White Out

When the winter gives you record snow fall, the natives go sledding.

Merry Christmas!

A few token photos before Christmas present becomes Christmas past. Hope you enjoyed a day full of love and laughter with family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Reindeer Rascals

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

This year, I have enjoyed baking more than I ever have before. Bummer we only have two more baking days ahead of us. Here's my "cheat" cookies:



Not because they're healthy, but because they're pre-made. But I can't knock Pillsbury when they do this sort of thing so well. The boys LOVE 'em. So does Mommy.



We broke out the Santa hats and reindeer antlers for our traditional annual family Christmas evening.




A little Mom and Dad time with the reindeer rascals. Can't beat that.



Our evening involves pizza.



And enjoying the store front displays on Main Street.




Not to mention the chocolate.



And a visit from our good friend, Sarah.



And the games - tic-tac-toe with the mice and cheese in chairs and tables that are "just our size".



And did I mention the chocolate?





This, however, is a typical end to our evenings these days. Tired little Santas. One of them usually cries a little louder and harder than the other. Those of you who have been around us for any amount of time know to which one I am referring.



They weren't quite ready to give up on the evening, yet, though, so we drove around and looked at Christmas lights.



And wrapped up our evening with a game of CandyLand. I am kind of wondering how Kekoa's going to react when I beat him for the first time. So far, the cards haven't been in my favor.

Trimming the Tree

What is he up to, you might ask. Well, let's take a peek.



Putting the first decorations on the tree, it seems. Every tree needs a lizard.



I don't think Grandma had plans to decorate the tree until later, but their persistence and puppy dog eyes and endless pleading payed off.





So they helped Grandpa and Grandma decorate the bottom half of the tree. Or something like that.

Popcorn Shrimp

There's this restaurant Craig and I are not so fond of. It's called Red Lobster. We avoid it like the plague. The food is fine. Some of it even good. But I always come away from it feeling like I sold my soul for a mediocre food experience. Enter my boys. They have decided they love popcorn shrimp.



And then there's the whole "petting the lobster" experience. Gavyn, being the brave little soldier he is, chose to observe from the safety of Daddy's lap.




So every once in great, great while we humor them and take them for a special treat. What a person won't endure for their children.

Socked In

We got socked in over a week ago. You probably heard about it on the news? The big midwest storm? Anywayz... they weren't lying. That was us. And I have pictures to prove it. This may not seem like a lot of snow, but think of it in this light. This is not a winter's worth of accumulation. We got this all in one shot.



I made a serious mistake in not getting out to scoop earlier. It seemed like a better idea to wait until the snow had stopped and do it all at once. Do you realize how heavy this snow was? I was wishing on all the stars in the sky that I had a snowblower. After all, who needs exercise.



And this right here, my friends, was reason enough to go out and clean the garage in zero degree weather so our vehicle can now be parked inside. I only wish I would have thought of it earlier. Like before the snow storm hit earlier.



So there you have it. The first snow fall of the year and it was a doozy. I think it's safe to say we'll have a white Christmas.