Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Delay for reasons other than snow?

Bad things happened last Sunday.  First of all, our computer's RAM burned up, necessitating a blog shut-down until more RAM could be shipped to New Mexico.  Secondly, the 'Skins lost.  To whom you may ask?  JC presents the answer on his head along with his feelings on the matter.


Continuing our adventures while my dad was in Boston....after Thanksgiving, it was time to decorate for Christmas.  We started with the tree and used every garland except for Judy.


Next was the Christmas cookies!  Batter was left for only one cookie after we were done licking the spoons.


The batter gave us all the energy we needed to hang ~76 stockings, one for each member of the family.  Each is individually named with a picture detailing the person's interests.  No two are alike!



My dad returned from MRS and drove us back to the Land of Enchantment.  So ended our furlough in Utah.  Aren't you glad we got some new RAM so we could give you an update!?! 
Thanks Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

When the dad's away....

With my dad in Boston for the week, it gave the rest of us an extra week in the snowy Wasatch Front.  A snowball fight broke out in the backyard!  JC and I's chances seemed slim with our larger cousins on one side!


I suddenly remembered chapter 9 in Sun Tzu's Art of War where it stated, "If the enemy holds the high ground, do not ascend and do battle with him." With gritty determination I start my ascent up the slide.  My brother is to follow later with our tobaggan.  This will turn the tables in our direction!

Halfway up the slide, I remembered that I'm a lover not a fighter.  Did you know that Brit band Hot Chocolate had a #1 hit every year from 1970 to 1984?  Their hits, though, pale in comparison to my Great-Grandma's house brew!

Along with the hot cocoa, we got a snack of cheese and crackers.  Hmm...cheese?  Inspired by the mild cheddar, I requested a visit to Charles Edward Cheese.  Would my beautiful momma give in?  Look at the photo below!

To make this story even sweeter, we didn't add Nutra-sweet or even Equal.  We added our cousins R, H, and H!


The above shot was a rare time at the Chuck E. Cheese where JC was not doing this...
Distraught at his inability to set the store record in Skee-Ball, JC blamed his bangs.  Luckily Aunt K is not only a Stevie Wonder fan, but also a part-time barber.

Unbelievably, our week can't be contained in just a single post!  Next time - decorating for Christmas in the town named after Etienne Provost.


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Once thou hast found turkey....

My beautiful momma's heightened sense of smell lead us to this empty house.  A party had either just happened or was about to happen. 

Then my brilliant brother JC noticed there were no scraps on the floor for after meal snacking! The party had yet to be!  In nary a half hour the whole party crew had arrived.  My, my I hope there's a BIG turkey!
Alas, before I could get my camera, it was already dessert!  Notice the Hershey's Chocolate Cake at the end of the table. We know Aunt JC is terribly jealous...
My dad's incomprehensible plan had succeeded!  Turkey was had in the midst of a Thanksgiving party with 41 relatives.  JC and I got to see our great-grandparents.  Here, I'm pictured with Great-Grandma and a baby that's not nearly as cute as me!


Our Great-Grandpa taught JC and I checkers.  He gave up after realizing that he could never beat someone wearing a bow-tie!

Soon after our Thanksgiving weekend, my dad had to fly to Boston to present the best talk (EVER!) on something that is really boring to you and me.  He asked if we would miss him.  With so much fun around I said "Sure, dad...we'll be so lonely."

Find out about all of our adventures during my dad's conference week next time!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Man's Search for Turkey

Wednesday Night...6 PM....After looking through our entire kitchen, JC and I found no turkeys anywhere!  How can we have Thanksgiving tomorrow night, if we don't already have the turkey?  I would ask my beautiful momma, but she had been packing all day and had fallen asleep with only one sock on!  The headlights of my dad down our dirt road indicated he was coming home.  What would he say?  This...
Not knowing what else to do, he threw me, JC, our bags, and then our beautiful momma in to the back of the Swagger Wagon.   He pointed the wagon north and explained that he suspected domesticated turkeys, due to their low IQ, would fly north for winter, instead of south.  So off we went through the dark snowy mountains of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.  When morning broke several hours later we had made it to Cortez, Colorado.  This gas station had a view!
Doesn't the air look crisp and clear?  It was 20 below and my dad's hand froze to the gas pump!  After a slight delay that involved warm water and an unhappy gas station attendant we were back on our way.  My dad's hand had "Mahr" across it for most of the week and he had to eat Thanksgiving with only one hand!  No turkeys (besides my dad according to the gas station attendant) were in Cortez, Colorado and so we pushed forward and ran into this state.
This is what most of our trip looked like. We were on an interstate for about twenty or so miles of the 1100 mile trip. Two lanes were wonderful to look at!

My poor dad!  With only one hand and everything closed for the holiday, it looked likely that it would be bologna or pimento loaf for Thanksgiving.  I guess turkeys fly south....Wait!  As we drove near the end of Price Canyon, the gigantic windmills pushed the sweet smell of meat, both light and dark, towards our vehicle.... 
The smell was so fragrant, my beautiful momma woke up.  Using her finely tuned pregnancy sense of smell, she directed us to a small house in Provo, Utah where we found....
Learn what happens, next time on "Atomic Hokies".