"My mom is coming to get them kids tomorrow for their first extended stay away from home."


A direct quote from my first every entry, not intended to serve in any way as a reference to a trip to Tennessee. I just re-read the post and cringed.

The past couple of days we've settled back into normal life and the kids were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Gram Pam. Thankfully, we had a birthday party to go to on Friday and that helped them whittle away the hours. It was our friend Joe Stapert's 6th birthday and the party was at one of those indoor bounce house places. Picture humongous bouncers, numerous bouncers in the place, and throw in 30 kids and you can begin to imagine how hard it was to track Alex and Meredith. In case you're curious, they did pizza and cake after everyone jumped. The kids loved it and can't wait to go back. The best part...gallons of hand sanitizer available at every turn. My dream come true!

I had fun trying to take pictures and learning to use my new external flash Santa brought. The walls of the party room were bright green and yellow and whenever I bounced my flash off one of the walls, it made the kids look either green or yellow. I'll try to post something to show you what I'm talking about, but it looks like a party for the jaundiced.

The kids left with my mom early Saturday morning. They literally could not wait to get out of here, and we had to bribe and threaten to get goodbye hugs and kisses. The trip to Nashville, which normally takes five hours, took those three all day! They stopped at three restaurants in three hours. :) Alex requested Cracker Barrel for lunch, a place Brandon refuses to visit and we seldom go. My theory is, he was trying to get into the spirit of the South. We've talked to them a couple of times and they're having a so much fun.

I went shopping with a couple of friends all day Saturday, and came home to find a great surprise. Brandon, God love him, had taken down five of our trees and even vacuumed up their remains. It was almost as exciting as my incredible finds at the Hanna Anderson outlet http://www.hannaandersson.com/ There are few stores I will drive more than 2.5 hours to get to, and H.A. in one of them.

This morning I actually slept, well dozed on and off really, until 8:15 a.m. If you know me at all, you know that's like practically like sleeping in until noon! I was startled when I looked at the clock. After Meet the Press, Brandon and I ran a few errands and saw a movie. http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/nationaltreasure/ I'm telling you we're really living it up!

We leave for Chicago tomorrow after we drop off Al and Linda at the airport for their Italian Adventure. Al gave the trip to Linda for Christmas and she's grumbling about going, but we know she'll wind up loving the trip. Carpe Diem!

Happy New Year to all!


Oh, before I go...sometimes people ask me if I would ever like to have a studio. Generally, I'm not big on backdrops and most definitely not props. Not that there isn't a place for studio shots in my wallet, but I just like to capture more personality.

This reminded me why...http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-olan-mills-photos.html Warning! Don't take a big swig of anything before you look at this, or you may wind up with a splattered screen.