Miscellaneous

We don’t exactly have green thumbs around here.  We saved up to do a lot of landscaping last spring and we’ve nearly killed everything that we planted.  It’s one of those things that I joke about but on the inside I feel like I could cry when I think about how much money we basically flushed down the toilet.  We did everything right (but apparently not)—bought plants from a high-quality nursery rather than from a home improvement store ($$$), put in new soil ($$) and fed and watered everything as instructed ($).  Plus it was a ton of work.  If there is a next time, we’ll pay someone to come put the plants in and get some type of guarantee that they will survive.  Live and learn I guess. 

BUT, a few weeks ago we had our spirits lifted when a few plants that did survive started to bloom.  Granted they were really small, inexpensive plants—but we’ll take what we can get!  We also had at least 2 of our rose bushes survive and one has its first bloom of the year.  Can I get a hallelujah?!?

We plan to leave the dead azaleas in the ground for awhile as an effigy to the January-March 2010 savings that we’ll never reap the benefit from.

When the aforementioned plants (called Lenten Roses) started to bloom on the same day spring weather arrived in Texas, I took it upon myself to dig our front flowerbeds out from under a thick blanket of oak leaves and get things looking nice.  Four days later they were covered with some other type of leaves, but at least I got to enjoy them for a moment.

Speaking of not having a green thumb, we think we might have killed a great majority of the grass in the backyard.  Only time will tell.  I think having 2 dogs around, 1 of which poops excessively (I won’t name names), has really taken a toll. 

Here’s a rundown of some other things going on around here.

Kolby is in Seattle for grad school.  He’s absolutely loving it, as always.  He’s in the honeymoon phase of the residency right now—enjoying being around his writer friends and taking classes from some really acclaimed authors—but he usually starts getting homesick around day 6 or 7.  But for now, he’s one happy camper.

I had the privilege of being in my college roommate’s wedding this weekend in Raleigh, NC.  It was a blast.  She was an incredibly beautiful bride.  I doubt she and her husband will stay in Texas for long, but for now they will live about a hundred yards away from my office so it’s great to have her so close. 

The wedding weekend made me very grateful for Remy.  I had just turned 22 when Brad married Remy, giving me my first sister.  I’ve been making up for lost time by borrowing Remy’s clothes at every opportunity.  She pretty much outfitted me for all the wedding events, from the shoes to the dresses to the jewelry.  I’d say our sisterhood is rather parasitic in nature…  I’m not sure I bring much to the table.  But I’m sure glad to have her.  For a lot of reasons.  But this weekend, it was the stylish clothes.  Thanks, Rems!

Speaking of borrowing things for the wedding, I had an "I have some really great friends" moment last week when I met up with Laura, Alayne, Katie and Remy for lunch while they were on spring break.  I had asked earlier if they happened to have any red nail polish or gold-colored earrings I could borrow, and when I got to lunch they each pulled a bottle of red nail polish and a bag of jewelry out of their purses.  Sometimes it's the small things in life that make you really grateful to have best friends.  

  
Maya went to the vet for a teeth cleaning today.  I tried to take a picture of her new pearly whites to send to Kolby but she was just not having it.

Hooray for Maya for not running away for an entire month!  Hopefully the January/February string of prison breaks was just a phase.  Hopefully.

 Last week one of our neighbors' chickens was taken/eaten by a hawk, right out of their backyard.  I was cutting Kolby's hair on our back deck when it happened.  Their 7 year-old daughter invited us to the funeral.  You know, just a regular Wednesday evening around here.

Also last week, several members of Kolby's family visited me at work because his cousin is a Boy Scout and needed to tour a federal building as part of the requirements for a citizenship badge.  It was nice to have the company!

This past Sunday I invited myself over to Brad & Remy's for dinner.  They had spent the entire previous week sanding, staining and/or painting furniture for baby Tucker's room.  It all looks AMAZING.  Seriously impressive.  My mom came in town and worked really hard helping them out with several projects at the end of the week, and then I took over on Sunday by watching Brad grill me a hamburger and sitting on the couch watching the Baylor women's basketball game.  You're welcome.

