"Welcome to the jungle!"

Every year around Christmas, Grandma Duchess and Grandpa Duke have a big "open house" party which draws a host of fun characters. Here are a few shots of the crowd. The woman in the first pic went to High School with RKZ. They have remained good friends.
Uncle with two of his High School friends. I think that the 3rd guy stayed that night and finished off the keg with Uncle (Yes, they are legal).
Some rowdy Knights of Columbus friends - The man closest to the camera is exactly the way this shot makes him out to be.
The rest of the KoC rowdies. The man in the back goes Christmas shopping for his wife on Christmas eve every year and ends the day at Hooters. RKZ normally goes. I guess this year Buck slowed him down :)
My one brother-in-law. Here, I guess he is adjusting the tree (or hiding his drink) - ha. ha.

It was 19F/-7C today (in Calgary), so what do Buck and I decide to do (with a couple of friends)? Of course, we went to the zoo. Now, there's no snow on the ground or anything - but it was incredibly cold. Thank God that there are a lot of indoor exhibits. We spent a lot of time looking at the monkeys (I was reminiscing about The Pigman for awhile) and they have a great "tropical forest" section. We took some pictures - but they will be saved for a later date after I have finished with the Christmas photos.

It's supposed to begin blizzarding tomorrow. RKZ is off on a work trip. Maybe Buck and I will nest here until he gets back - of course, we have some big plans already. And we still need to get over to the CSG (who escaped from the hospital - literally). I'll keep you posted.