Sometimes Grandma Great gets bored.

I just happened to peek in the bedroom and saw her studying the computer.  It looks like no inspiration was forthcoming, so she went on to bigger and better things.  And here's a couple more pictures of cute people:

Now I'm going to go figure out how to get these stupid santa clauses off.   Maybe I'll put Grandma Great on it.

The Many Faces of Lane

I diligently mapquested and printed out directions for my journey to meet Lane.  I didn't get the Know Your Directions gene so once out of my driveway, it's a crapshoot.  I did great until I realized I had only gotten "there", not back home.  So, I stole Bre and Tony's GPS.  Don't ask me why I didn't just bring my own.  I own a very attractive pink one.  Evidently I didn't get the Think Beyond Three Days Gene either.  Lane was pretty concerned.  Once he got over his concern, he asked if it was time to eat yet. 

Seriously , People.

I was thinking...

It might be getting close to lunchtime. 

 

 

 

 

It's Official

Since I had cleverly hidden Dave's Christmas present in plain sight I decided I had better not push my luck and go ahead and wrap it.  Actually he's kicked it a few times.  But I now declare the Christmas Season officially STARTED.  In other news, #8 has arrived: 

As you can see, he is adorable.

Redecorating

I was thinking the other day how badly some of my sinks needed step-stools to accommodate the short people in my life.  And these showed up.  They are wicked-awesome and decorator-approved.  And if I ever wonder if Karsten and Taegan love me I can go look at the stools.   And then i wondered what it would be like to have my mother live with me.  And poof, here she is:  She looks a little grumpy in this picture and I caught her "mid scratch" but I think she's pretty content.

Returning The Bedspread

First of all, understand that if I were trying to pull a fast one on TJ Maxx, I would not have laundered the bedspread and put it in the dryer. I would simply have spot cleaned.  The clerk opened up the hermetically sealed wrapping and sniffed it.  Stuck her nose right down in there and smelled.  "I can't take this back," she said, "it smells like a dryer sheet".  Immediately defensive to an unreasonable degree, I said "but I don't even use dryer sheets."  I wanted to go into a full explanation about how I love my clothesline and upbraid my neighbor for using her dryer in the summertime.  I wanted to call witnesses and have them testify.  I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.   I wanted a full jury trial.  I wanted my reputation restored.  What I got was the manager glancing over and saying "return it".  Okay, I'll take that instead.  But be forewarned.  Take your attorney with you if you try to return a bedspread to TJ Maxx. 

In Case You Were Wondering

If you have ever wondered what my foot looks like on the beach of the Pacific Ocean, wonder no more:

And then I said, "okay, everybody in the back yard for the group shot" and this is what I got: 

It was a super-duper four days, I'm ready to go back.  Today.   And Bre, this one's for you:

Detailed Travelogue, Even What I Ate

We arrived at Ben and Diane's house and were shown to our deluxe accommodations. Just kidding, we scored the purple bedroom. Taylor grew up when I wasn't looking and will leave in a week or so for Taiwan. They played a violin/piano duet which was very nice even though Sophie plugged her ears and had a pained expression on her face until the last note.

















We ate a huge dinner with 5,000 deserts and I know that Diane is secretly plotting to make me gain 2 tons. I think she fed me lemon cupcakes in my sleep. I'm a sound sleeper. The men retired to a rousing game of something involving throwing heavy balls. When the competition got too HEATED, an official referee had to be called to measure: And Caroline and I enjoyed our photo shoot: She's a woman after my own heart, finding us those chocolates.












On the way home we stopped in Mountain Home, (again to feed my face) and Dave saw a golf course that he would like to play. I said "you can play it if you will jump off that bridge.










So of course anyone who knows Dave knows that the only thing he likes better than heights is trying new things so he scrambled to the top of the bridge and here he goes:










And landed safely: