Surprise Snow

"Oh, to be a weather forcaster in the Pacific Northwest!  Be wrong all the time, and still get paid!" .  .  .  I am pretty sure this was the most said (or thought) sentence around these parts this week.  On Tuesday we woke up to white, but not much of it.  The kind of white that makes you squint out your bedroom window and say, "Is that a dusting of snow, or a really heavy frost?"  My kids are positive it was snow, and they got all dressed to go out it in.  After they spent 20 minutes suiting up, they went outside and spent about 5 minutes out there.  They came in and complained that there wasn't enough to play in.  No kidding!  I didn't even break out the camera!

Well, fast forward 5 hours, (to when the weather people promised it would be warm and rainy), and the snow was seriously coming down.  It was so gorgeous.  The kids (including Joel- he is a total kid when it comes to snow!), went out to play.  I lasted long enough to snap a few pics, but they stayed out and played for quite a while.  It's a good thing they got their fill- by the next morning it was all slushy and by the next evening it was pretty much gone.

We had about 5 inches in all- not bad for a snow that wasn't even supposed to happen!

Mousie in the Van

(This is sooo embarrassing.)  (Mother, you are not allowed to comment on this one.)

I would like to preface this by reminding everyone that I have 3 children and spend a lot of time in the minivan.  I love having a minivan, but I am in it a lot.  My arm rest is thread bare.  Unlike cars of my childhood, we do eat in the minivan, more often than we probably should.  Also, sometimes I don't bring in all the things I shoud- I am too busy carrying a 3 year old who insists on stripping shoes off as soon as we get with in 3 blocks of our house, or have arm fulls of groceries, or I have to hurry and unlock the door because someone has to pee.  So.  My car is often a little bit of a mess.  And sometimes, it's a ridiculous mess.  There you go, I said it.  It's ridiculous. 

On Sunday we were driving home from Idaho.  Our car was extra lovely, since we were on a road trip and all.  Tons of snacks, fast food crumbs, etc.  (We do throw away our trash, usually.)  We were caravaning with my mother, and Carter really wanted to ride with her.  So in Pendleton we agreed to move his car seat into her car.  I was in Taco Bell with the kids, and mom and Joel had gone outside to deal with moving it.  A few minutes later, I come out, see my mother standing about 20 feet away from the cars, nose curled.  Apparently, when Joel had picked up Carter's car seat, there were many, many, many mice droppings.  Mucho.  No bueno.  There were a lot.  Yuck.  Really, really, big yuck.


I freaked out a little, but as we started looking around the car, we realized, there were a lot of mouse droppings ALL OVER THE CAR.  Under booster seats, in the kids' little cubbies, on the floor, etc.  They'd originally blended in because of the leaf crumbs and soccer cleat mud, but now they were like beacons in the night.  NO BUENO!!!


We didn't have a lot of choices because we were still a good 250 miles from home and a had 3 kids and a van loaded to the brim with Christmas.  And Road Trip.  So, we all sanitized our hands, and tried not to imagine a mousie running up our pants, especially me, since it was my turn to drive then.  There was a lot of shuddering, and some squeeking, and Maddy asked about a million times, "Do you think there's a mouse in here right now?"  "Do mice attack?"  Oh my word.

The thing was, none of our road trip snacks had been nibbled, and there were no droppings in the tub of snacks, which led us to believe that the mice had come and gone.  Which in some ways is even grosser, because how disgusting that we were driving around with mice/mice droppings for Who Knows How Long.  But it helped me stay sane for the drive home knowing that some mutated mouse- crazy and huge from all the junk food it had eaten in my car- was about to bite my leg off and give me rabies or rat flu.  Or worse.

Amid all the freak out, Garrett said, "When I get back to school, I am definitely writing about this in my journal."  Nonfiction!

The first thing we did on Monday, (or at least one of the things we did on Monday), is take the kids to my moms and we gutted that van.  We wiped down, we vacuumed, we washed, and we attempted carpet shampooing twice, and I am happy to say there has been no more evidence of Mousie in our van.  And also, I've kept my van clean.  All week.  Ok, so it's only been 3 days and we haven't really gone anywhere, but it's a start!

Family Pictures

 

Typical!

We haven't had family pictures with my mom's family since Garrett was 20 months old; before Carter was even a twinkle.  (Actually, we haven't formally had pictures with just the Gibson Five since then either.) We decided it was time. Since I have a schmancy camera, I volunteered to figure out my automatic timer and run the 'shoot.'  (Free is a very good price!)

To be perfectly honest, it's a big pain for everyone to get ready for a family picture. We didn't have time to do it when we were all dressed up for Christmas Eve, and we were all comfy in pjs most of Christmas day.  So on the 26th, after a lovely breakfast, we all gussied up a bit and did it.  It was pretty hilarious overall.

