Happy New Year!

I hope every one had a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year!

My parents came to stay for Christmas -- and it was great! We didn't do a whole lot, but it was nice to catch up on reading and playing and relaxing!

One of our favorite "Christmas Traditions" is to go out to Chili's for dinner on Christmas Eve. The boys shared a dessert with Grampa --

It's a good thing they shared it -- it was HUGE!!! I think it's called the Molten Chocolate Fudge Dessert of Death... or something.

Christmas Day was nice and relaxing. We managed to keep the kids at bay until 6:30 or so. Then they just couldn't wait! Santa brought them both what they asked for -- I guess they had been good and stayed on the nice list after all!

The biggest hit presents were the PSP and the RockBand2/Lego RockBand for the PS3 we have. And the Lego's, and the video games, and the cars, and the dinosaur puzzle-statue thing, everything else! They really did bring in a good haul!

Thanks Aunt Jen & Uncle Will!!!!!

On Boxing Day (that's December 26th), Grampa brought Josh outside to teach him how to shoot a BB Gun. I don't know if you remember, but on Thanksgiving Day, Josh had his Cub Scout Turkey Shoot and didn't do so well with the BB Gun. So, Grampa brought his BB Gun and they really had a good time shooting targets.



Josh really needed Grampa's advice and loved learning how to shoot properly. In the end, he was hitting the targets, water bottles and tin cans every time!


Yesterday we had a snow day here in Georgia. It started to snow Thursday after school. The boys went out and played in the snow for quite some time! Friday we had a light dusting on the ground (and it's still there), but since the roads were covered in ice, they canceled school.


The boys played outside in the snow most of yesterday morning. But as they soon discovered, while snow is fun to play in, it's also cold and when it melts in your hands, your mittens get soggy!

I have some video of Josh shooting and the boys playing in the snow. I'll try to figure out how to upload it. I got a new video camera for Christmas and it's very cool!

For the new year, I will try my best to be more diligent in updating the blog! I sort of slacked off last year a bit... sorry! I promise I will try and do better this year!

Christmas Parade

Two weeks ago we had the annual Santa Parade in down town Kennesaw.

Because Josh is a Cub Scout he and Rich got to walk in the Parade. The Cub Scouts had a float this year and the boys made some ornaments for it at one of Josh's Cub Scout den meetings. Here they are showing them off...





We love this parade and go every year! The last few years have been warm and beautiful. This year was FREEZING!

Sam and I froze on the side watching (but we still had fun)!




And here are Josh and Rich walking in the parade. See if you can spot Josh carrying the banner!






And the Cub Scout float....


I am catching up! I am I am! Today the boys and I went to the Tellus Science museum just up the road and then we came home to make Magic Reindeer food. We're all in Christmas mood now and so excited!

Sam's Christmas Pageant

Wow! Five Days to GO!!!

The boys are both off on Christmas break now. All the Christmas shopping is done and I'm left with a pile of presents to wrap!

Sam had his school Christmas pageant earlier this month and I wanted to share a few pictures and a small video of him with you.

Unfortunately, I forgot the video camera and my regular camera was low on batteries, so I couldn't video it all, but I did get a small bit.

He was one of the Cows in the Manger.



Isn't he the cutest?



Here he is singing "Baby Jesus We Love You."







To be honest, I was actually amazed he sang and did the hand motions. He's so different to Josh. Josh is a complete show off and loves to sing and be up there performing. Sam doesn't like the attention and gets really quiet if he catches you listening to him sing. You have to do it covertly.

The whole pageant was so cute! By far one of the better ones I've seen there! I can't believe that next year he'll be in Kindergarten!

Sam finished up on Tuesday and Josh finished up on Friday. Needless to say, they are very excited about Christmas and being off school for two weeks.

I have a few more Christmas related pictures and activities that I will hopefully get posted this week.

Playing Catch Up!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I wrote last!

We've been busy and been having lots of fun this Christmas break! So... where to begin...

We went to see The Tale of Despereaux on Christmas Eve and both the boys loved it! We'd read the book, which is fantastic, and I knew the movie would be different so I was a bit concerned how Josh would take it.

The movie was different -- but the message in the movie and the book are the same. And it wasn't too different. I thought it was a great movie. Of course, I liked the book better, but both the boys really enjoyed the movie and that's what matters.

