thumbtacks & gnomes

I have an odd relationship with thumbtacks.  I lose them.  I don't mean a random individual here or there.  I mean boxes of fresh shiny thumbtacks.  It has gotten to the point where I have to wonder if little gnomes aren't sneaking into my house at night and stealing my thumbtacks... maybe to fortify their gnome compounds.  You may chuckle or worry about my mental functions, but there are moments in which no other explanation seems to fit ; )

Winter White Out (kinda)

strong winds + falling snow = blowing snow & low visibility

Took this shot from our front porch this afternoon. It was hard to see the nearby houses and trees.  The blowing snow came in relatively short bursts luckily. The plows and salt trucks are working overnight to clear up the snow and ice before tomorrow when schools resume after the holiday break.

Time to officially bust out the snow boots, hats and scarves.

taking a break (of sorts)

No school? No problem.

Evan has been staying busy during his holiday break.

Pics of a few of our break time activities.

 Lots (and I do mean lots) of lego time

 ***

 terrarium time... yes with legos : )

 ***

 the Christmas tree that became a New Years tree thanks to party supplies and crafty stuff we already had on hand

 what, no legos? ; )

 ***

Boomer Sooner! OU ended a rocky season on a good note with a win in their bowl game against Iowa. So what if we had to stay up until 2AM to watch it all : /

Be Merry & Enjoy the Magic a Little Longer (please)

*Christmas Morning 2011*

This could very well be the last Christmas that Evan believes in the magic of Santa.  I suspect he won't be willing to overlook the space-time continuum thing much longer in regards to Santa's ability to deliver billions of presents around the world in one night.

 Evan checking out the evidence that Santa visited

 present from Santa! cool metal detector

 RC plane

 1.

 2.

 3!!! Boomer Sooner! Real OU helmet for Evan

 Introducing Laird Markas Jackson

 treasure hunting in the backyard

 The Sloan Siblings

Our dog guest Hallie playing with Price 

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve 2011

keeping up traditions

 cookies for Santa

 tracking Santa's progress

 letter to Santa

 treats for Santa - milk, cookies & donuts(?)

reading Twas the Night Before Christmas

I'm thunderstruck?

It's interesting the things I miss since moving North.

I miss thunder.  We had thunderstorms yesterday.  I can't remember the last time I heard thunder.  We get lots of rain in Western Pennsylvania, but now that I have stopped to think about it... we get very little thunder and lightning.  I found the sound of yesterday's thunder oddly comforting.