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The Most Christmasy of Christmases
January 8, 2014
Yes! It's that time of year again where "The Blog" gets decorated for Christmas with cheesy images! Just look at that snowy window scene to the right there! Isn't that cozy? Couldn't you just stare at that for hours!? And don't you just love the santa hat above on "My Blog" (when I made it back when I was still a bachelor)? Isn't that so wonderful!? I'm so glad you all agree. So glad.
Anyway, I know! This is late! That's what happens around the holidays! We had a great time in St. Louis with friends and family for New Years and now we're back freezing our tails off in this sub zero weather. Wow! It was -10 last night! Fortunately things will be warming up a bit this week. I honestly don't know how you people in Minnesota and Alaska, etc., do it. I get so depressed when I can't spend some time outside for a few days.
Anyway, so we got quite a bit of snow in December, which made everything feel so Christmasy! Hope yours was a good one! Now on with the blog. Not overly exciting but beats a sharp stick in the eye.
And here we go ...
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Video Blog - December, 2014
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Snow upon Locksley Manor in early December. That's the first we've had it that early in years!
He has that, "I think I have to go pee," look.
The girls. Poor Marian just wants to see.
Time to build a snowman! The snow was just too dry the first day to make anything. In case you couldn't tell, that's "Olaf" from the movie Frozen. He loves warm hugs!
Time to join the cousins for some sledding!
Not very safe, but kids are durable.
Something I NEVER did as a kid growing up in So Cal.
You'd think it'd get old after the 175th time.
Hello, mother!
67 years old and still a kid at heart (hope you don't mind me telling people your age)!
Now we jump ahead to a lovely dinner date with my wife at a new swank modern restaurant we tried called Touch (so modern! I love it!). Afterwards we'd be off to the "Beauty and the Beast" musical.
That's a caesar salad. Yeah, they didn't even cut the lettuce. Just served me the head on a platter (sounds morbid, doesn't it?). Now that is what I call modern!
So get this ... we get to the performing arts center and the show's been CANCELLED cause the musical cast got stuck in bad weather in Arkansas (poor Belle)! We even called the place a few hours beforehand! Needless to say, we were disappointed. So, we looked at jewelry for a bit and then went and saw the movie Frozen (which we liked). Praise the Lord, it still turned out to be a lovely evening!
Hello, Christmas angel! lol. So for Marian's 1st birthday we dressed her up and took her out in the snow. She lasted about 45 seconds, but boy did we get some great pictures in that amount of time!
"I think I'll just
toss these berries around in the freezing cold like a good little girl while daddy takes my picture."
We couldn't believe it when she passionately broke out in song, singing, "Glooriaaa!"
A Christmasy meal at the Jer & Danni home. BTW, do you know Philip actually eats faster than any other human being on earth? It's true. If you think your kid is faster, bring him or her on over and we'll have a contest.
A new shopping cart! Let's sell Marian!
Marian just kept on whining and whining for people to put her in and go for a ride. Obviously the boys were more than happy to oblige (for which I had to enforce a speed limit).
This is Ozark TV for ya. Better than any Saturday morning cartoons.
Followed shortly by "The Gaggle of Turkey" show (that term is for geese but I don't know what else to call them). "Crud! The barrel's jammed!"
Cousins Jack and Henry are over from St. Louis to spend the night! Chaos! Yay!
And what did daddy do with Uncle Marscel who was also visiting that evening? Desolation of Smaug, baby! Quick! Guess which one is the real Legolas!
Looking just like Gandalf. Anyway, we thought the movie was great.
Definitely more like the old ones.
It's now Sunday afternoon and these little tikes are ready to sing, "O Come, Little Children" for the Church Christmas program. You can watch them sing on the video blog.
And the older ones give their performance. Really did a fantastic job.
We jump ahead now to Christmas eve at mom and dad's house. Accompanying us were Brad Voeller and his family, Johanna Voeller, and of course Mr. Marscel Pierre Thomas!
Spending time with Brad is like spending time with Steve Carrell from "The Office" (he even looks like him) lol! The difference is that Brad's genuinely enthusiastic in his conversation.
Taste is just half the meal. Appearance is the other half.
Digging into some pie with my bros.
It's Christmas evening and we're waiting for everyone to come and open gifts at our home! Yeah, we're a little weird that way. We don't open presents Christmas morning. Us introverts like to sleep in.
A Christmas kiss.
Greatest gift a man could ask for.
Everyone is here and William is reciting Luke. "Now in that region there were shepards, keeping watch over their flocks by night..." Was woried he would drop the candle and the tree would ignite into a ball of fire.
Each year the mayhem is getting just a little less and less. I figure next year by giving no presents at all the mayhem will be pretty much gone!
"Oh, thank you!"
- "You're welcome!" - "You shouldn't have!" - "I know!"
Looks like Jadrian is about to hurl.
A shot from Marscel's i-phone. I got him a $500 Wal-Mart gift card! Ok maybe not that much, or even close.
William COULD NOT WAIT to tear open this gift!!! It's a video game I got him called "Extreme Chores" where you simulate doing jobs around the house, like raking leaves, cleaning the cat box, and washing dishes! lol! This is actually a gag gift I got for Nathan from Amazon. The box is the gag, and you put the real gift inside (lol, he was almost crying as he held it).
All right! We've got Kathy Snyder and some of the Thomases over for a few days after Christmas! Kathy is a talented jeweler, and she brought a bunch of her wears to make necklaces with the ladies. So good seeing you again, Kathy!
Even Maid Marian joined in.
You know when you're a kid and you get some present that looks totally awesome from the box, and then you go outside to use it, and it's a total bomb (or in this case, rocket)? Yeah, that's what happened again this year.
Just mix a little vinegar with a little baking soda ... and ... should work, right!? Well, after about 20 minutes we finally got it to shoot. It wasn't too bad. Nothing worth writing home about. Beats a sharp stick in the eye. Anyway, thanks for playing with the kids you guys!
And a little "raindrop" oil therapy by Mama Monica on my bride. Can't wait for my 2-hour session next time we see you!
And that's it! Thanks so much for stopping by, and may 2014 be a most grand and blessed year for you! Be sure to start it off with a bang by leaving an explosive comment to make the year even more grand! Bye!