Christmas day was fun too. We managed to hold the kids off until about 6:30 or so. Then came downstairs and opened a few presents. We were a bit unfortunate... Sam's only present he asked Santa for was the Playmobil Knights and Castles set. I found one about 2 weeks before Christmas on Amazon and ordered it in plenty of time for a Christmas delivery. We got the notice that it would be delivered on 12/19... and it still hadn't come by Christmas Eve! I wrote Amazon and they told me to "wait until 12/26." Yeah. I don't think so.

I had to go out and buy something else for Sam (I got the Playmobil Skatepark for him). Santa left a note saying the elves ran out of the item he asked for, He was a bit disappointed Santa didn't get him the set he asked for, but still loves the Skatepark anyway.

The boys got a Wii and some games for it from the Grandparents (both sets chipped in for the unit plus a few games, extra controller, etc...). So that has been the main source of entertainment for the past week.

We've been having all sorts of fun "Family Challenges" on the Wii Sport.

We took the kids on a Nature Scavenger hunt one day, and to the Tennessee Aquarium one day. Both were lots of fun and there are pictures up on my Flickr page.

We also had a bit of bad news about our car. On Christmas Eve when I was driving all over trying to get Sam's gift, I noticed the speedometer had stopped working. So we brought it to the dealer shortly after Christmas and discovered it needed (among other things) a new transmission.

We hummed and hawed over getting the repairs or buying a new car and when I mentioned to the dealer we may be interested in a new car, he told me he couldn't help me out there. No wonder they need a bail out!

When that happened, we decided to cut our losses and bring it to an independant garage for a 2nd opinion. He was so nice! He looked at our car and spent a lot of time diagnosing it. He called us frequently and let us know what was going on. Bottom line tough -- yes it did need a new tranny.

We were prepared for this, so we'd been looking at some new car options and decided, for now, the best thing is to keep our car and do the repairs. I love my car and am just not ready to give up on it, downsize or settle for something I don't really want. Hopefully we'll get the car back later in the week.

The boys start back at school on Tuesday. Sam told me the other day he missed his friends and wanted to go back to school. Josh is ready to go back too!

So that's pretty much up to date -- the abridged version anyway!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's to new beginnings, and a prosperous 2009!

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

Okay, not quite "Wordless" --

The boys and I went to the mall yesterday so they could see Santa. We were trying to decide if this was a Santa Helper or the Real Santa while we waited.

When we got up there, Santa told the boys to "Be good so they would STAY on the Good List."

Josh was so excited because Santa told him he was on the Good List!!! He said,

"Mom, this must be the REAL Santa because only the Real Santa knows who's on the Good List!"

Today we're busy getting ready for the "Big Day!" We're Tracking Santa all day and then off to see "The Tale of Despereaux" this afternoon. We read the book and are so excited to see the movie. The book has made it up to one of our all time favorites! Hope the movie doesn't disappoint!

Merry Christmas everyone!




More Wordless Wednesday here!

Rainy Days

I have to say this has been one weird week.

Monday I had my TV interview. It went really well. I think. I did manage to get all my points across (except one) so that was good. Of course the first question she asked me was something I was totally unprepared for, but in hindsight, a fairly good question.

The interview was set up by the folks at Being Savvy as part of my involvement over there. It was for a local Atlanta TV show called Focus Atlanta and the subject was "Stress Free Travel with Kids." She asked me, "What's better, traveling by plane or driving?" Of course it threw me a bit, but I think I managed okay.

We'll see when it airs. If you live in Atlanta, it's on 12/21 at noon on channel CW69.

Josh was home sick on Tuesday. I don't know what was wrong, but he had a 102 temp on Monday night and it wasn't gone on Tuesday morning so I kept him home. Seemed like the right thing to do and he was fit as a fiddle yesterday so off to school he went. But when he got home, every little thing made him upset and cry. Really too many to mention. I hope it was just tiredness, but boy he was not happy yesterday.

Yesterday we had rain. Lots and lots of rain. Not a slow drizzle, but heavy downpours all day long. From the time we woke up. Of course I had to run out and do errands.

Sam changed his mind on the gift he wants from Santa. We got him the Playmobil Pirates to go with the set he got for his birthday. He saw an advertisement for the Playmobil Knights and Castles and decided that is what he wanted. So... I had to go return what we bought.

I knew that set was cheaper at Target so I went to Target. They didn't have what I wanted, off to Toys-r-Us to return what I had and pick up what he wanted. Of course they didn't have it either. Off to Wal-Mart. No luck there either.