Other than that, we're just enjoying the beautiful spring weather and looking forward to summer! 

Baby, Baby, oh Baby!

You know what they say--- good things come in threes!

 [if that’s not a real saying, just go with it!]

2011 will officially be the summer of babies around here.  One of my best friends, Alayne, is due with baby boy Collin in May.  He’s going to be super cute, funny & silly, and probably pretty quiet although part of me thinks he could be totally wild just to throw Alayne a curveball.  I can’t wait to meet him!

Then in July, Remy is due with my first nephew, Tucker.  Tuck.  Tuckle.  Tuckleberry.  Tucks McGee.  T-dub.  Tuck Tuck Goose.  I’m still working through my list of nicknames, not sure which will stick :).  He’s going to be cute as a button but he will most certainly be a wild child, there is just no way around it.  Get ready, sis!  You can keep up with Tucker and his in utero quest to be the largest baby of all time over at Remy's blog here.

Another one of my best friends, Katie, will be having a baby in August.  On my birthday, to be exact.  She’ll find out if it’s a boy or girl in a few weeks, but one thing that is for sure is it’ll be one attractive little baby.  And hopefully a redhead, too!  I think his or her temperament will likely be laid back and very sweet, but mischievous at the same time.  I can't wait to find out the gender and hear the precious name!   

I get together with these girls each week (if I say that we watch The Bachelor, how much judgment will I be subjecting myself to?) and it’s so fun to see their burgeoning baby bellies and chat about baby rooms, baby bedding, and all sorts of baby stuff.  One of them made a comment at the Super Bowl party several weeks ago that next year there will be three babies at that party.  Times are a changin’!  It’s such an exciting time, though, and we are so fortunate to live so (relatively) close to each other to get to experience stuff like this together.  I can’t wait to snuggle these newborns this summer and love on them as they grow older!

Travelocity Confirmation - Cancun

If that's not the best subject line in my email inbox right now than I don't know what is!

I just booked our summer vacation.  We are headed to Cancun with our good friends, Tyler & Erin.  Why?  Why not!  We found a super great deal through Travelocity for a 4-night stay at an all-inclusive resort on the beach.  Seriously, I couldn't be more excited.  I petitioned hard for a beach vacation last year when we were planning our first trip with Tyler & Erin but I got outvoted and we wound up on a hiking trip, huffing and puffing our way along miles and miles of National Park trails every day for a week.  [I kid, I kid--- it was a ton of fun and I'm so glad we chose that!]  But this year, all my dreams of reading a book on the white sand beach while having food and drinks delivered to me are going to come true :).

We've never stayed at an all-inclusive place before.  I've gotta tell you--- I think it'll be right down my alley!  Here's my favorite part of the hotel's website: "If you don’t feel like getting out of bed or want to enjoy a meal in your room, we offer room service 24 hours a day with no restrictions, no reservations, and no extra charge."  Boo ya!

Hooray for the chance to vacation with friends!

Valentine's Day

I first said “I love you” to Kolby nine years ago on Valentine’s Day.  We were the ripe old age of 16.  I remember every detail of where, when, how, and why.  It’s one of my favorite memories. 

His baggy jeans were no match for my butterfly hair clips.

We had a pretty low-key Valentine’s Day this year.  We went to dinner at our very favorite restaurant and then came home to watch a movie.  One of my favorite things about Kolby is that his idea of a hot date is the exact same as mine--- Mexican food and a relaxing evening at home.  As I’ve said before, we live on the edge.  

Now I’ll catch you up on all the equally edgy happenings since my last post.

