Christmas in ND

 The weather, though still nasty, had tamed down a bit.  At least, enough to make the trip to see Eric's side of the family.   We're really getting tired of this winter and it's not even January!  Gah!!   We were also very eager to everyone; it had been far too long!

The kids are all growing up.  With each year that passes, it's bittersweet.

Our present-opening was rather fun-filled.  The kids got some interesting things!

Years ago, we pulled the "prank boxes" on Isaac.  This year, Uncle Troy and Auntie Sarah had pranks for Ramsey.  This was rather fitting since one of Ramsey's new chores is picking up dog poop!  

As for Connor, I would have taken a video, but it would have eaten up too much bandwidth.  Again, he "forgot" to fill out his Elfster Wish List.  So, once again, he got the "box inside of a box inside of a box inside of a box". 

This one was even crazier than last year's!  There were like a DOZEN wrapped gifts; some with twine, string, duct tape...  

Connor got a kick out of it (as we all did).  And, the hard labor of present-opening was rewarded with some cold hard cash.

After present-opening, it was time for more snacks. Plus, a few games of Rummikub and Chicken Foot.

When we left the next day, the visibility was low, but the flocked trees were gorgeous.  

I think Jango was bushed from all the play and fun. He had a nice little nap on the way home while we slowly battled the icy roads and fog.  (Best idea ever.)

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas!

Well, the IDEA today was to go to church together as a family, then go visit Nana Karen.  We got up, got ready, and when we were heading to town, it had started to blizzard!  The snow was getting THICK, sticking to the roads, and the wind was coming up.  Ugh.

Instead of going to church, we went straight to Nana's and decided it wouldn't be a terribly long stay, unfortunately, if we wanted to make it home.

We visited....

And messed around (the boys were laughing, playing Bloody Knuckles)...

We gave Nana her Christmas presents!

It was a long stressful drive home in thick snow and low visibility.  But, we made it!

The boys hadn't opened their gifts from Santa yet, so they opened them up before we had lunch.

Ramsey was pleased to get some military Legos...

And a super cool Flintlock pistol (cap gun).

Connor got a nice stack of cash, candy, and hygiene products (ha!).  It must have been an exciting day because not long afterwards, he and Jango were "out"!  

Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve

 The frigid temps and rotten roads kind of solidified that we would stay home; no one comes, no one goes.  It would be just the four of us for Christmas Eve.

As per usual, we ate pizza and put on YouTube videos of Julian Neal and his barbershop-type Christmas carols.

Ramsey gave us a present of a picture he had drawn (and framed) in school.  It is a castle on a mountain.

Lots of presents and lots of laughs...

Gotta give a good wink to the camera....

Ramsey had a "moment" when he opened up one of his gifts....

He received a highly-coveted AK-47 toy rifle.

Fun reactions from receiving some cold hard cash!

Connor stashed his in his billfold immediately.  Smart boy.

Connor either didn't want to be in many of the pics or he was taking the pics.  You see what happens when the boys do the pictures... (note the little guy behind me).  *straight face*

Yes, the weather was garbage, but we had each other and we had a nice evening together.  These are certainly cherished memories.

The reindeer even got some treats this year.  :-)

Arctic Blast & Ground Blizzard

 Um... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR... after we had the ridiculous amounts of snow, an "Arctic Blast" decided to come breezing along to really put a big fat bow on top.

We received another two to three inches of snow the last few days, but the WIND... wow... gusts were up to 55 mph, resulting in wind chills between -35° to -65° and ground blizzard conditions.   No one was moving or going anywhere, as NO TRAVEL warnings were advised for much of the state.  The National Guard was even activated during the state's Winter Storm Emergency status.

People were posting pictures of the western part of the state, on the interstates, where the snow drifts reached the top of the overpasses, people were buried, and plows were busting through, making tunnels for people to drive through.  Crazy stuff!

Christmas/Winter Concert

 Another Winter/Christmas concert on he books for Ramsey....

The Third Graders learned to play Jingle Bells on recorders:

And they sang two songs.

"Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel"

"Hurry Santa"

Our Elves

 The BEST times are when we're all together!  Connor waited to come home from college until the roads would be more conducive to safe driving.   Everyone was happy to see him and start spending some family time together.  :-) 

Ramsey was crazy happy to see him!

Ramsey has his Christmas wish list.  He wrote the formal note to Santa and we stuck it in the mailbox.

I apparently FORGOT to take a picture of the hand-written note.  Whoops!

Ramsey is VERY MUCH into World War history, anything military... and GUNS GUNS GUNS (history of guns and learning every single fact, with the help from his gun encyclopedia).  

12 Below

 ...Another awesome dog movie that Jango went bonkers for; "12 Below", about a dozen dogs who are stranded in Antartica for a winter.

We all sat down to watch this one together.   Jango watched every... single... minute.

He loved seeing the dogs on TV.  Since he loves White Fang so much, we knew this one would be a winner as well.

At many times, he was so excited, he was jumping and barking like mad! 

12.14.22

There was a scary part that freaked him out a bit too.

And here's these two sweeties....