We LOVE Christmas!!!

News stations reported that there was a thunder-like disturbance resonating from the northern Atlanta suburbs earlier today. Was it a fight at a gas station? Was it the sound of Lake Lanier finally filling up after our rain last night? Was it exuberant Badger fans on their way to Orlando? No, it was none of those. It was instead the sound of 4 kids jumping up and down in unrestrained exuberance. Santa brought a Wii. You can't find a Wii, according to mom. In fact, some of dad's coworkers were wondering if Santa might be bribed to get any Wiis he may have obtained. Hypothetically. In case you fell into a well or have been asleep for the last few years, Wii is a really neat game system. It's very interactive in a way that no other gaming systems are. This means that you can literally get injured playing video games. And, they are the kind of injuries normally only seen by people reenacting Packer plays in their livings rooms after consuming a lot of beer. But maybe not this season, in which case the injuries were more related to punching holes in walls. Especially on Monday night.

We're playing Wii sports baseball right now. This is thoroughly confusing Bucky, who keeps thinking we're either throwing him a ball or trying to hit him. See, Allison is pitching and dad is hitting. To a dog, or anyone staring in our window, this would look really odd. Now, we switched to bowling. Anyway, it's really cool. Santa rocks.

We also opened our other gifts. And, holy Bakugan! That is what Matthew is playing. He is walking around with his Bakugan figures. He has set up his Bakugan game. He will probably sleep with Bakugan. Yes, he is happy. If you want to know what Bakugan is, ask any boy ages 4-10.

The kids were all thrilled to get pajamas and outfits- we really BADLY needed them. We have been lax in our clothes shopping of late. Now, Matthew won't have to wear any hand-me-downs from Allison (although he looked stunning in her Easter dress).

Amanda received a purse and candy from her good friend Yumina in Japan! According to Amanda, "It's the best!!! Thank you Yumina!!"

Then, there were games. We got a lot of games. Zingo is AWESOME! And, we love the ones that make us think. We got a few movies - WallE, Kung Fu Panda, and Horton Hears a Who. And, we got some Nintendo and Wii games (wow!!!) We also got some gift cards and coloring books and a great bubble maker. Allison has proclaimed that this is the best Christmas EVER.

And, mom even got a present from the kids. She got a Nuvi 360 GPS. She is currently trying to figure out how to program it with voices from Monty Python. Just picture John Cleese yelling, "What are you doing! I told you to turn right you daft imbecile!" Dad shopped for himself and bought himself a handheld GPS. Apparently, mom and dad decided that we should start planning ahead for when we can't figure out where we are.

So, thank you to everyone who sent us such great presents and gifts and cards and everything!!

Merry Christmas !!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone (at least to everyone who celebrates Christmas). If you don't celebrate it, then instead Happy December 25th.



We'll open presents tomorrow. Today, we made some sugar cookies for Santa (and some for our neighbors Mr. Paul and Miss Betty, and their daughter and son-in-law). Ohh, and the kids ate a lot of frosting. This could explain why they went running up and down the hill for 10 minutes (our hill is at about a 60 degree angle for those who have not yet visited us). They sang a few Christmas songs (Jingle Bell Rock, and Reindeer Rap). Matthew dazzled us with his dancing moves that rivaled Steve Martin in "The Jerk". Right now, we are watching the Grinch.

We did have a new feature in our pre-Christmas festivities. The girls wrote last Friday to Santa asking if they could have an elf. See, all these kids at school have written to elves and then (magically) these elves appear in their houses. Magically. The elves turn into stuffed animals during the day, and at night make their "secret reports" to Santa. And, they also do mischief. Our elf has hung himself from ceiling fans (by his clothes, not to kill himself!), turned chairs over, put chairs on tables, etc.. Some in the house have wondered out loud if our little elf might do good and nice things (like baking cookies or cakes or cleaning up bedrooms) instead of mischief. I said that I didn't think our elf, Eugene, was that kind of elf. Those helpful elves have to stay at the north pole. The elves that get to come to houses are sort of like elves-in-training or delinquent elves. Anyway, when Allison first read the letter from Eugene (see above picture of Allison and Eugene)explaining how this was his first house and how he hoped he wouldn't do too much damage, she couldn't pronounce his name. She called him "Egu". Mom also had trouble, and Allison has to keep correcting her when she refers to Eugene the Elf as "Egu the Elf". Mom is really dumb. Sadly, Eugene will be hitching a ride with Santa tonight and heading back to the north pole. We hope he can find our house next Christmas, wherever that will be!

We heard that Santa was on his way. We've checked NORAD to make sure the kids are in bed on time. He's getting close! Here's the link for you to track him: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html

Matthew has nice rosy cheeks as he is going to bed. When dad asked him why his face was so red, he calmly answered, "I just pooped." He's a charming package.

Merry Christmas to everyone :)


(Ohh, and as you can see in the picture, Allison got an early Christmas present...her other front tooth!)