World's Longest Christmas?

We continue to celebrate expanded Christmas, from Thanksgiving to ???
In looking through the pictures, Stacey saw we did not have one of the family around the tree. So, using the handy, dandy camera timer, we got a great shot of me running to get in the picture, then a keeper!

Trying to beat the camera timer - Bzzzzt!

Merry Christmas in January

Scooter Scouts

Although the kids said they were tired after basketball, Christopher was up for a bike and scooter trip across the local Santa Fe Dam with his Cub Scout troop. (Stacey stayed home, and Kelly went over Portia's.) We estimated the entire trip to be about 3-4 miles, and Christopher was the head of the pack of the scooter crowd. Meanwhile, Dad trailed signifigantly behind having no wheels other than the ones that got them to the dam. It was a good fun hike for him, though. At the start/end there was quite a steep ramp of maybe 150 yards to get to the top of the dam. Well, boys being boys, they raced down at breakneck speed as a thrill ride! Actually, Christopher, not wanting "broken neck" speed, jumped off his scooter about 1/4 of the way down, but seeing everyone else had survived, got right back on and made the rest of the trip. Of course, in classic 8 year old boy style, Christopher, Alex, and Dexter ended up making 6 consecutive trips down (and up!) the hill. Afterwards, Christopher and I went to Denny's where I got my first animal protein in the week. Dining Tip - if you want to make Denny's taste good, go on a juice fast for a couple days!

Look Out Globetrotters

Christopher and Kelly at their first basketball game. Now that soccer season is done for the year, Christopher and Kelly wanted to give basketball a try. Fortunately (for us), they are on the same team - the Beavers - and a couple eager Beavers they are! After just 1 practice they and the team were ready to go. They play at in local Nazarines church league, so there's good emphasis on sportsmanship and cooperation and a Godly attitude toward sports, which is good considering they have not really touched basketballs before last week. They personally didn't get any baskets in the first game, but they both really enjoyed it!

The Year Old and New in Liquid Form

I guess that was a busy month - what all with Christmas, Chris and Lori and kids visiting, New Years and Stacey working the Rose Bowl Parade as an usher, having our pastor over, kids out of and back in school, small group, cub scout ice skating, and much, much more. Unfortunately, Stacey has net been feeling the best with colds and flus and what all. Partly as a result, and partly because I was in the mood to stop junking up so much, right now we're trying a juice diet. I pictured lots of Trader Joe's blueberry and raspberry juices, but instead, we've having jucified garlic, bok choy and carrots (its not as bad as it sounds - really!). We've done it all week - tonight was the first "real" food I had - potato and carrot peeling soup - a delicacy in some vegetarian part of the world, no doubt. Oh, and a piece of bread with butter I accidentally ate at Costco. I resisted the hot dog and pizza, but was tripped up by a kindly old lady handing out morsels of bread - go figure!