2nd Christmas

So I found out during one of the recent snowfalls we got blogged by our neighbors across the street. Turns out Mr. Polar Bear had succumbed to the elements in front of our house. Of course, by the next day their Mr. Snowman was having difficulty standing up straight himself:



I guess it's been a challenging holiday season for all sorts of inflatable lawn creatures. It's also been plenty of shoveling for us flesh-and-blood beings. The kids are having lots of fun with it, though.

Today we had Christmas with my Mom & Dad, sister Susie & her husband Sal, son Nick and daughter Maria. They'd just gotten back from Mexico -- a rather harrowing journey back home having gotten stuck in Denver, lost a wallet and Nick having gotten the stomach flu.

But everyone still had a good time (well, it was probably a bit of a stretch for Nick under the circumstances) and before we knew it it was all over with and everybody was gone. Everyone got some nice presents, Mira got some nice clothes, Susie and Sal and Kris and I both got Grandpa the same present, in a pattern of increasingly frequent instances of gift duplication, so we (once again) swore to compare notes in future Christmases. A fun day but quick.