Bring On The Christmas!

Merry Near Christmas friends!  We are all set for the big day here and Tyson is barely able to contain himself, just waiting and waiting and waiting.  He believes that if there is snow falling from the sky and a Christmas tree in the house then it is Christmas--RIGHT NOW.  He helps unload the groceries in hopes of discovering a gift for himself that I may have forgotten to hide.

We attended the annual Christmas party at Jerry's.  All of the Angle and some friends from town come together for a potluck and White Elephant Gift Exchange.  From front to back on the left:  Big Rick, Jenny, Ava, Tyson, Me, Half of Andie, Rick.  Right:  Bridger, Pat, Brian, Nikki, John.

Santa hands out the packages for the gift exchange, which range from booze to candy to tools and back to booze.  Ava and Tyson were starstruck when Santa came walking out of the bathroom.

We have always had a fake Christmas tree in our house because I sort of like things tidy and clean and couldn't stand the thought of pine needles all over my floor.  But this year Tyson wanted to go out and cut a tree down.  Living in the woods means this is decided over breakfast and is just a matter of Dad going to warm up the Mule and Mom getting snow pants on the kids.  Then the 30 second ride out of the campground.

Tyson hauling our little 3 footer back to the road.  He found this exhausting and almost collapsed after a drag of 20 feet or so.

Everyone knows you have to bring your hockey stick on a Christmas tree hunt.  Somehow I live in the arctic country and have no ice scraper for my car.  On the first frost of this season I had to scrape my windows with a hockey stick.  Thank goodness there is never a lack of them around here.

Snow Angel

Our chariot to the great hunting grounds with our grand tree find in the back.

Kids getting started with the decorating.

The proud Tyson with his tree.  He's holding a paper towel because we had popcorn while decorating the house.  And when I say we had popcorn while decorating the house, please know that I mean Rick and Tyson ate popcorn and watched me decorate the house while the baby ran around unsupervised and destroyed any last square inch that appeared clean.  Everyone has their favorite task.

Later she was tired out enough that she had to sit and read and relax.

In other exciting news, there is enough snow now to snowmobile.  Andie took her first ride with her dad and was very smiley upon her return.

The ride only last about 5 minutes because her helmet is so huge her head sort of bobbed from side to side and she almost couldn't walk straight from the weight of it.  Luckily it doesn't take much to make her happy.


**I have been working hard this month to teach Tyson the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it.  Not the Hallmark version, the Jesus version.  When I tell him that Jesus loves us so much he wants us to have gifts on  his birthday, Tyson is sort of awestruck and looks as if he can't decide if Jesus is the coolest guy ever or the craziest. Today he made a list of his friends and is making them cookies and a painted picture.  (His list includes Grandpa Rick and Jeanette that owns the J&M store and always gives him a sucker.) Hopefully the spirit of giving is something he will grasp and have grow within him.

In church last Sunday, about half way through, he yawned and said to me, "All this learning about Jesus is making me sleepy."