I traipsed all over Kennesaw, in the pouring rain and couldn't find it. It was EVERYWHERE two weeks ago. So I came home, checked Amazon and there it was -- on sale as well.

Sam's Christmas pageant is today so when I came home yesterday I made the snowmen cupcakes. Big mistake. The "hats" all fell off over night.

So, woke up this morning, still pouring rain mind you, and had to try and fix all the snowmen's hats. I think they'll be okay. Of course they probably look cuter than they taste, but who cares. They are adorable!

I really hope the rain lets up just a bit. Rich is supposed to be going in to the office today and I hate when he has to drive in all that yucky weather. Of course his phone's just rung so it may be a day when he "plans" to go in, but never quite makes it!

I'm off to get ready for the day. I'll let you know how his pageant went. He was quite excited, but he may be the kid that decides he doesn't want to do it when he sees all the people. I don't know whether to hide in the back or be front and center!

We were watching "Dennis The Menace's Christmas" and Dennis the Menace was wearing that same sweater. There was something about Dennis that was just so Sam-like.

This weekend we'll try to get the leaves finished -- we're up over 60 bags now. And we have our annual Santa Parade downtown.

And then more rain expected all week next week.

Drought-schmout.

Dear Santa....

After I wrote the post about Josh and the Santa Dilemma, I was contacted by a Macy's representative telling me about the Macy's Believe program.

This year Macy's wants everyone to embrace the holiday spirit of love and charity.

Macy's stores all over the country have special mailboxes for letters to Santa. All you have to do is have your kids write a letter to Santa, affix postage and address it to Santa at the North Pole. Macy's will deliver the letters and donate $1 for every letter received up to $1,000,000 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

I know what I'll be doing with the kids this week!

I really love this idea, even more so now with Josh "on the brink." We can write a letter together and then post it at Macy's. I know Josh will have fun writing the letter -- I've already found several little "Dear Santa" notes around the house. And supports a good cause!

The site is pretty cool too. You can download stationary to write your letter, read the famous letter from Virginia to the Editor of the New York Sun, and his wonderfully, beautiful reply (something I need to keep on hand to help explain things when Josh starts asking again).

There is even a "Be Claus" feature where you can upload your own photo and turn yourself into Santa Claus! I tried to do it, but my first picture was too big and my second too small.

I'll give it another go and try again. If I can get it to work, I'll repost!

Savvy Gift Guide and Giveaway

The folks over at The Savvy Source have a new Holiday guide. There are all sorts of great holiday tips, crafts, present ideas and more.

But best of all, they are having a daily giveaway starting December 9th and running through the 20th. There are all sorts of great prizes to be won.

And with so many of us on tighter than normal budgets these days, who wouldn't want to win some fantastic prizes just in time for Christmas?

Check these out:

• a copy of the book, The Gift of the Christmas Cookie;
• a package of Better Bakes™ organic break-and-bake cookies;
• a DVD of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl;
• Ralph Lauren Paint-Your-Own-Polo Shirt kit;
• a Creative Projects art table;
• a $25 gift certificate from Infused Beauty;
• a copy of the book Mask Parade;
• Leap Frog Didj with one Hannah Montana game and one Indiana Jones game;
• a soothing baby blanket from Shi Shu Baby;
• a Leap Frog Tag Reading System with one Cat in the Hat book and one Dora the Explorer book.

Details on how to win these prizes can be found on the Holiday Giveaway guide site.

And their is a GRAND PRIZE drawing on December 22nd which includes:

• A smashing "Capture the Moments" package with a Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 camera phone,
  
• an HP photo printer with Creative Studio software,
  
• and a one year premium subscription to the photo-editing website Picnik

All you have to do to win the Grand Prize is help spread the word!

To enter the Grand Prize giveaway, simply add one of the badges on the Give away site to your blog or website, and then send an email to giveaways [at] savvysource.com with your URL enclosed and HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY in the subject line. All entries must be received no later than Midnight PST on December 21. We’ll draw one winner at random on December 22 and announce the lucky recipient on Being Savvy.

Unfortunately, since I write for the Savvy Source, I'm not eligible to win... but you are!

So head over and enter the give aways!

The Santa Dilemma

Sam, at 4, is at the perfect age for Christmas this year.

He's old enough to remember a bit about last year; he's excited about all the lights and the decorations.... We watch Christmas TV shows and movies and sing Christmas songs all the time! And he's so excited about Santa.

Every thing he sees on TV, he's asking Santa for. We've had to do some serious expectation setting this year (for both boys). He's narrowed down his list, but still... It's exciting to see him so enchanted by the whole Christmas Spirit.

