Christmas 2014

This post is dedicated to Aunt Ree, who, along with her family, saved Christmas 2014 for our family.

Our home owning adventure had some unexpected problems, all connected to other humans, past (*cough*shoddy contractors!) or present (*cough*neighbors!). The good news as of March 2015 is that at least some of the problems might be seasonal. Nevertheless, the long and short of December 2014 was that our childless neighbors were only okay with our presence as long as they were unaware of it. The day to day struggle of living with that kind of negative environment was bad enough, but the thought of trying to have any kind of Christmas celebration in it was just too much. Mom and Dad brainstormed about what we could do and decided to call Mom's Aunt Ree (Grandmother's sister), who graciously offered us sanctuary. The Muffins were in school right up until the last minute, but they had Christmas Eve Day off, and that's when we headed for Aunt Ree's house.

It was a long day of driving. We crossed a few state lines, including the one shown below.

One of the highlights of the road trip was stopping for dinner. Mom wanted Arby's, if possible, and the car's gas light came on right when we pulled into a station that included one.

Clarissa and the other Muffins generally did pretty well on the trip, especially considering how much of the day we spent in the car.

 Another fun thing was the cheeseburger flavored chips Dad picked up to help us through the last little bit of the trip. The secret to the "burger" element? Pickle flavor on the cheese.

 At long last, though, we made it to Aunt Ree's house, and still in time for Christmas Eve. There were all kinds of yummy goodies, including a fabulous hot chocolate bar.

 There was also a giant Christmas tree . . .

 . . . and other lovely Christmasy things.

 Here we are in front of the tree on Christmas Eve.

 Christmas morning included lots of surprises for everyone.

 And, no, it wasn't a white Christmas, but that suited us just fine, considering all our driving.

Aunt Ree's house was full of family home from college. One of Aunt Ree's daughters, Launa, lives near Aunt Ree, and she and her husband graciously lent us their house while we were visiting, since they themselves were going elsewhere soon after Christmas. Here are the Muffins playing with their Christmas goodies there.

 Jared was especially excited to get a science kit.

 He used this . . .

 . . . to make a bouncy ball!

 Here's another Christmas tree (and Amanda enjoying a show).

 More science stuff Jared did . . .

 One of Mom's favorite Christmas presents: Utah Truffles.

 We went back to Aunt Ree's house for Christmas dinner.

 And then back again to Launa's house (and Christmas lights!) for a good rest after a good day.

Announcing Rosie's (and Benjamin's) Babies

Once upon a time, there was a Rosie bunny. Wild, free (except for the occasional pesky leash or cage), single.

Then came Benjamin bunny. Amanda's smiling not just because she liked him (we all did), but because he's licking her and it tickles. He was such a sweet bunny, and he licked pretty much everyone.

And then Benny was gone.

But not before he *eh hem* got to know Rosie better. Behold, one of the five children of Rosie and Benjamin: (Warning: Cuteness overload may occur upon viewing this baby bunny.)

The babies didn't look like this at first. The bunny shown above is two and a half weeks old. Here they are the day after they were born.

Here they are at a week and a half, when the first couple of bunnies opened their eyes and Mom finally let people hold the bunnies.

Back to the babies' present fuzziness, here are more pictures of Rosie and her children on the deck. We just had to share the joy of baby bunnies with friends.

And here's Amanda today snuggling a baby bunny and modeling a headband she sewed herself.

Grandmother and Grandfather come to visit Fall 2014

On Friday morning, September 5, after the older Muffins were off to school, Mom took the little girls out for a special adventure: finding Grandmother!

Grandfather showed up a bit later, too, in time to wait with Mom for when Curtis came home from kindergarten.

Amanda took up knitting over the winter, and she'd been itching to expand her yarn skills. Grandmother to the rescue with crochet lessons and supplies!

Grandfather especially had lots of things he wanted to see on this visit, such as the under construction Hartford temple:

And, since the rental car came with a New York license place,he also made it a point to leave New England just long enough to get a picture of the car in its plate-appropriate state:

The New York jaunt was part of a bigger excursion to a phonograph show in Danbury, CT:

There Grandfather met Ron Sitko, who has been a long-distance phonograph contact of Grandfather's for a few decades:

Grandfather also got to visit a trolley museum, this time with Grandmother and three grandkids in tow.

Another time Mom snuck out with him for a lobster roll:

Even if Grandfather weren't already a lobster fan, it would just be a shame to visit New England without trying the official sandwich of the Red Sox, now wouldn't it?

Grandmother spent most of her visit with the grandchildren, who thoroughly approved. Note in the top picture the ruffle scarf that Amanda knit for Grandmother.

When Grandfather was a kid, his grandmother, known as Grandmom, would lecture him about the virtues of her son, his father. Grandfather decided it was time he do the same for his grandkids, and so here he is lecturing them about Mom's virtues.

Here's a river Grandfather saw in his travels:

And here are Grandmother and Grandfather on an outing to find salt water:

Not bad for a visit that only went from Friday to Tuesday, eh?