In Search of the Right (White) Elephant

Man, there's A LOT of great stuff in my basement, just dying for a new home. Gee, wonder what to wrap up this year?!?

Who, who might have the Owl? Perhaps that's why Jill and David decided to make it to the Christmas party.....not to introduce new baby Emma......but they just wanted to return the nocturnal bird to the Midwest. :-) Hmmmm, I don't recall seeing it hanging up at Dave and Melissa's or Mom and Dad's when I was there last month. Of course, it could be at Tammy and Terry's house.

Sure could use a photo upload to the blog to make sure the old "hoot" is still alive.

A Jello Mold to Behold (And Other Important Holiday News)

Hello all! Just a quick note to wish everyone an official Happy Thanksgiving! And a special note to say thanks to all those that came to our early Thanksgiving in Lincoln. Hope you had fun - we sure did!

We really missed those of you who couldn't make it! Here are a few pictures to share. I wish I had more, but I wasn't exactly smooth in getting all the food set out, so the pictures went by the wayside as we all worked together to get the table set. Yes, I have a ways to go in my hostessing abilities. We only had one near-miss with the turkey.....it was, shall I say, a tad bit pink when Dave first tried to carve it for the meal. But, an additional hour of cooking, and no one went home with food poisoning! Speaking of pink, as you can see from the picture, I am no longer jello-challenged. I don't want to brag, but after 20-some years as the butt of your jello jokes, I feel justified in showing this picture of my jello dessert. Zach even told me it tasted good (and I didn't have to pay him for that).

In other holiday news, Mom got her work weekends switched, so we are now officially good for the Christmas party the weekend following Christmas Day, so Dec. 26-27! Yea! I can't wait. We went ahead and drew kids' names. Per Rachael and Taylor's request, they are moving up to the White Elephant Family Gift Exchange. So, that moves the twins into the children's drawing. Here's how it worked out: Dave's family has Kade; our family has Adelyn; Terry's family has Bella; Jill's family has Alex; and Jeannie's family has Jacob. As the newest member of the family, Emma gets gifts from everyone! Hope everyone is cool with this plan, but if anyone has questions or concerns, let me know.

In closing, at our early Thanksgiving last weekend, I think we were all so hungry after having to wait that extra hour for the turkey, that we forgot the most important thing....to officially give Thanks! So, I just wanted to let you know that I am very thankful for each and every one of you! Have a great holiday, and if you are traveling, travel safe.

COOK ANOTHER TURKEY

We are loading up and heading out. Looks like we will try to leave fairly early on Saturday and stay the night come back on Sunday some time. It will be short but we are all excited. The kids or some of the kids my come early with g and g depending on when they leave. Melissa was wondering about a food item? We have one air bed we will bring and the rest will find a spot somewhere if that works for you. Also, we were wondering when you are planning the feast? We are looking forward to seeing everybody.

Dave

Here are some pictures from the REAL hunters at the annual pumpkin carving/hunting weekend. The pheasant hunters didn't have much fun hunting over the weekend (pheasants were hard to find), but Jacob and Kade had no problem hitting their targets.

HalloweenThanksgivingChristmas

Hello everyone! As you may guess from the title, this blog post covers ALOT of important territory. First, thank you to Dave, Melissa and family, and Mom and Dad, for hosting us for hunting and Halloween. As always, it was a GREAT time. Please note the grand prize champs in the photo. Yes, Mom and Dad were victorious again! There was some brief discussion about the voting being rigged. I can't say whether or not I support that theory, but it should be noted that Vince was in charge of that category! And, a brief shout out to my carving partner, Zach....we make a mean and scary pumpkin. (ps ...couldn't get photo to load)

Now, about Thanksgiving. The Wickhams will be hosting an early Thanksgiving for whoever chooses to make the long drive down here (or fly, Jill and David!). It will be on Saturday, Nov. 21. Now, my Thanksgiving menu may look more like Charlie Brown's than Mom's, but I'll try to do my best. I'm not sure when we'll eat that day.....depends on how many people come, and when they might arrive. Let us know. We'll make room for everyone, but you may want to BYOAM (bring your own air mattress)! (we have one double air mattress and one single one).

Now, about Christmas.....my favorite! It sounds like the concensus is that the party will be Saturday, Dec. 26. Mom is currently scheduled to work that day, so we are waiting to see if she can trade with someone for Friday, Christmas Day (which she is NOT scheduled to work at this time). She thought she'd be able to make the trade. So, that would mean we could travel there on Christmas Day, or that Saturday morning, and stay the weekend. Please take a look at your schedules and double check that Saturday, Dec. 26 will work. We will plan on it, unless someone throws a huge red flag up (and, of course, only if mom can get her work days switched around).

That's all I've got time for right now. I'll post another note soon with more Christmas details as we must get the drawing organized! Ho, ho, ho........

Have a great rest of the week, everyone!