What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

This is our omen for good luck for the New Year. A heron friend came to visit. He was looking for fish in our big pond, but satisfied himself with a few geckos instead before moving on.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful one here with my Mom and Dad visiting and lots of cousins here, too. It was just fun. This week, we have been hanging out at home and quiet. I began a Tom Clancey book, Executive Orders, at the end of summer. I am generally a fast reader and love reading, but this book was not really capturing me. I am also a bit persistent, and would not give up on reading it, even though I was not enjoying it. By the beginning of this vacation, I was only half way through. Finally, I decided to read something else...although Tom's snore still sits on my nightstand. I read Janet Evanovich's Lean Mean Thirteen. I love those Stephanie Plum books. They are quick, fun reads that make me laugh out loud. Then I read a T. Jefferson Parker mystery. Now I am reading The Other Boleyn Girl. That is great, too. Who knows if I will every go back to Tom. Will I be able to remove it from the nightstand without finishing? I just don't know.

We will be playing games this New Year's Eve after going out for dinner. Lydia made an African mask to scare away the evil spirits for next year. We will celebrate the New Year on east coast time (9:00pm here). That way my Dad will make it to bring in the New Year!

Following are a few Christmas pictures. Lydia was worried that the adults hadn't been very good this year because we didn't have much in our stockings. The kids were cute as could be and lots of fun. It was a wonderful and blessed day. Ryan is Superman Power Ranger in the picture, if you are wondering!

Cookies and milk for Santa!


Big brother Ron and Dad.

Nephew Ronny and Mom.

Happy New Year to All!!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

We are very busy here preparing for Christmas. The above picture is indicative of the energy level and excitement of the kids. We went to see The Grinch at the Old Globe yesterday. We sat front row center and it was great! The kids loved it and were quiet and a good audience, thank goodness. Unlike the child behind us who screamed and cried every time the mean Grinch came out, all the while clutching his Grinch doll. When his Mom finally decided to take him out, it was at a time that the Grinch also left through the audience. She was about half way up when he came running up behind them. I think the child may be traumatized for life.

Ryan wouldn't let me take his picture before the play, but below is Lydia who auditioned for The Grinch this year. She had just turned 6 the day before the auditions and the age range was 6-14. She is so little, she could only play Cindy Lou, which is a large part. The children who played her this year were 8 & 10. But...Lydia did very well at the audition. She was so excited. Afterward, someone from the production staff called us and told us she was just too young, but that we had to promise to bring her next year. That was very kind of them.

Lydia has been a bit of funny trouble lately. She came home from school and told me that Mckenzie was going to "ditch" her. I asked her what that meant and she said Mckenzie owed her $2 and she didn't think she was going to pay. I asked why a child would owe her money. She explained that her white Cheezit snack is very popular and she was selling it. I explained that she could not sell things at school and that it was against school rules to take money from other kids at school. She came home the next day and said Mckenzie would mail it to her. Lydia was not very happy when I said we would have to mail it right back. On Lydia's letter to Santa this year she asked for a reindeer fur coat. Hmmm. I had to explain that you had to kill the animals to get the fur. She thought maybe Santa could just trim some fur and make it into a coat.

Ryan is his normal fun self. We built Gingerbread houses and Ryan had a lot of fun and it looked very sweet, but then he constructed this skinny thing that stuck out of the roof. When I asked him what that was, he said it was the shooter in case the wolf or fox came after the gingerbread man. Our non-violent household hasn't affected his excitement for guns and swords at all. He constructs them out of gingerbread.