One More Day

Has it been over two weeks already?  Yep, it has.  And today is the last day of Christmas vacation.  The men in the house started off the week by sleeping late.  Then it was up to breakfast and some gloom and doom over the prospect of going back to school tomorrow.  They remained gloomy for hours, even as they sat around in their pajamas playing video games.  But soon, they rallied.

They decorated some cookies in a kit Gram gave them for Christmas.  Yummy!

Then we headed outside for some therapeutic bouncing on the trampoline.  Benny bounced and bounced.  As always, the fun was heightened by the addtion of Mom's new camera. 

We took lots of photos and soon Sam joined us.  Most of them came out blurry and I nearly threw them out, but on second thought, they ARE kind of fun, aren't they?  Look at that dive!

The height!

The craziness.  Unless you have dirt in your eye, like Sam does in this photo.

Sam does a back flop!

Soon enough, we were done flopping, and it was time to dash out for a load of firewood.  We were nearly out and we have a cold spell coming.

First we made a stop at Green's.

Marty got Red Bull and deer corn.

Then we drove over to buy the wood.  It's on the edge of a pasture area we drive past every single day.

In fact, every day, Sam's school bus drives over these railroad tracks.

Benny and I were eager to take a picture of the goat we see every time we drive past.  Turns out his name is Jo-Jo.

And it turns out Jo-Jo has a chicken friend.  Both of them came rushing out to see us when we walked over.

We took a couple more photos of the area......

After driving over the railroad tracks, Sam's bus drives up this hill each morning.  And down it each afternoon.  I have no idea what this road is actually named, but we call it "the donkey road," because it cuts through the pasture where the donkey lives.

Loaded up and ready to go...........

We took it home and unloaded.

The boys were a huge help.  Even Mom got into the act for a few minutes.

And now we have plenty of firewood.

Following the outing, we had snacks, games, dinner, play time with Poe, baths, a football game, and of course, a fire in the fireplace.

All in all, I'd say the boys had a good break.

Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation from school is well underway.  The boys have been content staying home and relaxing.  Sleeping late (anywhere from 7:30 to 9) is a treat.  Playing video games all day?  Perfect.  We've also been playing with (and taking pictures of) the cats........

Playing football outside.........

And playing with Benny's awesome new remote control airplane, given to him by Gram and Grandad.

There's been jumping on the trampoline....after cleaning the pine needles off.

And last night we broke out the Trinomonoes and played a game or two or three.

 

But today was day two of nonstop rain, and we were restless.  So we drove down to Kennesaw and visited "Escalade," a rock wall climbing gym.

The boys had a GREAT time.

 For the record, Benny climbed all the way to the top several times.  He showed no fear.  Both boys found the walls to be challenging, and just the right amount of scarey.  They climbed them over and over.

There's Sam, nearing the top.

 Benny

There were smaller, less complicated things to play with, too.

They loved this short wall, where you climb a few feet and then "fall" into the bean bags below.  They did that a long time, and there were some spectacular falls.

All in all, a good way to spend a rainy afternoon!

Christmas Cats

We've been having a lot of fun watching the kitties have their first Christmas.  I was pretty sure they'd be interesed in the tree.  But I had no idea how MUCH they'd like it.

First off, did you know that underneath a tree is the perfect nesting spot for watchful animals?  Add a fluffy tree skirt that crackles when you pounce, and it's even better.

The treeskirt/undertree haven doubles as a spa, too.  Perfect for lengthy paw washing.

And those ornaments?  A whole TREE FULL of dangling, swaying objects?  It's purr-fect for batting and smacking!

Fast forward a week or two and the kitties are now getting bolder and bolder.  The batting of ornaments has turned into outright smacking.  Yesterday I had to pick up two ornaments that had been knocked clean across the room.  And did you know that clumps of tree branches make the perfect venue for grappling, chewing, gnawing, and fighting across?

And as I figured, one of them finally attempted to climb up the middle. I found Poe halfway up the tree yesterday!    

We put presents under the tree to slow down the trunk gnawing and general climbing on the branches.  They saw that as an improvement!  Poe began opening the gifts with her teeth.

After cleaning up bits of paper and putting the gifts away again, we are now resigned to watching them enjoy themselves. The kids have the best time watching the kitties play with the tree, and we've all enjoyed the photos and videos we are collecting.  This morning Lucy was holding onto her branch with both paws and looking like she'd never let it go. 

And as it turns out.......

uner the tree is the perfect place for a long winter's nap!

The Big Eleven

It's birthday time again!  And Benny just turned eleven!  This year Benny decided he wanted to have a party with his friends at the local bowling alley.  So--that's what we did.  And everyone had a great time.

Five friends came, plus Sam, of course, so we had seven boys.  Yep, it was loud, rowdy, crazy--just as a birthday party should be.  The boys played games first.  They all played this ticket jackpot game where you hit a button and a ball falls into a random hole, dictating how many tickets you win.  Naturally it's designed to mostly put you in the low-earning ticket spots...but can you believe one boy hit the jackpot over and over and over?  He walked away with 650 tickets!!

Next it was on to bowling.  And pizza.  And soda.  And clowning around!

Then the kids moved onto lazer tag--a huge hit.  They loved it.  They made elaborate plans, ran into the lazer tag room, and immediately everyone "died."  Then they'd come out, make more elaborate plans, and repeat the process.  When they started slowing down and walking instead of running, we knew they were wearing out.

The kids traded in their tickets for prizes.  You know what?  The boy who won 650 tickets bought something for everyone there as gifts.  Isn't that nice?? Yep, everyone went home with a "gag" pack of gum--you pull a stick out and you get an electric shock.  They were all thrilled.

Cake! 

Back home for presents.  Legos, Nerf guns, a football, a remote control car, and good old cash.  Benny was a happy birthday boy.

And Poe was a happy kitty.  She crawled in and out of discarded bags, burrowed under wrapping paper, and shredded it with her teeth.  Poe likes birthdays!

Happy Birthday, Benny!

And on a side note, when we were driving home from the party, Benny and I both saw an asteroid zip past up in the sky!  It was amazing, and if we had not both looked up at that exact second, we would have missed it entirely.  I later learned it was the size of two football fields and closer to us than the moon. I told Benny it was a sign of good luck that it happened on his birthday.  Here's to a great year!