The Weekender

 I spent most of last week in MN at our corporate HQ. We're gearing up to celebrate our Centennial this year. There's a cool old tractor sitting in the main hallway there.

No trip to The Cities would be complete without a stopover at Ike's in the airport for their meal in a glass. I need to find a source for jalabeanos.

Babysitting the Boys Next Door

This weekend we're babysitting the neighbors' dogs. When you look up the definition of "lap dog", these guys show up. Hard to believe such cute dogs will shred a new leash and collar within minutes.

No Mom

While JP was in FL, we had fun here. Tater tots and fish sticks for most meals.

We took advantage of the 2-for-1 fish & chips coupon I had for the Tilted Kilt. The boy's love that place.

We turned up the amps and rocked out to Rocksmith for a while, too. CP is really getting good on the bass.

JP in FL

JP went to FL for her BFF's B-Day. The two of them planned to lounge on the beach, but it was winter in FL, and they stayed bundled up the whole time. The sand on Clearwater Beach is almost as nice as Siesta Key.

On their last night there, the clouds finally broke and the sun exposed itself to them.

Country Estate

Our ex-neighbors moved into their new country estate. They hosted the superbowl party for the remaining neighbors. Can't wait for their pool to warm up!

More Cowbell!

I used my birthday cash (Thanks everyone!) to get a cowbell (and cymbal and tambourine) for the drum set. Gotta have a cowbell! The boys were very excited - the first song we played on Rockband 3 was Don't Fear the Reaper. It's amazing how much louder real percussion instruments are compared to rubber ones.

New Rug

For my b-day, we went on an adventure to Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha. Our mission: find a rug for the living room. Not only did we find one, but we were able to stuff it in JP's car and take it home with us.

The animals all lent a paw to help us unroll and position it.

Vitamin D Production in January

We have been blessed with some excellent weather this winter. Most of the storms have passed by us to the East and left us with sunshine and blue skies. There's nothing like soaking in some warmth and taking a nap in the blazing sun.

The animals are no different. L follows spots of sun throughout the day.

60 degrees in January!! Love it!

January Birthdays

January is Birthday Month for us. Three out of four of us celebrate growing older in the first month of the new year. This year for BG's special day, we hit a new Italian place by Menard's where Bennigan's used to be. Very tasty!

For JP's day, we hit the Cracker Barrel. The boys love the portion sizes there. GP is into biscuits and gravy now. It's amazing how good some foods taste once you try them.

For my special day, we stopped off at Granite City in Omaha. The boys don't eat from the kids' menu anymore.

Respect the Keytar

One of our musical X-Mas gifts was Rockband 3 with a Keytar. The boys have seen keytars in old 80s videos, but were clueless about how they work. Now they know. It's a bit more tricky to play than the plastic guitars with four buttons. I'm looking forward to jamming along with some fun tunes.

Lazy Dogs

We babysat the boys next door for a few days. JP taught them that the most comfortable place in the house when a lap is unavailable is our bed.

Lap Animals of Christmas

L's favorite pastime is to shed fun in my office. Doesn't matter who is petting her, as long as she can fill my office with fur.

The boys next door just want to sit in a lap. Any lap will do, especially Nana's.

Christmas 2013

We had the usual gang here for X-Mas again. We were blessed with perfect weather and no snow. It's nice having a white Christmas, but given the choice, I'd rather have a sunny warm holiday.

CP makes everyone look short in family photos now. GP isn't far behind.

Festivus Party

Our friends from across the street moved out and some new friends moved in. The G's are headed out to the country to live in a big house with a cement pond. They came over last Friday for our Festivus/Christmas gathering. We had both sets of new neighbors plus the D's from next door. It was a fun time for all. This year we managed to get the Festivus pole up on the deck.

XMas Tree Helpers

JP had more help than she asked for setting up the Christmas Tree. The tree skirt is much more fun to play with now that the carpet is gone. It doesn't take much effort to move it around and make it look bad.

 

Christmas Play

CP had to write a review of a play, so we went to see A Christmas Carol at Wesleyan University. It was awesome! All of us enjoyed it and had fun. Tickets for all of us were only $30. That and the lack of popcorn and cokes made the for an affordable evening compared to going to the movies that usually rob us of $60. I would much rather see another play here than a movie. We have our own movie theatre at home with snacks.

Helpful Cat

Both cats like to help JP with her iPad. In this case, they are playing JP's favorite game: Plants vs. Zombies.

1st Snow

December gave us our first snowstorm. It was 6 inches of nice non-windblown powder.

It's so nice that the boys are able and willing to shovel this year.

 

 

Clubbing in Lanark

We made our annual trek to IL for Thanksgiving. On day one, JP's cousin invited us to the local dive bar for some nightlife. "See you there at 9:30" she said. That's getting close to our bed time. The band was awesome, and we (JP's cousin and I) danced the night away until 1:00.

Day two was Thanksgiving @ S&B's house. As usual, dinner was fantastic. The kids all played video games until BD hooked up Rock Band in the living room. Everyone took turns singing and playing. We didn't leave until 1:00. Two late nights in a row.

Nana took over S&B's cat Walter. His favorite spot is in someone's lap or sometimes in the linen closet where he can disperse grey fur much more efficiently.

Homework Helper

L's favorite spot is sitting in my lap as I try to do homework. This semester, she has had more than a few opportunities.

Her other favorite spots are a warm laundry basket, the space in bed between our pillows, and the kitchen counter above the dishwasher while it's running. She's one of those cats that would seek out a warm engine compartment in a car.