So, it's snowing, it's great, it's grand... Lisa finally has a white Christmas. Sweet! The kids went sledding this morning - the twins in a twin-sized purple sled, and Tucker in a blue single sled. Then, I noticed that we were leaving a brown trail... it was emanating from the blue sled... ! What the ? All I gotta say is that it's got to really suck to have diarrhea on Christmas Eve with snow pants on.

...

Okay, we didn't really leave a brown trail, but as Lisa was cleaning up the mess on the clothes and the rug, and I was rinsing Tucker in the tub, it occurred to me that this could have happened as we were sledding this morning. Oy!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here it is!  We waited till the end of the season so Alex's braces would be off.  Then the snow came (and kept coming).  I had the brilliant idea of racing to Redmond Town Center on Saturday morning & hopping in line right when they opened.  So did a bunch of other folks, who arrived slightly before us.  For anyone who's never been to the "Santa Shack" at RTC, you wait in line outside.  Normally not that big a deal, but it is when you are in sub-freezing temperatures with 3 little kids dressed only for chilly weather (oops, but I thought we'd get right in).  We stood in line for 1/2 hour, and every little child cried at least once during that time (some more prolonged than others ---- Cleo, you know who you are).  Inside the Santa shack, it was just as cold (their decorative snow globe was frozen!).  This is the first year our family has a Santa photo with no one crying, although the girls do look a bit out of it.  Oh, and Quinn is sitting on Alex's lap because she refused to sit with Santa (in fact, she gave him a swift quick when I tried to set her on his lap).  Sorry, Santa!

It's been ~2 years, but Alex's braces are now OFF!  It took a little longer than anticipated (due to Alex's poor dental hygiene and disregard for wearing rubber bands), but D-Day has finally happened.  And like any orthodontist worth his salt, ours gave Alex a bunch of candy and gum as a freedom gift!

From all the family, friends and work colleagues I've spoken to, it sounds like another beneficial Thanksgiving has concluded with full bellies and fun stories of spending time with family. This makes me so happy - especially considering the general atmosphere concerning the economy. Thanksgiving for the Thompson Clan was no different than anyone else. We had a full house of family: half kids (Alex, Tucker, Quinn and Cleo), half adults (me, Lisa and Lisa's dad).

I'll admit openly that we cheated a little. We decided to try the Safeway deli Thanksgiving meal. Lisa's dad (thx Bill!) paid for it, and I must say that was a really great turkey - very tender, moist and bursting with flavor. The included mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and pumpkin were pretty good too - I've tasted better, but the fixin's were far from poor quality. Lisa and Alex contributed an apple and cherry pie as well as sweet potatoes to the meal. What did I contribute? I contributed the removal and installation of a toilet in our bedroom (thank you Rob and Beth!). The toddlers? Well, they contributed general pandemonium, chaos, screaming and crying to our Thanksgiving holiday.

I can also report that our Christmas lights are up and we have a Christmas tree as well. This year, it seems the houses in our immediate neighbor all got the Christmas light vibe at the same time. Everyone was out on ladders over the weekend and has their lights up. It's so great to come home and see the place lit up. As for the Christmas tree, I'm hereby noting that this year's tree has Lisa's name written all over it. We decided to go to a lot this year to save on some time, and from the get-go Lisa had it in her heart to strike a deal after scouting out a lot in our area. Sunday afternoon, we arrived there with all kids in tow, and she totally shmoozed a $65 tree down to $35. You should have seen 'the look,' 'the eyes,' she was using on the young tree salesman! Now, you just ask Lisa about how she feels about that tree - I have never seen someone so ecstatic about getting a bargain... go on a ask. :-)