First, while Joel got the kids' clothes on, I messed around with the manual settings, the flash, and the auto timer.  (I'd forgotten/procrastinated on the whole 'learn more about your camera' front prior to family pictures.)  And then, while Berkley and her entourage got Grammy ready, I had a little more help preparing, centering, and angling the camera with magazines.

Blurry table, not centered, and distracting things on the edges.

Worse!

After many, many attempts, a passable family picture!

As the photo shoot wore on, people were getting kind of tired of the whole thing, and getting a good pic of everyone was challenging.  (And the photographer cut off their hands- dumb!)

But thankfully, there was a little gopher in the area, who has a daddy with a sense of humor and they added a little levity to the scene.

Mission complete!  (And who needs hands, anyway?!?) 

The original 2!

Next were the Holzschuhs.  So cute!


And Aunt Bec with the best nieces!

Nana Pam and her babies.

Finally we decided to get a few of the Gibson Five.  (Including the first picture in this post.)

This one is passable, but you can still tell we're all completely over it.

Love, Garrett

Well, the Gibson 5 didn't send out cards this year.  Just didn't get it together.  But Garrett wrote incredible letters to many family members for Christmas.  We saved most of them.  Here is the one he made for us:



It says, "Dear Mom and Dad.  I have sended some presents to you guys and I hope you like them.  Love Garrett.  Have a good New Years."
My present was an empty hearing aid case that he'd taken some time ago from Papa's house.  He said I could keep my money in it.  Joel received several basketball cards rubber banded together.  They were actually cards that Joel had given Garrett last year.

I can't things of many things I like more than 6 year olds.

(And yes, if you've read the post about the stapler, you'll see the irony in this.  Garrett's gift to Madeline included a purple hula necklace, a plastic fire badge, and a 'day chart'* along with a lovely letter about how she is the best sister in the whole world.)


*A day chart is apparently a piece of paper with a grid drawn on it in marker and the words, 'day chart' on the top.

The Stapler of Christmas 2009

In the category of 'funniest thing ever'- Carter got very into the whole season this year and wrapped up, by himself, many household items to give to people.  Like last week he insisted I open 'my' present, which turned out to be a wooden toy train from the playroom.  This has made Garrett FURIOUS.  He'll say things like, "THAT IS NOT A PRESENT!"  or he will roll his eyes.  Carter just kind of grins through it all, and keeps going.  I think he kind of likes making Garrett crazy.

Well the day before we left for Idaho, I realized that Carter was very quiet (never a good sign) and that I heard the ripping of paper.  I ran into the family room to see what he was doing, and he was working diligently to wrap this stapler for . . . Garrett.  Keep in mind, this is not a new stapler.  This is our family stapler- that Garrett, and all of us, use ALL the time.

He had used about a pound of tape, and torn wrapping paper into little bits to cover it all.  The 'damage' was done, and I still had a ton of baking, wrapping, and laundry to do before I left, so I let him have at it!  (After a few photos, naturally.)

So come Christmas morning, this 'present' was put into Garrett's pile.  He ignored it and ignored it, and at the very end, when this pitiful package was the last thing unopened, he flat out refused to do it.  I had him come close to me for one of my famous 'Come to Jesus' talks which included words like 'grateful' and phrases like, "How would you feel?" and "Let him be three!"  After which, Garrett sat down and with as much tact as he could muster (more than you'd expect for G, but not quite an appropriate amount), he opened the present.

Carter was thrilled.  I personally think that smile was more of an "I won!" face than an "I just gave my brother the perfect gift!" face, but either way, it was pretty hilarious.

Very Merry Christmas Day

We had such a lovely Christmas Day.  We were all beat from the night before, even the kids (!!!), so no one was up too early.  Garrett was up around 7, Maddy up at 7:20, and Carter slept until close to 8!  In our family, no one rushes downstaris, or peeks at what Santa brought until everyone can do it together.  So the kids snuggled with Daddy while they waited for their little brother to wake up, quite patiently, in fact!  I got cameras ready and even sipped on some coffee. 

Once Nana Pam had arrived (she stays at my grandpa's house) and Carter was awake, all the 'kids' waited at the top of the stairs for the official go ahead.  And yes, Berkley is still a 'kid' for a while longer!  (She just turned 18 and is a senior.)

Stockings and Santa presents were obviously a hit. 

After that, the kids played with their new loot for a while while the adults prepared for brunch.  Joel took the boys outside (20 degrees!) with their new hats on to try out their new helicopters.

Meanwhile, I found Maddy doing this, quite content:

After a full meal of breakfast casseroles, ham, salads, and cinnamon rolls, we were ready for presents.  The kids had been so patient, but they were very, very ready!

