The drive to Milwaukee was pleasant enough, with plenty of landmarks and potential stopping places, only one of which we used.

Matt.

Sarah and Jeff.

Dave and Lin. In Mark's family, the person who opens a present gets to pick a present to be opened next. It has to be a present for someone else, though; you don't get to just pick your own present to go next.

This is Dan and The Best Sweater In The Store. Sigh. When Mark and I were shopping, he picked up a sweater and said, "Oh, I really like this! This is the best sweater in the whole store!" I agreed that it was a darn good sweater, and also on sale. Then he picked up one next to it: "We could get this one for Dan." All right, I thought: I can take a hint. So we bought the sweater for Dan and a few other things, and we split up to shop for each other, and I went back and bought The Best Sweater for Mark. Wrapped it up, tra la la. Then he started telling people what a great sweater we'd bought his brother, how it was the best sweater in the whole store, how he'd have loved to have it himself if we hadn't bought it for Daniel...ah well. At least Mark got The Second Best Sweater In The Store. And Dan knows he has to appreciate The Best One.

Lin got an umbrella. Dave's co-workers swore she would hate it and told him it was a really bad Christmas gift, but she didn't hate it at all. It was a good umbrella. Moral of the story: don't listen to your co-workers. They know nothing.

Matt wanted one big thing this year.

And he got it! Very cool, and apparently a good replacement for his old one.

I got a pop-up book of Alice in Wonderland. It's very intricate. I've already gone through the major pop-ups with the Roo, and I'm sure Siri Ann is old enough to appreciate the smaller, subtler ones. I know I am.

Mark's sibs got pop-ups, too, of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Those were gorgeous -- but I liked mine better. Which I suppose is the point of getting one person one thing and others another.

More Gritter Christmas....