Christmas 2020 is in the books and after a break from social media and the blog I’m back with renewed energy to kick off 2021 rested and my cup full from spending lots of time with the family. This year many gifts were exchanged (the “dads” got the biggest surprise), piles of food consumed (the 20# Christmas Brisket turned out amazing), the college cousins bonded (albeit through drinking games of course), and the 2020 Family Games were entertaining as always (read on for who won the GEKKELLS Cup this year)!
The family
Been a long time since this crew was all together. When there are 7 grandchildren who are all young adults in varying stages of college, it’s near impossible to get everyone in one room at the same time. Due to COVID, everyone was able to come together. However, due to COVID we also understood that being together was risky. My sister and her family traveled from Louisiana, my aunt and uncle drove up from Texas and my dad drove down from Michigan. More deets on all the college cousins and where they are at in life below. Also, not pictured are Nikki and Matt who were wonderful additions to our family this year.
The bonus "kids"
We had a couple extra “kids” celebrating the holiday with the family this year. Introducing Ethan’s GF Nikki and Ella’s BF Matt. They both fit right into this crazy family and everyone agreed they are both “keepers”. Hoping this is the first of many holidays we all can spend together as our family continues to grow.
The cousins
Then and Now
So proud of all these kids and the young men and women they have become. From left to right:
Aaron Gray – Is a senior at Texas Tech University majoring in Advertising. He was a member of the Goin’ band his freshman and sophomore years (he got to march in the Birmingham Bowl in 2017)!
Ethan Gray – Is graduating from Texas A&M with an electrical engineering degree in May. He has accepted a job with a government contractor and has signed a two year contract with the company. He will be moving to Australia in June 2021 for this role.
Jenna Kostecki – Jenna just received her Associates Degree from JCTC and has been accepted and will be attending University of Louisville this winter. She is majoring in Communications.
Emma Gray – Emma is attending Texas A&M and found out over the Christmas break that she has been accepted into the school of Mechanical Engineering!
Ella Kostecki – Graduated from University of Tennessee last May (blog post on her graduation HERE) and has just completed her first semester of law school in Knoxville, TN.
Libby Kraus – Attends Ball State University and is a business major. She is also a midfielder on the Ball State field hockey team. Her 2nd year season was delayed this fall but MAC conference games are re-scheduled this spring.
Hayden Kraus – Will be graduating from Sewanee University of the South in May with a degree in psychology. He is a guard on the basketball team and is usually in season and not able to be around much over the holidays. Although we are so bummed his senior year basketball season is in jeopardy, we are so happy to have him home for the holidays (and make the 2020 cousin picture possible!)
Nothing says Christmas with the cousins like good old fashion drinking games.
The gifts
The dads scored the biggest surprise gifts with twin stand up video games from the family. If you remember our October hiking trip (the blog post on that trip HERE), the house we rented had a similar machine where these two fought for high scores in Pac-Man and Galaga all week. Now they have their own machines and all the high scores can be their own!
The family games
My sister resurrected the Family Games (a tradition when the family gets together). We have a very competitive family so the games are always a fun way to entertain this large group.
The GEKKELLS Cup
The GEKKELLS cup is a traveling trophy that is kept by the Family Games winner until the next family games. GEKKELLS got it’s name by combining the last names of the family member participants (G – Gray, KK – Kostecki Kraus, ELL – McDowell, S – Shineldecker)
The doggos
If there is anything to know about this family it’s that we all love our fur babies! This year we had 5 furry friends celebrating the holidays with us.
Loved seeing the pictures of what looks like a wonderful family time. So glad to see everyone happy and having fun. Thanks for posting.
Aunt Lee Ann
Happy New Year!