Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It was another wonderful cold White Christmas for my family up in Idaho! Seven people and 5 dogs made for a fun house! This Christmas visit was lovely with lots of food, thoughtful presents, relaxing, snowmobiling out in the field, and quality family time. We shopped, we ate, we watched "A Christmas Story" again, we discussed what it means to have faith at this time of year. All of it was wonderful! There was more snow than I ever remember and my parents said the same thing. It made for a slippery, icy drive home with a really dirty car, but all in all, it wasn't bad at all.

Thank you Marcus, Mom, Dad, Jenny, Aunt Joyce and Grandpa for making it so wonderful! And the dogs too (Molly, Elwood, Mulder, Scully, & Zoie)!

More pictures to come....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Snow in Southern CA!

Snow behind the mountains near Santa Paula

What a weird season of weather this has been! Several weeks ago, we had Santa Ana winds and it was warm outside. These past couple weeks, it has been very chilly in parts of southern California and Nevada and we've even seen some snow! There were all kinds of reports about Vegas getting snow and the roads being closed. Saturday begins the trek for my family up to Idaho for Christmas. So far, the roads look good, but there's more snow on the way tomorrow, so pray that they clear up by Saturday for our safe travels. It's only supposed to be in the teens for a good portion of the trip, including my parent's house! Whoo! That's cold! I hope everyone is staying warm!

On another note, I wanted to say here how proud of Marcus I am for the work he has put into his house remodel. He is in the process of remodeling his kitchen and living room and he has done a great job. He did all the cabinet work himself and they are beautiful. All of his choices have been stunning as far as colors and decor. He is a really hard worker and you can see the results in the pictures.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thanksgiving Trip and Babies!

Marcus and I had a great trip out to Louisiana for Thanksgiving filled with visits with family and sports and hospitals! We got in late Friday night to Baton Rouge after a flight into New Orleans on an uneventful, but funny steward filled flight on Southwest Airlines. Saturday, Marcus, his mom, Sue, step-dad, Bob and I went to the hospital to see Marcus' sister, Jill, brother-in-law, Michael, and brand new baby niece, Vivienne Estele. She was a cutie, and a good baby!

After the visit to the hospital, we went to the LSU/Ole Miss football game. It was pretty disappointing to see the Tigers lose so badly. After the game, we got a visit from Marcus' other niece, Marielle. She is almost 3 and is trying to cope with becoming a big sister and no longer being the "baby." She's not coping very well based on her fits, but she was trying to be good most of the time and she was pretty good on Thanksgiving.

Sunday, we had another visit to the hospital, and then we went to the LSU basketball game, which they won. After the game, Marcus' mom and step-dad took us to see Madagascar 2 (I like to move it, move it!) and then to a Brazillian steakhouse where the waiters walk around with meat and bring it to your table. I ate way too much.

Monday morning, Marcus went to the dentist (Michael is a dentist, so he gets them cleaned for free when he's home). Then we drove to Jennings, where Marcus' dad, Mac, lives. We visited with him, his step-mom, Pat, and his brother, Bill that evening.

Tuesday, we drove to Eunice to see Marcus' sister Jodi and her family. Her daughter, Courtney, was in the hospital after having double pneumonia, but she was able to come home that day. Jodi's husband Blake, son Scott, Courtney, Marcus and I all piled into the truck and went for a drive to the nearby town of Lafayette. We went to a couple stores, then we went to eat at a good steakhouse.

Wednesday, Marcus' dad came through Eunice on his way to go deer hunting, so we got up early to visit with him. We ran errands that day and then in the evening, went shopping again and then went to a pizza buffet/game/go kart/bowling/mini golf place for dinner. It was very fun!

Thursday, Marcus and I drove back to Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving dinner. At dinner were: Sue, Bob, Jill, Michael, Marielle, Vivienne, Michael's brother Mark and their parents, and Marcus' step-brother Jean-Paul and his girlfriend Allison. We took pictures, but I don't have any yet. Dinner was good and we were all pleasantly stuffed.

We got up early Friday morning to fly home on another silly Southwest flight. We rescued Molly from the boarding place and had a nice weekend. Now it's back to work!

Congratulations to my cousin, Christine and her husband Franck! They had a baby boy today! Noah!