But, then enter Josh. He's seven. He's in the second grade. Last year someone in his class told him there was no Santa. He said this boys mom said "Santa" was the parents. (This is the same mom that didn't call me when Josh broke his arm at her house earlier this year so she was already not high on my list.)

Luckily, Josh didn't believe him because we can watch Santa on the computer! Thank you Norad Santa Tracker!

But this year, he came home from school and said there are more kids in his class that don't believe.

And he's talking about this in front of Sam.

We've been able to laugh with him about how ridiculous those kids in his class are and say, "Well of course there's a Santa!" I think he still WANTS to believe, but the time is coming... very soon... when he won't believe any longer.

I don't want this knowledge to ruin the magic for Sam. Realistically, you only have a handful of years, maybe 3 or 4, for the whole "Santa" thing with the kids when they really and truly believe.

Rich and I have talked about what to do and say to Josh. Do we tell him? It would crush him. If he brings it up again, do we pull him aside and tell him to stop talking about it in front of Sam? Because it's just not fair to Sam to take the magic away this soon. We can't ignore it and hope it goes away, because it won't.

This is our last year with Josh believing. I don't want it to be Sam's last either.

Our Christmas

Christmas Day was great at our house this year. I've already mentioned that my parents were here -- making it really special to share it with them.

Aside from the early wakings, I really don't think we could have had a better day!

We did not put all the presents out for the kids. We saved 5 presents each back for "Boxing Day" (December 26th). We always do this and it's really nice because it makes Christmas last a bit longer. Plus, it's bringing some of Rich's traditions into our family traditions. The presents aren't big -- just books or puzzels or DVD's -- but it's still nice.

Anyway, we kept five each back for boxing day and we kept 5 each hidden downstairs for "later" in the day.

And this was still how crowded our tree was!

Santa does not wrap his presents at our house. He gives one present and leaves it out. This is another "tradition" we've carried over from England. When Rich was growing up, Father Christmas only left one present and left it out unwrapped.

It's nice because the kids can see their big Santa present and play with it!

Both boys were really excited! Sam got his "Big GeoTrax" that he's talked about over and over since Thanksgiving! He loves it! It's a fantatic toy -- he loves trains so this is perfect! It's not Thomas, but it's "Trains"!

And remember how I said Josh asked for the Pokemon Battle Dome that was $59? And got HORRIBLE reviews? And we talked him out of it? Well about a week before Christmas, Amazon had it on sale for $10.99 plus free shipping. I can handle $11 for a crappy toy to see the look of surprise on his face. And after that boy in his class told him there was no such thing as Santa, this was a great way to put that belief right back there!

And it is a very poorly made toy, but he likes it. So does Sam. And oddly enough, this is the only picture I have of Josh with it on Christmas day -- I have lots of Sam playing with it (and I have lots of Josh playing with the GeoTrax) -- I guess Josh likes his new Nintendo DS Lite better!

But he told me that night he was really happy he got the Battle Dome from Santa. And even though we'd told him that he had to think of something else to ask Santa for, this was what he really wanted. So it was worth the $11 in the end!

It took us quite a while to open the presents. The kids wanted to stop and play with the things they had already recieved, then when the tree presents ran out, we brought a few others up and they were just as excited about the DVD or PJ's or whatever the "minor" present was at that time.

In the evening, we played some games and ate more food and had a great time! We were all tired when it was time to put the boys to bed, but the adults persevered! We watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on DVD (a Christmas present from the boys) and then went to bed fully content and happy!

My parents were supposed to be here through Boxing Day, but after a consultation with the Weather Channel, they decided to leave on Boxing Day and avoid the snow storms that were coming over the next few days. So, they packed up their car and left about lunch time on Boxing Day. It was sad to see them go, but it was nice to have them here for a week too!

Christmas Eve Recap....

Okay, so Christmas was three days ago, I know... I've been really, really, really slack.

My parents were here for Christmas. It was really nice having them here. The last three Christmases were "just us" so it was nice to have some family to share the holiday with again!

It's always fun when my parents come. I love going out to sushi with my mom. She knows what to order and the company is always fun! My dad sometimes comes, but he doesn't like it as much as we do! Anyway, we went out one day before Christmas (my dad and Sam came) and had some sushi! Yum!