Garrett is looking all smug here because he just KNOWS that this present from Maddy and Carter is Nerf Dart Tag, which was at the very top of his list.  He is POSITIVE.  (And he's correct.)

Class clown.  Always.

It's tradition that I give Papa a bottle of real maple syrup each Christmas.  He always acts surprised. 

Madeline was such a sweet gift giver this year.  She worked so hard on this scarf for Berkley.  She weaved it herself, and was quite proud. 

And then, in the 'sweetest thing ever' category, was this Mickey Mouse Spy kit that Maddy made for Carter.  It came complete with a mask, a sign, a notebook, a spy glass, and an around-the-corner spy scope.  He was THRILLED.

Garrett and Carter opened these awesome LED lanterns from Aunt Minnie and Uncle Thom.  The boys were thrilled.  (understatement!)  Carter immediately took his into the bathroom, turned out the light, and we could see the lantern light shining from under the door.  He invited me in, to see the "Deep Blue Dark."  Each night after he slept with the lantern, snuggling it like most kids do their blankets.  And each morning when he's come to get in bed with Joel and I, he's got his lantern on, swinging it.

These toes just don't get old.

 "Score!  A marble run!"

(I agree- score!  This marble run I bought from a lady off of cr.aigslist!  I got it for 1/2 price, plus tons of extra marbles.  It's in perfect shape!)

Uncle Chad gave each kid a ukelele!  They were all thrilled.  (So was Joel!)

Auntie Bec always picks the best games!

We ended the day playing games and visiting.  Maddy had gotten a new camera from her brothers (and her parents), so she spent her time taking zillions of pictures.  (She's just like her mama.)  It was truly a Merry Christmas.

Very Merry Christmas Eve

We're in Idaho for Christmas.  Remember, we were supposed to go last year, and ARTIC STUPID BLAST 08 wrecked everything?  (Except for all that fun in the snow and great family time, and memories that will last a lifetime!)  So, we're here now- and had a completely beautiful and uneventful drive over with completely dry roads, so, YAY!

Christmas Eve is also my grandparents anniversary, and this year marked 59 years since they said, "I do."  59 years.  Let's take a moment and contemplate that.  FIFTY NINE YEARS!!!  There have certainly been good times and bad, sickness and health, and richer and poorer.  But here we are . . . 59 years later.  I would not pretend to know even a fraction of all those moments, but I can imagine that this current stage of walking through my Grammy's journey with Alzheimers Disease is particularly challenging.  They are still doing it with grace though- what a gift for the rest of us to watch.  Papa decided he wanted to bring Grammy home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  None of us were sure how that would go since she hadn't been to her home since she moved out in June.  It turned out wonderfully and to be a huge gift for all of us to be able to spend good time with her and have another Christmas all together.

So.  For Christmas Eve we decided to pool our money and instead of getting gifts, we rented a limo and had a progressive dinner.  When we were all much younger, (pre-Joel/kids), we used to do progressive dinners each Christmas Eve.  Papa would drive us all around in their big motorhome, and we made the best memories, so it was quite fun to do it again.

First stop was Aunt Bec's for appetizers and drinks:

Becky's house is absolutely stunning- the perfect place for entertaining!

Father- daughter.  So cute!

Then Garrett yelled, "LIMO AHOY!"  And everyone ran to the windows.  Sure enough, the limo had arrived!  Fancy!

Once we loaded in the limo we headed to Uncle Chad's for salad (and more drinks!!).  Chad has just bought a new house, and it's so nice.  We're all so excited for him!  He hasn't even officially moved in, so it was very generous of him to host part of the progressive dinner.

Two of my favorite boys!

My there are lots of pets in Idaho, lots, and my kids love them all!  This is Uncle Chad's dog, Martin.

We loaded into the limo again and headed to the Holzschuh's, (where my family stayed for the duration of our visit), for our main course- prime rib, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  Neither Mar or I had much experience or confidence with prime rib, but she did an awesome job and it turned out SO good.  Just mouth watering!

My mom and Uncle Thom

We visited awhile before we left, and my mom read the kids a Christmas story from when she was a kid.  Then they opened and got into new Christmas pjs

Our last stop on our progressive dinner was Papa and Grammy's for dessert.  We had lots of yummy things, and my boys loved the train that Papa had set up for them.

We had such a nice evening.  I love my family so much, and am so thankful that my kids (and Joel!) know them and love them too.

Back at Aunt Minnie's, we did the last of our Christmas Eve traditions- the kids open a Christmas book, and Joel reads it to them before they scurry off to bed.

So cute in their new pjs!

And to all a Good Night!