We have had us some crazy winter weather around here lately.  It was below freezing for four days straight, which is completely unheard of for this part of Texas.  We got some rain and sleet right before that cold front came in, so the roads were frozen solid and Kolby had almost an entire week of snow days.  I worked from home for three of those days, and I think we went more than 72 hours without leaving the house.  It was a welcomed break, and Kolby was able to catch up on a lot of grad school work.  We actually got quite a bit of snow on our last snow day.  I tried to take some pictures of the family walk we took that morning, but I slipped and fell right off the bat so I had give up my idea of walking and snapping photos at the same time. 

We don't have any winter gear so we basically just put on all the clothes we could find.  And we used socks as gloves.  Keepin' it classy.  

Speaking of classy... check out those snow shoes.

Our little snow dog.

I promise my car isn't parked in the middle of our lawn.  There is a driveway under there somewhere.

My fall that morning was really stupid and really painful.  We were about 10 seconds into our walk when it started snowing really hard and I decided to run in the house and get a towel to cover my camera.  Run being the unfortunate key word there.  Because everything was covered with a thick soft blanket of snow, I totally forgot about the thick sheet of ice that lurked underneath.  Not only was I running, I was running with plastic grocery bags covering my tennis shoes, ensuring I had absolutely zero traction.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  Anyway, I hit the top step of our porch and my legs just shot out from underneath me.  Luckily I landed straight on my hip, which hurt really bad but kept me from breaking something (like my arm, tailbone or skull!).  The bruise was so deep it didn’t show up until five days later and is showing no signs of going away anytime soon.  Lesson learned.

Brad and Remy came over that afternoon and we celebrated the fact that they are having a baby BOY!  I snapped a few pictures to help then announce the good news.  His name is Tucker Bradley and I think he’s about the cutest thing in the world.  It’s crazy how big he looks in the sonogram pics since babies weigh less than a pound at this point.  We’re definitely thrilled to be having a nephew!

Then, everything thawed out in time for us to host a Super Bowl party with a few friends.  When Brad was over that Friday before he commented that he didn’t think we’d have room for everyone to sit and watch the game.  Kolby and I spent Sunday afternoon rearranging our entire living room to prove him wrong.  It was a success--- the seating worked out fine and everyone had a great time.

Kolby dug our second TV out of a closet and set it up to where those in the kitchen could still watch the game.  Lest we make people choose between food and football.

The girls definitely did not work a puzzle for most of the first half.  That would be cheesy and juvenile.  

I know it's bad form to post a picture this horribly blurry, but I had to show that Brad had a fancy recliner to sit in (one from my parents' house that he actually had at his college apartment for a few years, hence the gross greasy armrests from him eating chips and wiping his hands there).  So he can eat his words about us not having room for everyone.

Life returned to normal on Monday, until we got home from work to discover Maya was missing.  Our friend/roommate had let her out in the yard to play with his dog earlier in the afternoon and accidentally fell asleep because he wasn’t feeling well.  Although Maya has never once dug out of the yard in the 1.5 years we lived there, I guess she succumbed to peer pressure.  We found the other dog right away, but Maya was long gone.  We searched everywhere for her until about 11pm, and had the most sinking feeling as we called it a night and went home.  It was just above freezing outside and we’ve never lost her during winter before.  I kept reminding myself that she was a stray for 2-3 years before we adopted her, so she definitely has what it takes to stay safe.  But then I would see the plush orthopedic dog bed/couch in the corner of our bedroom and worry that she may have gotten a little soft over the four years we’ve been spoiling her :)  I talked Kolby into dragging our twin guest bed onto the floor near our back door so I could sleep there and hear her if she came home and scratched at the door during the night.  He laid down with me for a minute and we both fell asleep.  It wasn’t the best sleep I’ve ever had (reminded me of when we shared a twin while we were in Ghana a few years ago!), with his legs taking up most of the bed to keep from hanging off by about 2’, but we were waking up before 5am to start the search again so it was a short and cozy night. 

