Max, didn’t get to visit as long as he had to head off to other family engagements.

The Christmas tree was half sized this year and was entirely set up by Pam’s nephew Easton. The star on top was cocked to the side at just the right quizzical angle. When the whole family arrived on Christmas day there were so many loud, boisterous conversations and arguments happening at the same time that I was rather overwhelmed. The best way for me to maintain some straight forward train of thought was to keep adding lines to the sketch. Christmas movies flickered on the TV, including The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Klaus.

Christmas dinner included huge steaks and cheesy potatoes, followed by multiple pies and then games.