Holiday Break and White Elephant 1, 2, and 3

Holiday break in the U.S. was long, relaxing, and satisfying! We flew in December 10 in order to be able to make the famous annual Pennington and Company Christmas party (the company James does freelance work for).

The P & C gang

This was a fun time not only because James got to reconnect to coworkers that he hopes to work with again in July, but also because we got to see so many close friends! P & C is such a great place to work, and many times they allow their employees to work remotely. On the other hand, this means many of our closest friends have moved away and won't be there when we return. But they all made it back for the Christmas party, and it felt as if nothing had changed!

NEOSHO After a few days in Lawrence spending time with close friends, we then spent 10 long days of luxury in Neosho, Missouri, where Mom and Dad Kenny (Beth's parents) had recently built a new house and got a new baby pet pug, Mitzi! The house was awesome and comfortable, and watching TV on a giant HDTV was surreal.

The Kenny Family

Christmas Eve-Eve Evening

John, Paul, Ringo, and George

Tim, Natalie, Robin, and James

We spent our days playing video games with Beth's brother and sister, reading, eating Cheez Its, sitting in the hot tub, and drinking good beer, of course! Christmas in Neosho was magical, fun, and we celebrated with presents in the evening, a new tradition for the Kennys. James' big gift was a beer-making kit, which we dragged back to Guatemala. We hope it will turn out well!

WEST PLAINS After 10 great days, we went to West Plains to spend 10 more great days with Mom and Dad Mildren (James' parents)...and our cat, Mia! Again, there is not much to report since we just did so much relaxing! Christmas Day at the Mildren house is a fun time, and we especially enjoyed Mom Mildren's cookie-baking.

The Mildren Family

Mark, Lynda, Gabby, James

Our beloved Mia

Our beloved Lynda

SPRINGFIELD New Years Eve was celebrated in Springfield, Missouri, with some more close friends, the Pypers, and our friends Adam and Molly.

Adam, Stan, James

Happy 2009!

KC Then, to end the visit, we spent a few days in Kansas City relaxing with more friends. It was a great break!...but did we mention it was freezing cold?

Friends in Kansas City

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3 White Elephant Parties

6 ridiculous gifts

James' contribution poster to our Guate party

While we were home, we had two white elephant parties, where everyone brings an already-owned gift they don't want anymore and then you trade, steal, and end up with, well, who knows! :) Then back here in Guate, we hosted one. We love white elephant parties because we get to be creative and funny and get rid of our junk we don't want anymore. It's also fun to see what others have been hiding in their house all year!

Side note: The BEST white elephant gift we have ever received was the squirrel toilet paper cover from Jake and Amber, from Amber's grandmother (2007).

White Elephant I: Journey Group Party

Dillon, Cara, Kristin, Pat

Lucky Pat!

I hit the jackpot

This gift was so bad it deserved the fireplace!

White Elephant II: P & C Christmas Party

Aaron is excited about his new mask!

Robert scored the Gallo

Isn't everyone looking to add to their VHS collection?

Mandi can rock that hat in L.A. for 2009

White Elephant III: Guatemala CAG Teacher Party

So many great gifts!

I think Mike brings a mustache to every party...

James has been needing a new cell phone purse

Poor Mike. He just got stamps.

Nina got a "hippy kit" of incense

We can't wait for Christmas 2009!