We made flyers and hung them up throughout the neighborhood, and I kept driving around looking for her after Kolby headed to school.  I was really nervous to head to work because by the time we got home it would be almost dark and they were giving temperatures in the teens overnight with another big snowstorm rolling in.  Just before 9am, right as I was entering a panic attack of already being late for work but needing to find Maya before it was too late, I got the call I had been waiting (impatiently) 18 hours for.  Someone had found her only a few blocks away from our house.  Hallelujah!

Home Safe!

I just got a call from a very kind man who had Maya at his dog grooming shop.  I guess she was ready to come home but figured she ought to get a bath first?!?  I think he may have actually found her at his house because he said something to that effect and mentioned that she was in his yard with his cats.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details because I may have started crying when he called and said that he had her and that she was safe and happy.  The poor guy had no idea what he was in for! 

She's home now and other than being very thirsty she seems to be uphased by her little adventure.  Right now I'm just really happy to have her back, but once the euphoria wears off I'm going to be pretty ticked off at her for running away again.

Now I'm off to go Google "GPS for dogs"...

Maya is Missing

We can't find Maya.  Our friend that is living in our garage apartment let her and his dog out to play in the backyard around 3pm yesterday and they got mischievous and dug out.  It wasn't until after 5pm that he noticed they were gone (Kolby and I were still at work).  He found his dog right away, but we searched everywhere for Maya and eventually had to go to bed with her still out there somewhere.  We slept on a twin mattress on the kitchen floor in case she came home and scratched at the back door.  Kolby just left to print out some signs that we'll put up in the neighborhood before we leave for work.  This is the longest she's ever been missing and as you know, it is REALLY cold here and they are giving snow and sleet tonight.  The cold weather keeps most people inside, which means there are a lot less people out and about to see her and call us, which is the only way we ever find her.

I understand that there are a lot of troubling things going on in the world that makes this seem really trivial, but if you think about it--- please pray that Maya stays safe and warm until we can find her.  Or even better, that she finds her way home.

I'll keep you posted.

Miscellaneous

Not much new is going on around here, but it's Sunday afternoon and I have a few spare minutes on my hands so here is a super exciting post about nothing.

The weather here was really nice yesterday so I took Maya on a walk while Kolby was at the library.  I hadn't used my nice camera in awhile, so I took it with me because I want to develop a "creative eye" or whatever it is that allows photographers to find great photo ops in everyday surroundings.  I took a picture of a street sign and then a tree, and then I gave up because they didn't look cool at all and I just don't get how they do it.  So I reverted to an old favorite.  

 As I mentioned awhile back, Kolby is having two of his poems published!  They are being published in a literary journal that two of his SPU professors have published in recently, so it's a great step for him.  The issue is on pre-sale for 20% off or you can get it on Amazon.com for $15 starting in February.  If you want more details, shoot me an email: emily.[last name]@ymail.com.

The Bible study group that we host at our house kicked off a new season a few weeks ago and we had 14 people this past week.  It's been really neat to see the group grow and develop a great sense of community, which is particularly important for a new church plant.  We don't really have room for any more people (literally), but we hope our group continues to grow and feel like having more people than room will be a great problem to have.  We'll cross the logistics bridge when we get there.  I highly doubt that we'd ever seriously look into it, but Kolby and I did have a conversation the other day about whether we think the wall between our living room and kitchen is load-bearing.  Because everyone knows we've been super successful with our home improvement projects around here! :)

Speaking of successful, I started cutting Kolby's hair.  We decided it would save us some money.  I save money by not bothering to get my haircut except for twice a year, but Kolby doesn't really have that option.  So we used a Christmas gift card to get a kit, and I think I've done a pretty decent job.  I was supposed to cut his hair yesterday but I wasn't feeling well and he got impatient.  I walked back to our bedroom and found him shirtless in the bathroom well on his way to giving himself a chili bowl.  I did what I could to save it, and I think it turned out OK.  Like I've said before, we live an exciting life.

