The Day After

The kids bought Kenneth Frisbee Golf disks for Christmas.  So we all went to the park to play.  The park has three holes.  It was fun to play together.  The actual Golf disks worked much better than the plain frisbees.

 After a while the little-er kids wandered off to play on the playground. Christian and Truman stayed and played for a long time together.

Christmas Day

Amid the chaos of stocking opening, Snug remains calm and attentive.

Trying out Syds Chinese Jump rope. 

 Ladson in his elf cloak and Christmas pajamas, with his pile of gifts.  He was quiet as always, so I don't know what he thought about it all. I tried reading his blog to find out, but it has been so busy he hasn't had time to write.

 More Chinese Jump rope.

Even Snug got a stocking.  It has been interesting convincing her that toys that were previously off limits, are ok now.

Syd's Musical Theory of Relativity shirt.

 Grandma and Grandpa and Abby.

 Hazel working on her "All about me" book.

 Coin collecting from Great Grandma and Grandpa Acheson.

 Betting M&Ms with Kenneth's Driedel.

And we wrapped up the day with a little Rock Band.

Christmas Eve

We celebrated our Christmas Eve with a musical extravaganza.  We invited our next door neighbors, and my parents were here.  We added a little bit of group Christmas carol singing.  I was busy holding the trombone for Kenneth, so I gave Hazel the camera.  I am always interested in what she takes pictures of.

 Syd leading the singing.

 Truman and the Tuba, I don't know how she achieved the smoky effect.

 Rebekah and her French Horn.

 Her own foot in tights.

A rare picture of Ladson.

 Bill and Adelaide and Grandma C.

 Nate and Adelaide.

 The  Annual PJ photo-op.

The kids in new PJ's!

Abby Birthday

 4 Sisters.  You can't get them all happy at the same time.

 Abby is CrAzy about Panda anything, even if it is too small. :)

 Opening presents without bending her arms.

 A Bike horn.  Hooray, a new way to make noise!

 "Hello Panda" A whole box to myself!

 Birthday Brownies!

Security Issues

I am going private with this blog on Jan 1.  If you would like to be invited, email me.  I am only trying to hide from strangers, not friends.  So don't be shy; request an invite.

A Girl's Best Friend

Not Diamonds at this house! - I am thankful for my rivet gun.

My in-laws snickered when I got a rivet gun for Christmas from my dad.  It is a most useful tool.  Today I used it to fix my dishwasher. Hooray for washing dishes!

Mustaches

Mustaches are getting a lot of attention these days.  One of the spirit days at the High School, was mustache day.  I heard a story on NPR the other day about 20-something trends, and one of the trends is the "fingerstache".  The funniness of people actually tattooing a mustache on their finger lead to some marker fingerstaches.  It was funny but, I'm glad it's not permanent.

My Hero, Kenneth

Last night after 3 men trying to help me find the missing screw, Kenneth came home with a $2 magnetic stick from auto zone. He walked out to the car, and found the missing screw.  What a relief.  We put the car back together and mad a victory lap, during wich no steam came out from under the hood.  Happy Days!!

Life's so funny...

Isn't it interesting how a little thing like a screw lost in your car (maybe in your cooling system) makes it difficult to concentrate on the rest of your responsibilities?

Gingerbread Houses

What would Christmas be with out gingerbread house making.  Sister Lalonde and Sister Thacker provided the experience for us at Family night.  Although it was with more flair than usual, the girls had LED necklaces that look like strings of lights and the boys had Rudolph light up noses.  A good time was had by all!

O Tannenbaum

Here is our christmas tree. 

Kenneth and I set up the tree.  We put a single string of lights on it and decided it probably wouldn't hold more than that.  We sat in the dark watching the lights twinkle and realized that what this tree needed was an old fashioned treatment.  We strung popcorn, and made homemade ornaments.  We made popcorn balls to hang on it too.  I don't have much decorating sense, but I have enough to override kenneth when he suggested that we just pit the popcorn balls in baggies and use hooks  to hang them from the tree.  We used colored plastic wrap and curling ribbon.  It makes a nice bit of sparkly color.  I am contemplating making some homemade candy canes. I think that the kids have enjoyed making ornaments.