Xmas in Indy, Day 1

December 24, 2013

On arriving in Indianapolis, one of the first things Jahnu showed off was this new game he was playing called Skylanders. I’d heard of this before, but never really seen these guys in action. The basic premise is that it’s a video game, but you can swap out characters with actual action figures (each one has its own special powers, naturally).

So when you switch out a character on the physical “deck”…

… it changes within the video game you’re playing. Really quite nifty, and it’s an ingenious marketing idea. Watching Jahnu play, it reminded me a lot of a kind of Disney-ified version of World of Warcraft. I could see playing this as an adult, and I would have totally loved this as a kid.

While the Huttes were off visiting Shane’s side of the family for the holidays, Liz and I hung out at the house. I was still working remotely, and Liz did a bit of baking.

Later in the evening, my parents came over and stopped off at (where else) a nearby Chinese restaurant for some take-out. The dining room table was covered with a lot of stuff, so we set up shop at the kids’ table.

Is there anything more quintessentially American than Chinese food at Christmastime?

A batch of Liz’s cinnamon rolls. These are always a special treat for Christmas in Indianapolis, and something we get in the mornings – shortly after opening gifts.

A new twist this year – pistachio cookies. These guys are small, and incredibly addictive.

As is our tradition, many of us joined Grandma Phoebe at St. John’s Church, for midnight mass. In addition to our family, my Aunt Vicky, Uncle Benny, and cousin Andrew also attended.

Funny moment – my Aunt Vicky was trying to take a picture of her, and my grandma yelled out “I forgot my teeth!” But she yelled it in Chinese, and at a really high volume (since she is a little hard of hearing). My Aunt Vicky was quick to try to shush her, but my grandma had clamped a hand over her mouth and was laughing like a little school girl. It was a great moment to witness.

Poor Jahnu, who always tries so hard to make it through the service… and always ends up falling asleep.

I’m sure that hearing a few verses of “Silent Night” doesn’t help things, either.

After the service ends, we typically hang out for a while as the church clears… and take a few family photos by the Christmas tree.

My dad, photobombing…

Selfie with my grandma.

Jahnu had brought his binoculars to the service, but Jasmine ended up playing with them at the end of the night. Shane cracked a joke that she was looking for Jesus, and my response back was: “Aren’t we all?”