December 2012

Picture of the eight Kindem Grandchildren (Lindsay, Reagan, Alex, Ben, Brooklyn, Anna Katherine, Larkin, John)

Christmas brought many family members in to town this year, with Great Grandma Kindem making the trek all the way from Seattle, Washington, and others coming from D.C. and Pennsylvania. John and Larkin thoroughly enjoyed opening presents this year, which was fun for all of the family to see, and the eight Kindem grandchildren had fun playing together.

The Annual Christmas Eve Party was scaled down with only immediate family members attending, but that didn’t stop us from continuing the tradition of having beef stew, grilled oysters, many heavy hors d’oeuvres, and plenty of booze. A “new” oyster shooter was invented where some combined their oysters with red wine, which made for an interesting combo – who knows what type of shooter we’ll come up with next year (jager shooter, anyone?)

Some of the family made it up to the lake house over New Year’s for a long weekend, which was a welcome change of scenery for the O’Brien-Kindem families. John, Larkin, and Reagan enjoyed the cold weather and family time, but the highlight of the trip was Paul & Kathryn jumping in the lake on New Year’s Eve. The lake was freezing cold and the snow on the banks of the lake made it even more intimidating. This tradition was started one-year ago when Kathryn made a late-night bet with her brother Doug that she would jump in the lake the next day, and she did. Kat’s still waiting for her $40 payment, don’t hold your breath.

The families are ready for a new year to begin…

– J. Paul Kindem