Soup weather . . . Family weather

Here's one way to ward off the chilly weather: Family game night and a pot of soup! My sister-in-law, Mary Ann, and her family came over for a post-holiday get-together.

In this first shot are Joy, my niece, Lee, my husband (who is not mad at anybody despite the body language), Andy, my nephew and Bill, my brother-in-law.

They don't live very far from us, but with our busy schedules, months go by without our seeing them. Here's a close-up of cutie-pie Andy.

We played a game called "Apples to Apples" and had a blast watching those kids come up with the funniest answers. And, of course, this troupe loves electronics, and whenever they come over, they bring some of the latest gadgets that have entered their lives. In this next shot: My son, John, my niece, Joy, and a profile photo of Mary Ann.

The mop that shows up next to my son, John, was unfortunately needed to dry the floor because of the leak coming from the ceiling. We think ice plugged one of our gutters and water re-routed into the house. My poor husband already has his first spring job lined up.

Joy has gotten so tall! We stood barefoot, back-to-back, and she's only a smidgen shorter than me. In the next photo are Joy, Mary Ann, my son, David and moi.

Mary Ann has the most infectious laugh, and I think Joy's laugh is beginning to sound just like her mom's. I was smiling simply from the sheer enjoyment of listening to the two of them.

A nice way to start the new year . . .