Oh Christmas Tree

 

I've read all kinds of tutorials about taking pictures of Christmas trees with the lights on. Unfortunately, most of them are way over my head.  I'm pretty happy with this shot, though.

The aftermath...

The biggie gifts

Kyle's wish list was pretty short this year. He wanted a cell phone with a full keyboard. It's faster to text that way (like he wasn't fast with his old phone?!) and an IHome for his IPod Touch. It's pretty cool with a sleep function, alarm and charging station.
















Eric's big request this year was an IPod Classic. It has some ridiculously large amount of storage and I'm sure he'll manage to fill it up (eventually). He spent Christmas day loading all the music from his old MP3 onto the IPod.

More Christmas Presents!

The first thing to do on Christmas morning is check out the stockings. Santa is having a harder time filling them every year!

It's so hard to decide what to open first. Should we save the biggest for last or tear into it first?!

Clothes aren't usually a big hit, but this shirt got a big smile and a "Cool!" response.

Now, who thought it was a good idea to get Kyle these books?! He's already figured out how to make plastic from milk (and glue, too!). I'm not sure I really want to know.

Bosco's Christmas Wish

Poor Bosco, all he wanted for Christmas was for someone to fill up his dish.













Still hoping and checking to see if Santa brought breakfast












And I was such a good dog all year!













There's nothing better than snuggling with your boy while he reads his favorite new book.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Kyle was shocked to see such a long icicle (along with several little friends) hanging from the front porch. He ran to get the camera and took some great shots of it. It was so pretty, almost like glass hanging there. Fortunately, it finally warmed up and the snow and ice are almost completely gone (until the next storm comes, anyway).

He'll be home for Christmas, hopefully

Closure I-84, 4 miles East of La Grande MP 265 - 309, updated: 12/24/2008 6:14 pm. Freeway closed due to blowing and drifting snow.

Marc had a run to Seattle yesterday. He was supposed to be home today, but... 

stupid, stinking snow (and wind)! The really rotten part is he's only about 2 1/2 hours away, but that doesn't matter when the freeway is closed. Sigh...crossing my fingers for better weather tomorrow. The wind is blowing and the snow is flying here. I'm ready for winter to be over.

Happy Birthday, Dad

Today is my dad's 82nd birthday. Kyle and I picked Grandpa and Grandma up this morning and headed to Sheri's Restaurant for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching football at our house. We had a birthday dinner of turkey burgers and baked beans followed by raisin pie. Yep, that's right, my dad chooses raisin pie for his birthday dessert. No yummy cake, no tasty cookies...just raisin pie. I make it, but he hasn't convinced me to eat it yet.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Ol Man Winter...

blew into town overnight with a vengence (and is still blowing now!) I know these pictures look the same as previous snow pictures. I took them from inside the house. No way am I going out in the cold and blowing snow. ICK! Kyle is at a bowling tournament in Ontario, OR (about 45 miles west of us). It will be a long, slow trip home, but at least the freeway is open. On the other hand, Marc is supposed to take a load to Seattle today (along with two other drivers). The mountain passes in Oregon all seem to be open (according to the road report websites) however, the biggie in Washington, Snoqualmie, is closed in both directions. No estimated time for opening is given either. They could go west to Portland, then up to Seattle, but Portland weather is bad too. Chains are required in the city! They are trying to decide if they should leave and get as far as they can or wait until tomorrow to try it. I'm hoping they wait.



My poor car! I really need to move it into the garage.

Linda's Christmas Goodie Challenge

My friend Linda posted a challenge on her blog to share our favorite holiday recipe. The Peanut Butter Blossoms are my all time favorites, but I decided to share my favorite new recipe: Colorful Candy Bar Cookies. They are super yummy and super easy!
1/2 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1/4 cup all purpose flour
24 miniature Snickers candy bars
red and green colored sugar

In a small bowl, beat cookie dough and flour until combined. Shape 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of dough around each candy bar. Roll in colored sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks.
Yield: 2 dozen

The Finished Product

Don't they just look good enough to eat?!
The Christmas tree sugar cookies were made by our friend, Nancy Bomer. She made one for each of the boys. They are the best sugar cookies I've ever had!

Cookie Monster(s)

Once again Kyle was in charge of the Christmas baking. He always finds new and yummy cookie recipes to try. He does most all the prep work (I get to do the fun things like crack eggs and roll the dough into balls) and makes sure they are baked to perfection. This year we made pumpkin bread along with five kinds of cookies, Fudge Puddles, Chocolate Chip Bars, Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies, Colorful Candy Bar Cookies and Peanut Butter Blossoms (I loved these when Marc's mom made them and am so glad Kyle picked them...yummy!). Eric doesn't like to bake; he just likes to lick the beaters.

What Ever Happened...

to my little boys?! They have grown up so quickly. While I sometimes miss my little boys, I wouldn't trade these two for anything (most days anyway :))

Winter Wonderland

Snow! It started Saturday evening and continued through most of Sunday afternoon. No new snow when we got up Monday morning, but...it started again mid morning and is still going. My mom was excited for the first snowfall. We'll see how long that excitement lasts! Personally, I've had enough. According to the weather report, we'll be seeing the white stuff off and on this week. If I could just sit home and watch it, I'd be happy. It's the driving in it part that I don't like. Bosco has decided he likes the snow this year. Copper, not so much. Bosco has been in and out all day. Of course he comes back in covered in ice balls (it's rough when your belly is so low to the ground) and doesn't much care to be dried off. You'd think he'd learn to just stay in!

More Decorations

I decided to display some of my favorite decorations on the bookcase this year. Kyle cleaned it off and we went to work. The three snowmen on the top are a Christmas gift from our good friend Nancy Bomer. Her dad cut out the figures and she painted them and added the hats and scarves. I absolutely love them!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

We finally got the house decorated over the weekend. Well, the inside anyway. It was way too cold and snowy to do the outside. The boys decorated the tree again this year.