Maya has been rather mischievous lately.  She's escaped from the yard three times in the past month.  Thank goodness for kind people who take the time to call her over, get our number off her tag, and call us to let us know where she is.  So here is my public service announcement:  if you see a dog wandering the streets and it looks like it clearly belongs to someone, take a minute to help out.  It's probably Maya.  OK probably not, but we would have lost Maya a dozen times if it weren't for complete strangers going out of there way to help her get home.  **Update, Feb. 1**  Make that four times in the past month.  We were really enjoying our snow day when I got a phone call from a guy who said, "Hey, are you guys looking for a dog?"  Ha!  Thank goodness he called because we would never have found her among all the dead grass and snow.  If I had to describe the majority of Maya's fur color, I would probably have said a mix of dead grass and snow (see bottom picture above).  Silly dog.

Alright, it's past time to wrap this up.  Those last three paragraphs were really a stretch.

Life with Kolby, in Numbers

Number of times we’ve watched the entire TV series Arrested Development together: 4

Percent of the time I can come into the office while he is busy writing poems and he’ll let me sit in his lap for a few minutes and shoot the breeze: 90

Inseam of the jeans I had to buy him to wear with his new cowboy boots: 36

Number of days each week he packs me a lunch: 4

Percent of grocery shopping that he does: 75 (I’m a lucky girl)

Inches taller he is than me: 9.5

Number of times this week he has laughed out loud at the new Cheetos commercial: 4

Percent of the time he will sing along with me or dance around with me when I ask him to: 70

Percent of the time he will dance around with me if he is wearing his new cowboy boots: 90

Percent of the time he will dance around with me if he is wearing his new cowboy boots and I play this: 100

Months since we started dating: 123

Fights/Arguments we’ve had since we’ve been married: 0.5

Number of times we’ve raised our voices at each other: 1

Clean rooms in our house right now: 2

Number of times we have mopped the floors since we bought our house in 2009: 3 (yes I know, gross)

Number of kitchen drawers we have at this house: 1

Number of nights since being married that we forgot to kiss each other goodnight before falling asleep: 0

Number of times this week I heard monkey sounds coming from the shower because the water was too hot or too cold when he stepped in: 3

Number of foods I have ever heard him say that he doesn’t like: 1 (mushrooms)

Odds that I can talk him into an afternoon family nap on a Sunday: 1 in 10

Number of times in any given day that he’ll speak for Maya, in the voice we came up with for her: 2-3

Number of books he’s read out loud to me: 5

Number of minutes it takes for our electric blanket to warm our sheets before we go to bed: 15

Number of people we had over for Life Group last night (bi-weekly Bible study through our church): 14

Number of chairs to spare at Life Group last night: 0 (if our group continues to grow, which I hope it does, we'll be left with an office chair on wheels, Maya's dog bed, and the toilet as our best options for additional seating)

Poems that he will have published this year: at least 2

Months until he'll graduate with his MFA: 7

Number of times we've stayed up past midnight in the past year: 3-4, at best

Minutes until bedtime tonight: 10

Catching Up

After Christmas, we gathered with my whole family two more times, apparently in an effort to not let a 48-hour period of Christmas break pass without seeing each other.  First, we all piled into Russell's Tahoe to head to Houston for the Baylor bowl game.  That's 7 adults in 1 car for 4+ hours.  Not to mention that both my brothers have a fondness for all the most disgusting road trip snacks-- Chili Cheese Fritos, Combos, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bugles, you name it.

This shot may make things look nice and roomy, but Russell, my dad and me had the luxury of sharing the back seat, thanks to preggo Remy needing to drive so she didn't get carsick.  And if you aren't familiar with the back seat of a Tahoe, it would probably be an uncomfortable squeeze for 2 kids, much less 3 adults.  Then things got worse:

Russell: “So what time are we picking up Megan?” (his girlfriend)

Emily: “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Russell: “What?”

