The Nutcracker, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

I think it's high time I posted pictures from Christmas time, don't you?

 

I'm trying out a "new" blogging method - one sentence per picture.  We'll see how that goes...;)

 

~The Nutcracker~

 

First off, I have to tell you...I didn't take the tons of pictures that I promised to take for one very simple reason - I forgot our camera at home=)  Oh, I remembered the batteries, but they're pretty useless without the camera...  You'll just have to be content with the pictures that my dad took with his Droid phone, and the ones that Grandma and Aunt Lorraine sent me.

 

Hanging out at Aunt Lorraine's house before the performance.

 

Baby Sam thought Bonnie was pretty neat, and the feeling was mutual:)

 

Bonnie was a getting a bit enthusiastic, but check out the smile on Sam's face:)

 

Aunt Liz and I

 

Aunt Liz and Alex - the Miller women are short enough, but then Alex has to come along and make us look like midgets;)

 

Mom, Hailey, Grandma, and me - Hailey's curls had so much hairspray on them, they were like sticks:)

 

We're easily entertained - we spent our last hour together playing with a plastic action figure set of characters from the movie Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.  I kid you not.  We had a blast quoting from the movie and just being our strange, normal, witty selves:)  Good times, good times.  (so much for my "one sentence" method;)

 

Yep, we were losing it...check out Aunt Liz on the sofa=)

 

The cousins with Grandma - you can't tell, but Alex was holding onto Parker to keep him from running away;)

 

The girls - Aunt Liz, Aunt Kathy, Hailey, Grandma, Mom, and me.

 

One last one from the evening of the performance - Hailey and Grandma.  Isn't Hailey absolutely gorgeous?!  I envy her her nose - it is the last word as far as noses go.

 

.....

 

~Christmas Eve~

 

We had the F family over on Christmas Eve for fun, food, and fellowship.

 

After dinner, we took turns reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, and then sang a few carols.  I think that's my favorite Christmas tradition.  It's a special, peaceful time, and a wonderful way to focus on the reason why we celebrate Christmas - Jesus' birthday

 

I love the way "We Three Kings" sounds on Kellie's dulcimer.

 

This year, Mom and Mrs. F planned a White Elephant gift exchange - everyone was instructed to bring items as gifts that they no longer used/needed, but were still in working order. 

 

To distribute the gifts we played a variation of Bingo which the mom's dubbed Angel.  If you got five (or was it six?) white beans - we didn't have enough tokens to go around:) - in a row, you yelled (or whispered, or screamed, whichever you preferred) "Angel!", and then you got to pick out a present to open.

 

Hey, look!  I just got an eyeglass case!  Just what I needed...

 

Aubrey and his "spider" - that was a hot item when we started stealing presents from each other...

 

Oh, yes - did I mention that after all of the presents were distributed we got to "steal" any present we wanted from some unfortunate soul?  Hehe, oh yeah=)

 

 

Ellen was very happy when she got a Bonsai kit - I think she managed to keep it, too.  No one stole it from her as far as I can recall...

 

Alex really wanted these Science Knowledge Cards...and so did a lot of other people.  I think Aubrey finally ended up with them, but they got stolen quite a few times:)

 

Something was funny:)

 

Maybe this was what Ellen was laughing at - Aubrey got a heart shaped box...one of the little girls stole it from him later, out of kindness I believe;)

 

Kellie and her red binoculars - she became very fond of them, and kept looking at everyone through them:)

 

Oh!  Hahaha!  Kellie and I wrapped up a orange and green plastic Furbie (anyone else remember those horrid toys?!) as a joke present, and we laughed so hard when Mr. F chose to open our special present=D

 

I think he was in shock.  And really, who wouldn't be?!

 

He couldn't believe his eyes...

 

And the whole time Kellie and I are all but rolling on the ground laughing:P 

 

Need I add that no one cared to steal his special present?;D

 

And then the girls opened their real presents.

 

The girls in their new dresses:)

 

After presents and desert (de-licious pie made by our resident chef, Alex:), we headed down to the basement for some dancing!!

 

We had so much fun, especially when Alex started going crazy.  He dressed up in his Rathdrum Willie beard and hat, and went bounding around with Ellen. 

 

I've never seen anything like it - the closest I can come is the wild dancing in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  That's what you get when you turn a mad hermit loose with a bunch of dignified dancers;)

 

 

 

 

And our traditional picture of the four oldest "kids".  I just can't get used to the fact that we aren't technically "kids" anymore.

-2009-

 

-2008-

 

-2004-

 

Kellie mentioned in her Christmas post that some things never change...hmm, like me always being the shortest one?!  *sigh*

 

Thank you so much for celebrating Christmas with us F family!  It is a tradition we hope to continue for many years to come.

.....

 

~Christmas Day~

 

Opening presents with Grandma and Grandpa...

 

 

I know, I know - I look slightly, um, strange?  I had to post this photo, though, because I'm wearing the darling apron that Kellie made me for Christmas!  Isn't it cute?!=)  Cowgirl boots=D

 

I look better in this pic, but I didn't have the apron all the way on...oh well.

 

My handsome brother:)

 

Umm, tongue exercises perhaps?

 

 

Whew - I can't believe I finally finished putting this post together...I feel such a sense of accomplishment. 

 

Happy Trails, y'all!

 

Adult-isms

Growing up is a normal, everyday thing that happens gradually. 

You don't just wake up one morning, all finished -  grown up.

You probably knew that already...

I sound like I'm going to go off into a long boring talk about growing up, but I'm not.

Trust me. 

I'm not.

What I am going to do, is tell you something that I've noticed about myself lately.

It made me laugh when I realized I was doing this...

I remember when I was younger I would see some of the things grown-ups did - what they said, how they acted, how they talked to little kids, like me - and I would think to myself, "When I'm a grown-up, I won't do those silly things".  