We also discovered the most fantastice ever wine shop near us. It's just opened and it has the largest, and most reasonably priced wines I've ever seen. Rich and I actually went there on a "date" the Saturday before Christmas -- my parents babysat and we went out and spent an hour in the shop! Rich actually stopped the manager and thanked him for opening the shop near us! We found wines from Australia (like Grant Burge) that we have not seen since leaving there! And at reasonable prices. Plus, some of the cheap stock standard usual wines were about $2 cheaper than at the grocery store. We're going back tomorrow!

Anyway, Christmas Eve we did the usual -- we went to dinner and then drove around looking at the Christmas Lights in our neighborhood.

The best thing was watching my dad and the boys have dessert. We didn't have our cameras with us, but we did get some from the mobile phones. It was seriously a commercial moment!

Sam was sitting on my dad's lap and Josh was next and they were all three sharing the chocolate mountain of cardiac arrest!

I have to tell you, my dad was in seventh heaven with the boys there sharing with him!

When we got home, the boys wrote their letter to Santa, then spread out the reindeer food and it was off to bed!

Luckily, they both fell asleep quickly! And they slept for a long time too --- hahaha! Right!

Josh was up at 1:00, 2:30, 4:3o and 5:30. I made him stay in bed until 6:00! But more on that and Christmas Day tomorrow... or later...

Ten days?

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I posted something! I guess the Christmas Season really made me lose track of time!

I promise to post more about our Christmas later -- an update and pictures from my NEW camera (hooray!)

But for now, a bit of pre-Christmas pictures!

We tried to keep the kids occupied and busy before Christmas. So one thing we did was get out some older toys that we don't play with much -- mostly because they take up room or need to be put together or both!



One of their favorite things to play with is our Thomas the Tank Engine train set. We play with it quite a bit, but normally don't put the whole thing together. We did this year. It took up our whole living room!
This picture doesn't show the whole thing. We added more so it would go around the tree -- it really did take up the whole room!



At one point we were all down working the different switches on the track and trying to keep all the engines running. It took all of us -- including my parents (who were here for Christmas) to keep things flowing smoothly!

We all had fun playing with it!

I'll be trying to catch up on all my posts and reading over the next few days! I hope everyone had a very Happy Christmas!!!!

TGIF!

It's amazing how much there is to do this time of year! I have been so busy doing nothing that my head is spinning!

So, this week Sam and I had a Christmas Party with one of the Mom's Groups I belong to. It was lots of fun. I picked him up early from school and brought him over.

He was so busy playing that I had to force him to sit down and eat some lunch! Thankfully, there was Pizza there -- I think that may be his most favorite food ever! I can always get him to eat that. And grapes.

Anyway, the party was lots of fun. Mary did Story Time...


She's going to kill me for posting this!

Her son Jack and Sam played together very nicely. Of course there were several photo ops of them playing really well, but as soon as I got my camera, they broke up. Here's the one picture I did get.



The only thing that tore them away from that toy was a visit from "The Big Guy."



He looks a bit "shy" in this picture, but he was really excited. He ran right up to Santa and stared talking to him and asking him for his "Big GeoTrax" (which today he told me he no longer wants.... too bad kid!)

Jack then decided to entertain us all with some Karaoke...





He's a trip! So funny and cute and he rivals Sam for "Pickelpotamus" status! It's no wonder the two of them get along so well.



Yesterday, Josh came home from school and announced that a kid in his class doesn't believe in Santa!!!! He told Josh that the Mom's and Dad's put the presents out and pretend to be Santa. He couldn't believe this boy would tell him that!



He said, "But Mom! We know Santa's real, don't we?"



I said, "That's right! Poor (boy's name) he won't be getting any presents from Santa because Santa only brings gifts to who believe."



Josh: "Yeah, and do you know HOW I know he's real? The Santa Tracker on the computer!"



I have to tell you I was so upset after this conversation! I mean, I know he's a smart kid and I know this is probably the last year for him to believe, but I was hoping it would last just a bit longer!



I think he wants to still believe this year so he does. Next year I think he'll start to have his doubts.



It's so much fun to see how excited the boys get about seeing Santa and writing him letters and leaving Reindeer food out on Christmas Eve. And to see how their eyes light up on Christmas Morning when all the presents are under the tree...



I guess this year we'll just have to enjoy it and hope next year we can keep the magic alive... and keep it going for Sam as long as possible.

118 Days Until Christmas!

So it's 90 degrees here in HOTLANTA and my pimp Elizabeth over at Table for Five had a Christmas Meme going. While she didn't exactly tag me, she did open it up to those that want to do it.