Emily: “How in the world are you thinking we can fit one more? I haven’t been able to feel my legs since Madisonville.”

Mom: “We can make it work.  Emily, you can climb onto Kolby’s lap, and I’ll whip around into your spot and Megan can sit here.”

Emily: “Mom, there is no way that you and dad and Russell can all fit in this back seat.”

Mom: “Sure we can, I’ll just whip around.” [laughing at herself]

Dad, Russell, Emily, in unison: “There’s no way.”

Mom took this as a challenge and sure did just “whip around” into the back seat, brushing Russell’s face with her rear on the way.  

Russell was so tightly sandwiched between mom and dad that he couldn’t get out to pick up Megan at the door, and Remy had to go to the bathroom.  So poor Megan, who has only been dating Russell for a few months and had no idea what she was in for, answers her door to a pregnant woman needing to use her restroom and then goes to the driveway and opens the door to Russell’s Tahoe to find his entire family in there like it was a clown car.  Bless her heart.

We survived the trip, although I did hear a "OK, 1...2...3!" count coming from the back seat when we stopped for dinner, which I can only assume was my parents prying one or the other out.  Unfortunately, Baylor didn't play well and lost the game, but fortunately we still had a fun time together.

A few days later, we had a joint New Year's Eve celebration with my mom's brother and his family that included Whilrlyball, pizza, and of course playing games.

Farewell 2010-- you were a great year!

On New Year's Day, Kolby got a call from our pastor who was really sick and asked if Kolby would be willing to preach on Sunday in his place.  He told Kolby the passage he wanted the sermon to be on (Romans 7), and left the rest open.  So, on less than 24-hours notice, Kolby had the privilege to preach at our church. He had written an amazing sermon (not surprising) and delivered it perfectly.  I was seriously in awe of him.  So proud.  He has such a noticeable talent for teaching-- whether it be teaching Scripture to a congregation or teaching literature to a class of teenagers.  I was really nervous for him that Sunday, but he wasn't at all-- he said he faces a much harsher audience every day at a school :).  I think he shared a great message on the new life we have in Christ, and so many people came up to me (or him) to say what a great job he did.  Getting to teach that lesson really lit his fire, and it was so fun to watch.  

My preacher man:

Here is the audio of his sermon, if you care to take a listen (20 minutes).

[the first part got cut off, so here's the text of what's missing from the audio]

So I’m in first grade and my older brother and I are in the backyard of one of his friends with some of the other neighborhood kids playing whiffle-ball.  Because I’m the youngest one there, I’m the designated pitcher, so I don’t get to hit, but I’ve got my slider working and the game is going pretty well.  It’s the bottom of the last inning, I’ve got my eye on the ghost runner on second and third and the chunky kid is on first.  My brother is at the plate—he’s got that skinny, yellow bat waggling behind him, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.  I give him a high heater and he swings and he bombs it into deep right, which is the bed of monkey grass against the side of the house.  Our right fielder takes off after it and stretches out his hands and looks like he is going to make the catch but then…it gets caught in the top of the crape myrtle tree.  So of course I explode, saying that it was going to be an out, so we win the game.  Needless to say, my brother saw it a little differently—he’s screaming that with his speed, he would have easily had an inside-the-park home run on that hit, so they win the game.  I’m in a headlock in about two and a half seconds and the right fielder is threatening to take his bat and go home and everything is falling apart until finally I whimper those two magical words.  If you have ever been in first grade and played any sort of playground game then you no doubt know what these two words are that can pacify everyone.  DO OVER!  Do over!  Reset everything just the way it was and let’s just do it over again.

