Whew!

As AJ told me on the phone, I haven't blogged in a "coon's year." So, here I am a month or so after my latest blog. Here's my checklist from the past few weeks:

• Bring boxes from the basement - check
• Buy Christmas tree - check
  
• Help with craft at Cub Scout pack meeting - check


• Decorate Christmas tree - check
• Fix angel for top of tree - check
• Take down regular decorations - check
• Put up Christmas decorations - check
• Buy presents - check
• Send box to California - check
• Send out box for Colorado family - check
• Make sure M and I have something to wear to fancy holiday party for work - check
• Go to Holiday party - check
• Make cookies for cookie exchange at work - check
• Make Christmas cards - check
• Address Christmas cards - check
• Make little gifts for staff at work - check
• Take Christmas photo of boys - check
• Print out Christmas photo of boys - check
• Put photo in cards and seal cards - check (did that tonight)
• Make dessert for dessert potluck at work - check
• Wrap presents -- not done yet!

In between all of the Christmas preparations, the whole family has had the stomach flu and then a week later has had the cold/flu. That basically means that we were all sick for two weeks. The stomach flu started on Thanksgiving night at my inlaws house (what fun it was to do three loads of laundry between 11 pm and 3 am!)

Since it's been so long since I've blogged, here are some pictures to reward you for coming back to see if there is anything new here.

R went hunting with M one Sunday last month. He's too young to hunt himself (by one year) but he wanted to go and keep his dad company and see what it was like. We decided it would be okay. I talked to R about how he'd have to be bundled up since it was snowing. M had a heart to heart talk with him beforehand, letting him know the details of "field dressing" and told R that it was kind of a sad thing. R still wanted to go. After all of that, they didn't see a deer. (I swear that I fixed the red eye on this picture before I posted it. I tried it three times and gave up. Just pretend that his eyes are brown.)



Here are father and son sportin' their flame orange gear, ready for the hunt. (in the snow)

M and I had a lovely tenth anniversary weekend in October. We dropped off the kids at M's folks house (where they had a great time being spoiled rotten!) and spent two nights away with just the two of us. We went out for some great meals, including fondue, brunch, and tasty steak. At the steak house, we got the royal treatment because their house wine is one of the wineries that AJ and UR sell to -- we got a tour of the restaurant, including where they dry age the beef. It was pretty cool to see, no pun intended! Here we are in the restaurant. It's nice to see how handsome M looks with hair! (His is growing back gradually.)

Here's one that M took of us while we were waiting for the boys to take the train ride at the Zoo Boo in town.

Here's a picture of the boys that didn't make the cut for Christmas pictures, but it's a cute one!

Merry Christmas everybody!