It's a Long One....

Billy left on the 19th for Dallas, for the last game in Texas Stadium. The Boys lost to the Ravens, but Billy had a great time with Larry. He didn't have a single picture...he left his backpack, with the camera. Oh well...It will live forever in his memory, I suppose. There was a big post game show and everything. The end of an era...now onto next year in the new stadium. Did I mention we officially "own" seats in the new stadium. We won't even discuss that one...It's a whole seperate post. Let's just hope Avery gets a scholarship to college.

Avery and I left on the 21st for Colorado. Once again, she was a champ on the plane. I was not. I thoughtI had motion sickness or something. By the time we arrived in Denver, I thought I was going to die...and we still had a 90 minute car ride. I spent all nigth and most of the morning hung over a toilet. No more Panda Express for me again. EVER.

Billy arrived on the 22nd from Dallas. Avery was so happy to see her Daddy. She was so happy to see all the men in Colorado at Uncle Alex's house after spending 3 days alone with Momma.

The week was filled with all kinds of fun stuff...we made sugar cookies for Santa. Avery helped a little...she mostly played in the flour and ate raw dough, but we did manage to make a butterfly cookie.

We went to Mr. Biggs. An indoor go-cart, laser-tag, arcade kind of place. It was super fun being a kid for a day. Laser-tag rocked. I only got to play once the first day, but managed to play 3 or 4 times the second day (it was so fun, we went back)

We managed to make it to Wal-Mart at least everyday we were there, except Christmas. Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. God Love Wal-Mart, but when I die, I hope there is a Target in heaven.

Christmas was pretty unbelievable. TONS of presents for the kids. Us adults did a Yankee gift exchange. It was pretty funny. Especially when Alex opened the first gift and got Bare Essentials Make-up!! Christmas dinner was an adventure...when the stand for the turkey fryer was accidentally left behind in New Mexico, Uncle BK rigged up a red neck turkey fryer in the grill. Did I mention the grill is hooked into a natural gas line...looking back, it was probably not the wisest thing we could have done. We truly could have blown up half the neighborhood! But let nothing stand between a man and a deep fried turkey!!

Coming home was a relief. We had such a great time, but all the traveling has taken it's toll. Avery was not sleeping well, at all. She is not too keen on a pack-n-play for more than 2 or 3 nights.

Did I mention the best part of the trip was beating all the men in a mean (and unbelievably LONG) round of poker? I won $50.00. Billy did his best Phil Helmuth impersonation, but in the end, he was pretty proud of me, I think.

So here we are, all Christmas hung-over. I still have so much to do. I didn't get the Christmas newsletter out this year. So I have decided to do a 2008 recap and send it soon after the new year begins. Did I mention I am back on dayshift now? Maybe I can find time to clean bathrooms and mop the kitchen floor now...perhaps do an entire load of wash from beginning to end, including putting it away. Not that cleaning is necessarily a measure of a person's life, but geez. It's bad. And not in a good way like Michael Jackson sings.

The Reasons

I could go on and on about how much I love my family

Though we may not be all together in this life, I know he is with us, that he comforts me and hears my whispers. I know that he watches out for his Princess. I feel in my heart that she knows him and remembers him.

In this season of remembering our blessings and the sacrifices that Christ made for each of us, so that we could all can live together forever in eternity, I am the most thankful for my family. I know it is forever and not tied to the physical bounds of this earth. And for that I am so thankful.

Christmas Wonderland

We put the trees up....Eventually we will get all the rest of the decorations put up and the lights hung up outside, too. And I hope to get the Christmas Newsletter done and out this weekend as well...Oh and we are going to the UC Davis Cancer Center to give gifts to the kids.

I think we are a wee bit busy.

MIA

MISSING:
One Right Shoe

Size: 4

Color: White and Pink

Last Seen: Linda CA WalMart

The victim is a size 4, Nike Tennis Shoe, Pink and White, slightly worn. It has not been seen in 23 days. It was last seen int he Linda WalMart at @1800. Her family, the Left Shoe, is useless without her.

The sock monster has a cousin that lives at WalMart.

And it only likes the expensive shoes....

It almost claimed another victim yesterday...

It's MOKEY outside

Avery has met the man...the myth...the legend.

It was s pretty awesome to watch her looking at him.

We went to the Base Christmas Tree lighting ceremony last Friday night at the base Chapel. It was pretty cool. WAAAY too cold. I got Avery a cute brown puffer coat from Old Navy that was too big and therefore imobilizing. She waddled around like a big brown marshmellow. For reasons that are still unclear, she was having a particularly difficult time walking in her new coat. She could not figure it out. And when I would try to help her or pick her up, she went limp like a sack of potaotes.

A Walk on the Wild Side

When we were in Idaho, Avery was feeling a little restless, so we went for a walk down the street...which turned into about an hour of exploring.

*aside* I took about a thousand pictures of her, which is to say that it was more like 15 or so...but to watch her little face and wonder what she was thinking about the cold, the leaves, the rocks...I love our time together and for some reason, this was one of the highlights of my trip.

Her smile is pretty amazing....

Idaho Follies

Hey Ya'll! We made it home safe and sound from Idaho. I am so proud to report that Avery is a pro at flying. I got so many compliments at how well behaved she was on the plane. She was asleep before we left the runway and woke up about 5 minutes before we landed in Salt Lake. And the same was true for the ride home. When searching for our flight times, I tried to get them as close to her sleep schedule as possible.

Avery and I had such a great time visiting with the fam. It was so awesome to see how Avery interacted with everyone. True to who she is, she wanted nothing to do with any of us girls. It was all grandpa, grandpa, grandpa...And of course he loved it!

We got to meet Ryan, who is AB FAB...such a nice guy. I was so impressed at how relaxed he was around the family. I forget that Sarah and Ryan have dated on and off for something like 3 years or so... Welcome to the craziness Ryan.

Avery also got to meet her cousins, Haliey, Malerie and Avi. At first she didn't know what to make of all the girliness, but as long as grandpa was around, she was okay with it.

On the way home, I got stuck in the security checkpoint because I was carrying concealed moose meat in my carry on. It was funny. They completely dismantled my carry-on and rescanned the moose meat and Avery's little mommy doll seperately from everything else. Her doll is completely filled with wires and batteries. I can only imagine was the whole mess looked like through the security scanner. I got a few good laughs, and the TSA guys thought it was pretty humorous as well.

Since we have been home, Avery has been pretty sick. I have been pulling doubles all week... Working all night and taking care of her during the day. Currently I am running on half a Starbucks frappucino and a chocolate chip cookie. We have the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on base tomorrow, so I made Ch. chip cookies to take. We leave in @ 2 weeks for Colorado for Christmas.

I can't wait.