rabid wolf lodge.jpg

harpers goggles.jpg

We have been in Michigan for Christmas. The weather has been great for traveling: mild and clear as far as the roads go, but white and snowy enough to really feel like Christmas.

We packed up the kids gifts, and made the trek, first to Detroit to spend Christmas eve with my aunt Diane and my cousins, then to my hometown of Grand Haven. It was great to see my extended fam, but it was a short visit because we left that night to drive the last 3 hours to get to my mom's house so the kids could wake up there on Christmas morning.

We don't go wild with presents, but the kids really seemed to enjoy their new (or used) gifts they opened. They especially enjoyed a big box of glorious lady dresses that we called "pride and prejudice dress-ups." They are pretty hideous, with their huge lace collars and shoulder pads... But the girls think they are divine.

We spent the evening with my dad's side, and that ended up being an interesting evening, with Harper being sick and suddenly needing a breathing treatment from his nebulizer (which i left in his bedroom closet in New York.) I must say that it is very convenient to have an ER doc in the family when your son can't breathe after business hours on Christmas day. After one treatment, he was back to his crazy self and we ended up having a good Christmas with them.

After visiting my good friend Heather (who I haven't seen in nearly 3 years) we had our annual Cousmas party where all the cousins (and some of us grown-ups) had a dancing competition. Strangely, I got whooped by my brother-in-law Joe. This was unexpected for a number of reasons, which I shall list.

1) I am an excellent dancer, Janet Jackson would seriously ask me to tour with her if she only could see my moves. 2) Joe is a college football coach, and he looks the part, so not exactly a dancer's build. 3) While I am a natural, he looks like a gingerbread man when he dances.

Still, he beat me and the Wii game "Just Dance for kids" proved to provide great family fun for all ages. Just beware bc your competition make come down to the song "everybody dance now"and it is rigged, and the game appears to prefer movements that are jerky and gingerbready over expertly executed music video-style moves. I'm just saying...

We are wrapping our trip up with quite the grand finale, because while WE may not go overboard with gifts on Christmas, my mother, on the other hand, does... And her present for all the kids is a 3 day stay at Great Wolf Lodge. So, we are on our way now (another 3 hour drive north) to Traverse City, Michigan to GWL. As you can see from the picture, the kids are very excited. Harper has been wearing goggles since 8 o'clock this morning, despite the fact that we won't even arrive until 2:30pm.

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth.jpg

birdie beard

who cares about being bald when you've got a such a sweet beard?

just came across a "responsibilty chart" that annalee made for one of her dolls. there are precints to rap and bishes to wash!

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harper just sang "jingle bells,

harper just sang "jingle bells, Batman smells, he smells Robin's leg." then he said "eww, that's a-sgusting!"

yes... in upstate new york, this outfit is actually necessary. winter is here. forever. blecgh.