And since I'm hot here, I thought I'd do it now to start getting me in the mood for the holidays -- perhaps cool me off a bit too.

Here are the questions (and answers) --

What is your favorite Christmas gift? Last year I got a laptop. That was the best gift really. And one year my mom and dad got me a new refrigerator. I really loved that too (my old one was broken). I love getting presents that I can tell the other person is excited about. If someone takes the time and finds a gift that makes them excited to give, then it's a great gift in my book.

What is your best memory of Christmas? I have so many fun memories of Christmas time. When I was growing up, we never went anywhere. My Gramma or Grandmother & Grandfather always came to us. There were some times when it was just the five of us and that was great. And after I got married and had kids, the one where Sam was just 6-weeks old was pretty special -- it was our first Christmas where we went nowhere and no one came to us. And last year spending some time in Perdito Key was pretty cool. I guess my best memories of Christmas all revolve around just being with your family and spending some time together.

Depending on where you live, do you have a hot or cold Christmas? Well, I'm in the South so it's not cold like Michigan cold -- which can be very cold!!! But it's not hot like Brisbane hot. I guess for me, Atlanta has the perfect mix of not too cold and not too hot.

Would you prefer to try the opposite weather at least just once? Well, I've had Christmases all over -- from cold in Michigan, Germany, Norway to HOT in Brisbane, Melbourne and New Zealand and in between, like in Atlanta. When I lived in Australia, it was really strange having Christmas in the summer. It just didn't feel "Christmasy" -- but it was nice to try it out. And I think Michigan winters are just too cold. I prefer the nice compromise I have here in Atlanta!

What do you prefer in a tree? Fake or real? I like the fake ones. I don't remember the last real tree we had.

What is your favorite Christmas Carol? I like a lot of Christmas carols. I really love "Oh Holy Night" and "The Hallelujah Chorus." But, we have a CD called "The Best Christmas Album in the World, EVER" and it is. My favorite song on there is "A Fairytale of New York" by the Poags. Love it!

And, my very least favorite: "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Gives me the heebie jeebies...

What is your favorite Christmas Dinner? Turkey, stuffing, a small bit of ham, sausages wrapped in bacon (from the English person in the house), beans and peas and gravy. Complete with Christmas Crackers, silly hats and jokes.

Do you wear a Santa Hat at Christmas? No. But I do have them for the boys who like to wear them around.

Have you ever seen Santa delivering your gifts? No. And I don't want to lest he disappear never to return.

How does Santa get to all those houses in just one night? Well, I don't know but he does it because we watch him on the NORAD TRACK SANTA website every year.

Okay -- go out and cool off and do the Christmas Meme! Get yourself in the holiday mood! Josh already has his Halloween costume and has started his Christmas list!

I'm tagging those that want to spread the Christmas cheer early and those that want to be Scrooge!

PS: I'm in the midst of changing the website around. Look for changes and I may steal some ideas from your blogs so watch out!

First Post

We had a great Christmas this year. We spent Christmas day by ourselves again this year. We tried to make it nice and quiet and relaxing. We went to the Gallagher's' house for dinner so we didn't have to worry about burning the turkey or anything either! It certainly takes a bit of stress out of Christmas when you don't have to cook! Josh just wanted to open presents! Sammy quickly learned that presents had toys and such in them and has only just stopped asking for more!

Josh's favorite presents have to be his new PlayStation2 Games and the Nintendo GameBoy and the games (this was a life saver for the Florida trip!). Josh is in for a big shock when school starts next week and he's back to 1/2 hour of PlayStation a night and that's only if all his chores are done! Sam's favorite presents were any and all of them!

My friend Linda Leigh was kind enough to let us use her condo in Perdido Key, Florida. It's right on the Florida/Alabama border -- Gulf Shores area. Hurricane Ivan went right through there in 2003 and there was still a bit of construction/repairs, but it looked to be fully recovered.

The beach was amazing! We got out to the beach every day, took walks and played in the sand. Rich managed to make one of his famous "sand vehicles" for the boys -- this time it was a boat, but when it was through, the boys decided it looked more like a rocket ship! Of course the boat-rocket didn't last long with Sam around! It soon became a big pile of sand with a moat and "Henry's Tunnel" (from Thomas the Tank Engine).


Even though it was too cold to go swimming, it didn't stop the boys from getting their feet wet!

So, school starts next week and it's back to the grind stone! We're looking forward to 2007 and all it has to offer us.