Saturday, December 31, 2011

...a Day on the (frozen) Lake...

...we spent a day on the lake with the Boy Scouts and Search and Rescue...

...we had the opportunity to ride in the air boat that the local Search and Rescue Team uses to rescue people stranded on the ice...or who have fallen through...see the previous post on what to do if you car goes into the water...

...it took a while to get the boat unloaded and turned around...

...it was a bright and sunny day...and with no snow on the ice it was like a sheet of glass...

...so the boys were busy horsing around on the ice while the men got the boat ready...

...the first group dons their life vests...

...and heads out onto the frozen lake...

...one of the Search and Rescue guys dons a special wetsuit and walks out onto the ice to see if he can break through...then the guys in the boat were going to do a little practice rescue...but he couldn't break through as the ice was already too thick...I was surprised as it's been so mild here this winter...but he said it was probably 8 inches thick...

...the view out the back through the propellers - you have to give 500 feet of clearance behind the boat...it really kicks up some dust and rocks...and it's really loud...we all wore hearing protection...and the S & R guys wore the same type of speaker headsets that pilots wear...

...the fancy gps system that shows our track on the lake...

...the view out the front...

...and the boys were thrilled that we finally broke through the ice out in the middle of the lake...it was exciting...and we were so glad we were in a boat when we broke through and not a car...whew!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Packing...Packing...and more Packing...


...it seems like that's all we've been doing lately...

...there are boxes everywhere...

...I'm not really sure how Scout is getting into his closet...I guess he squeezes behind those boxes...and his big aquarium stands empty...we loaded up all of his tropical fish and took them back to Petco...I was so amazed and happy that they would take them back - we just called ahead and they set up a quarantine tank - she said they'd have no trouble re-selling the fish so they were happy to take them back...relief...fish are very difficult to move anytime...but especially in January...

...so our life pretty much consists of packing and trips to the Second Chance store to get rid of things we don't need anymore...that's one good thing about moving...at least...you do go through all of your 'stuff' and really get rid of what you don't need anymore...

...and man oh man...do we have a full social calendar right now too...

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas Winner...


...that would be me...in that I won this awesome giveaway from At Home with Michelle...

...three pretty sparkly ornaments...and one of them says Peace!...

...and the little card to the right - that I didn't quite get into the photo...is a $15 gift card to Target...and in just a few more weeks I'll live in a town that actually has a Target...so that will be nice and fun to use...

...a great BIG THANK YOU to Michelle for hosting this awesome giveaway!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

...the year without a White Christmas...

...have I mentioned that we have no snow at all...

...and we didn't have a White Christmas for the first time since we moved here...even the old-timers can't remember a year like this...with temperatures in the 30s and no snow (we had some back in November and thought for sure that we'd have snow at Christmas...but that was not to be)...and it's our last Christmas here in North Dakota...

...so the day after Christmas...the Man and a friend got together and took down Scout's old swing set...it was getting pretty rusty and rickety...and after so many hours and hours of use it was just plain worn out...and we were worried that it might be a safety hazard for the new pastor's family...

...I was sort of sad to see it go...it was such a reminder of our little Scout...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

...an Antique Christmas...

...I got a few little antique-y things for Christmas as well...

...these candle holders...they're from the 1876 Cape Cod Collection by Avon...

...I can remember the Avon woman calling on my Mom back in the 70s...

...often she would leave little Avon catalogs...and I remember the fancy red dishes that were featured in the booklets...

...and this little blue banded yellow ware bowl...

...it has a chip in the rim and in the bottom...

...but neither affect its functionality...I love it...it's so cute...

...and finally two Gay Fad Fire King bowls...

...hand painted at the Gay Fad Studio...

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Waffles...

...of course we got up early on Christmas morning...

...we made Christmas Waffles...because you need a hearty breakfast to make it through all that present opening...

...I've posted the Waffle Recipe before...

...I love these crispy, chewy, sweet waffles...I usually just eat mine with some Earth Balance...

...both the boys prefer theirs with some syrup...

...such a sweet and yummy start to a beautiful day...

...Jack was the first one to start opening presents...he had a lot of fun trying to get into his stocking...

...Scout opened his stocking first...as always...it was chock full of Ender's Game books...the first five...highly recommended by Karen...thanks Sis!...

...this year's gold wrapped Santa present...a Garmin GPS...just like the ones we used on the Pembina Gorge campout...

...Scout loves it...

...then the Man and I opened a few gifts...

...I'll show you some more tomorrow....

...but I love my new travel mug...it's ceramic and it holds about 2 cups of tea...and it's just begging for a little knitted cozy isn't it...?

I hope y'all had a lovely Christmas with your families as well!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Light Show...


...we all piled into the car (even Jack) and took our annual drive around the neighborhood looking for pretty Christmas lights...

...this tradition started when Scout was pretty little...as a way to keep him occupied on Christmas Eve...when he was so excited for Christmas to be here...he'd have a bath and put his jammies on and we'd strap him into his carseat and drive around in the dark looking at all the houses with Christmas music playing...and by the time we got home he'd be really sleepy...and we'd just tuck him in bed...

...of course now...none of us wear jammies...and none of us get very sleepy either...but it's still a nice family tradition...that we enjoy every year...

...we saw lots of pretty lights...

...but we're always happy to drive back up in our own little driveway and see our own cozy little home...

...be it ever so humble...

...wishing you all a very Merry Christmas...

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Childrens' Christmas Program


...you'd never believe the chaos back in the Sunday School rooms this morning would turn into a lovely program...

...but somehow that magically happens every year...

...looking forward to the candlelight service tonight...

Friday, December 23, 2011

Kids Christmas Shopping

...the kids are out of school for Christmas break...

...and our LYO and the Sunday School children went on their annual shopping spree...

...and bought lots of presents for needy children in our area...

...we brought everything back to the Church and wrapped it up...

...this is so much fun...

...we have adult helpers on hand...but usually the kids want to do the wrapping themselves...

...like the presents they've picked (each one perfect for the recipient)...the wrapping is perfect too...

...we even had one little girl who was sick...she had come to Church and was so sad that she was too sick to be able to go shopping...she was crying as she left...so I asked her what she would buy for a little girl and told her we would be sure to get just what she said for a little girl on our list...her choices...a baby blue top and some Twighlight Mist perfume...so of course we found just those things...and wrapped them up for her...

...they carried all the presents into the Sanctuary and placed them around the Chrismon tree...

...lovely...

Thursday, December 22, 2011

...C.G.E.S.P. ...or P.G.S.E.C...


...the Man had enlisted a few children to help with a sermon illustration at our Advent service last night...

...Called...
...Gathered...
...Enlightened...
...Sanctified...
...Preserved...

...it was adorably cute...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

...Elving...


...amidst all the packing...I've been working on a few little handmade gifties...

...these have been sent on their way...I love a handmade Christmas...don't you?...

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

...gifts are arriving...

...every day now...the doorbell rings...

...and the postman...or man in brown...or flower deliverer...arrives...

...and we have new gifties to place under the tree...

...and brown boxes that open to prettier boxes...

...full of delicious things...

...and we have sunny fruit to brighten our days...

...and pretty greenery too...

...hoping you are enjoying the gifts of the season...