Tuba Christmas

 We've been serenaded (not sure that's the right word) with many Christmas tunes on the tuba this season. 

Gizmo is not as appreciative of Tommy practicing at home...

He's a little scared of it...

And a lot angry. 

Gizmo in December

This dog is OBSESSED with digging for gophers on the hill leading to the wetland trails. 

He's also still a good snuggler... 

And Dad says he's begging for food here, but Mom knows it's really just more snuggling. 

He's good at snuggling/begging from Kat too.

And he looks very cute on our brand new pseudo-lawn. 

Christmas Eve Eve

We had to do our annual Christmas Eve Eve celebration a few days late since Dad had been sick, but we made it work! There was cookie decorating...

Fun with friends who are family...

Virtual Reality...

Group gaming...

And lots of present opening. 

There was also a birthday cake for all the December birthdays...

Even Jesus!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve 2022!

Love this crew!

Mom's Birthday

We took Mom out for a nice steak dinner for her birthday. 

Good job being older, Mom!

 

Winter Break

We came up with some fun ways to amuse ourselves during winter break. We went to a sasquatch-themed escape room, and escaped with 14 minutes to spare!

We snuggled and watched Schwarzenegger movies (Predator and T2)...

And then watched more movies. Everyone needed a little downtime. 

 

Tommy's 12th Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday Tommy! I more year of being a preteen. 

He got lots of cool presents, most of which Gizmo helped him unwrap, but his favorite was his new gaming PC. 

He requested Raising Cane's for lunch, and an arcade for an afternoon adventure. 

The place was pretty fun, but everything was really sticky. You can see Kat with her hands in her lap not wanting to touch anything. 

Then he requested Dad's homemade pizza for dinner, donuts instead of cake, and for entertainment: Predator (you can see it on the tv in the background). 

Mom also found out he'd never inhaled helium from a balloon before...

So we fixed that problem. 

Happy Birthday, Tom Tom Frog!

Christmas 2022

Merry Christmas! Nana came down to celebrate with us...

Dad made homemade bread wreaths...

Gizmo tried to drink homemade eggnog Mom got from a friend. 

And we made homemade pasta. 

It was a feast! Lobster tail, homemade bread, salad, and homemade pasta with prosciutto creme sauce. Yum! 

Followed by some dominos. 

And a beautiful sunset. Merry Christmas!

New Year, New Yard

We finally got turf to replace the mud-pit our backyard had become after the grass died. We replaced the surrounding plants with drought-tolerant ones, and put in a drip system, so now we are super low-maintenance!

We also had the back concrete stained, and now it looks so nice out there! And no more swingset! It's the end of an era, but the yard looks so much bigger without it. 

A pretty back yard, and not a bad place to live. Love the sunsets lately!

 

Getting the Christmas Spirit

We're going a little overboard for Christmas this year. Here we are with our new Bumble inflatable...

And at an ugly sweater Xmas event at our local distillery. 

Christmas drinks are yummy!

We went to a Tuba Christmas performance at Pacific City. Tommy loved it, and was inspired. 

Practiced their scout knots while tying the Christmas tree to the roof...

Speaking of trees, we decided to also try an artificial one this year, since this space was just begging for a tree. Tommy suggested it be The Birthday Tree (though still Christmas themed) and we put birthday presents for him and Mom under it. Genius!

Here's the real tree. It was a big one this year!

Gizmo and the Watchuka were feeling somewhat festive...

And Tommy played some tuba carols (or at least the bass lines to them) by the tree. 

Kat wore this hat to a Color Guard Christmas party...

And her cute little gingerbread earrings. We're ready!