Isn’t that what the New Year is for us?  We look at our waistlines, in our refrigerators, our closets, our checking accounts, our email inboxes, our Bibles collecting dust along with the half dozen devotionals we bought that year and we think: Do over. Let's pray.
[sermon continues in audio clip]

We both started back to work last Monday (I took a few days off the week between Christmas and New Year's) and are back in the swing of things.  I traveled to Denver on a business trip last weekend and attended a conference where there were 11,000+ economists in attendance.  Now if that doesn't sound like a party waiting to happen, then I don't know what does.  Just kidding... really just kidding.  It was actually a pretty lonely trip because I didn't go with any co-workers.  On Friday night, I was back to my hotel and in my pj's by 4:45pm.  I ordered pizza and a 20 oz. coke from Papa John's, and when had I called the concierge for the number, I caught myself saying to her, "We're thinking about ordering a pizza, ..." because I was so embarrassed that it was just me. Yes, I realize how pathetic that sounds, mainly because I know how pathetic it felt.  I gotta tell you, though... a small sausage pizza, an ice-cold coke, a fancy hotel room all to myself, and a TBS lineup of The Wedding Planner followed by Father of the Bride... not a bad Friday night once in a blue moon.:)  Again, I do know how pathetic that sounds.  As I've said before, I don't think I'm really cut out for business travel!

OK, I think that about sums it up.  Aren't you glad you're up-to-speed on these exciting happenings?!?  Until next time...

Webb Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my family at my parents' ranch, and it was wonderful.  The kind of wonderful where you don't get out of your pj's for three days straight.  And all you do is eat, sleep, and play.

I had to work on Christmas Eve, but my boss let us out at 1pm so I can't really complain.  Once we all made it to the ranch, we got started decorating the tree and listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas album.

Next, we moved on to the tradition of making cutout cookies.

Then we ate chicken & dumplings, played a lot of games, opened one present each, and then ate Christmas goodies until we felt sick enough to call it a night.

Then it was Christmas morning.  Santa brought Kolby and me our first pair of cowboy boots!

Kolby is 7' tall in these boots.  Not really, but it's close.

We siblings and siblings-in-law need to apologize to Russell.  We made fun of him for the fact that his Christmas list looked like something an 11-year-old would come up with, but then we all had the BEST TIME EVER playing the Xbox Kinect that Santa brought him.  Holy cow was this thing amazing!

Pictures of the gaming will dominate the rest of this post, so I apologize if you don't find these pictures as amusing as I do. My photography skills suffered quite a bit because of the tears from laughing so hard clouding my vision.  Watching my parents play beach volleyball will go down as one of my top 5 moments of 2010.

 A little whitewater rafting and adventure games:

 Mom vs. Russell in the 110-meter hurdles:

It did not take long to work up a sweat when playing Kinect.  I think the picture below is one of my favorites from the weekend--  my mom had to go stand by the door to let some cold air in after her intense bout against Russell (cough... hot flash...):

 Nothing screams Christmas morning like a good old-fashioned Wii dance-off.  Kolby won by a long-shot, repeatedly.  Although Remy gets all the style points, especially with a baby on board:

Speaking of baby on board, the picture below is of Remy's baby belly at about 14 weeks pregnant, and my food-baby belly at about 14 minutes post Christmas meal.  Can you tell which is which?!?!  :) 

[sorry for the bad glare from the sun... it's hard to get good photo help around here!]

I asked everyone to put on some real clothes for just a minute so that we could snap a quick family picture. Poor Kolby has had to get used to being asked to stand in the picture spot while I get my camera adjusted, especially if we're using the self-timer.  He knows the drill.  I was so caught up in trying to figure out how to deal with all the natural light coming in that I didn't notice his little photo shoot until I just uploaded these to my computer:

Way to put out the vibe, honey.

Anyway, back to the family picture.  It isn't great, but at least everyone has their eyes open:

It was a little strange to be at the ranch without the 20+ additional family members from one side or the other, but it was nice to have our rooms to ourselves, and my mom baked as though she were feeding the entire western hemisphere.  

We are so grateful for the fun we were able to have with both of our families this year, but most of all we are grateful for the birth of Jesus.  Take it away, Linus.

Merry Christmas to all!