Like, for example, putting on a different voice when you talk to a child.

I always detested being talked down to.

Or how about when a child is talking to you, listening, but not really listening.  Zoning out...thinking about other things, important things - like zucchini, or thumb tacks, and why leaves are green and not purple - when really the important thing is to listen to what they have to say.

But, the peculiar thing is, I find myself doing, and saying the things that I used to say I would never do.

I try not to talk down to children, simply because I really don't want to, and I think it's a bad habit to get into, but sometimes I catch myself doing it.

What really gets me, is when I catch myself saying, what I call "adult-isms"...actually, I just made that up, but that's what I call it now.  It's official.

"Are you alright?"

"Be careful!"

"Don't do that, you might get hurt!"

"Look both ways before you cross the street."

"Stay right there.  Don't go anywhere."

"Never spank your child on an empty stomach."

Oh, except for not that last one...sorry, that's from an old black and white movie...popped into my head just now...

Ahem, to continue...

Or, saying things during movies like, "That little boy isn't very nice", or "That wasn't a very smart thing to do!". 

And when I stop and think about it, it just makes me laugh.

It seems that grown-ups just can't help it - it comes naturally.  It's part of being an adult, and, someday, a parent.

And while I'm on the subject, when exactly do you become "grown-up"?

Have you ever wondered that?

Since we're always growing, it doesn't seem as if anyone is really "grown-up"...

Sure, there are adults, but some adults aren't what I would call "grown-up".

Maybe I'm not even as grown-up as I think I am...  Hmm, I think I'll ponder that one...but later, not now.

Hmm...well, anyway, I was just cracking myself up thinking about all of the adult-isms I've acquired that I promised I'd never do.

However, one thing that I absolutely WILL NOT do, is take bare-bottom pictures of my babies.

I refuse.

It may seem cute at the time, but it's certainly not appreciated by the future generations!

Diaper pics? Yes.

Bare-bottoms?  No!

Believe me, my children really will arise up and call me blessed because of my noble sacrifice!

There, now that that's off my chest...

Sorry if that bothered anyone, but, well, it had to be said.  It's written down now, so I won't forget as I get sucked farther along in this strange malady called adulthood. 

Happy Trails, y'all!

P.S. On a side note: I wonder why the voice in my head - you know, the one that's saying the words as I type them...wait, that sounded strange...oh, you know what I mean!  Anyway, I wonder why it has a British accent?  It generally has a British accent, but tonight is sounds like Hayley Mills.  I think I've been watching too many movies with her in them...Pollyanna...That Darn Cat...Parent Trap.   Hmm...

A Helicopter Ride

Dad and I went for an unexpected outing this afternoon with Mr. F and Kellie.  We went down to the hanger and Dad took us for a helicopter ride.

 

While Dad and Mr. F looked the helicopter over, Kellie and I had fun - oh yes, we had fun - making up a tap dance routine.  That's what watching Singin' in the Rain will do to you;) 

 

 

We went up the Spokane River to Lake Coeur d' Alene

 

The Coeur D' Alene Resort

 

 

 

Look at the house in the middle of this picture - it looks like a castle!

 

I think this is part of Hayden Lake

 

Marian Crumb's house.  Bob and I have jumped every jump in that arena, except for the reddish one towards the south end, the brick wall.

 

 

 

Happy Trails, y'all!

Some people's dogs...

My dog likes to chew.

 

She likes to chew on many different things, but her favorites, so far, seem to be wood (tables, chair legs, etc.) and electrical cords (a friend of mine even gave me a "bouquet" of electrical cord plug ends as a joke gift to replace those that Bonnie chewed off;)

 

However, her chewing habits seem to have died out lately...except for chewing up one of my crocs shoes.  That was in a fit of "rage" - I had been gone all day, she was upset with me, so she got her revenge by chewing up my shoe.

 

But, that was an exception.

 

She is three years old now, after all...

 

She should know better by now, right?  She's certainly had her rear end paddled enough times to get the point across...

 

But, Bonnie is not your average dog...

 

No.  She lulls you into a falls sense of security, and then...POW! she strikes.

 

I do wonder about her taste sometimes, though.

 

Wood, I can understand.   Lots of dogs chew on sticks.  Bonnie apparently has a more sophisticated taste in that area - sticks aren't good enough for her.  It has to be tables and chairs.

 

I can understand electrical cords, too - they're so nice and chewy...not that I know from personal experience.

 

Shoes?!  A standard item for the dog who enjoys chewing things!

 

But, I honestly can't think of another dog who would chew up, and ingest, the contents of a tube of Synthetic Grease...

 

Now, you may be thinking, "That cute little angel?!  Eating grease?!".

 

Ok, maybe angel is a bit much...

 

Don't let her fool you - that little "angel" got a 3 oz. tube of Synthetic Grease, chewed it open, and consumed approximately 2 oz. of it.

 

Now, you may be wondering, "Where in the world did she get a tube of grease?"

 

Well, I sure wasn't using it, and Mom sure wasn't using it, so that leaves two options...nuff said;)

 

Naturally, I was a bit concerned that my dog had ingested grease, so we looked up the stuff on the internet to find out what was in the stuff - the ingredient list was unreadable because some dog chewed on the tube.

 

Thankfully, we found that this kind of grease was not only non-toxic, but is actually USDA approved because it is used for fittings on water filters.

 

So, praise the Lord, Bonnie will most likely be perfectly fine...although I'm going to make sure she goes outside on a regular basis just in case the grease has a, ahem, lubricating effect.

 

Here's the culprit, behind bars, with the evidence in the foreground...

 

Bonnie's new nickname, and she has many, is Grease Monkey;)

 

Happy Trails, folks!