We had a great holiday season this year. Ironically it started out with Cecil having pneumonia, then it seemed like nearly everyone we knew had pneumonia or was sick in some way. However, most everyone started feeling at least slightly better by Christmas.

Mom stayed Christmas Eve night as always. A far as presents go I think this was by far one of our better years. Emily got a 4 foot tall Savanna doll house for her Barbies, Brandon got an air soft automatic rifle, Cecil got a mini battery powered generator, I got a black wool pea coat and Beyond Paradise perfume, and the family got a wii.

We took off from school in total around 4 weeks between illnesses, Christmas and New Years. If fact Monday was the first day back since Dec. 11 according to my grade book. We throughly enjoyed our time together though. We had friends over for New Years which was a nice change from me and kids staying up alone. (Cecil always poops out.) We did the whole lots of food and fireworks thing that night. Our friends left before midnight and we starting playing wii. Cecil even stayed up! Around 1:30 AM I looked at the clock and realize we had missed the new year coming in! OH well at least we know we were having fun as a family when it did.

Heather and Aaron didn't make it in until this weekend. I hope they had a good time. We had lots of snacks, good meals, game playing and fireworks. I think the highlight of the weekend was the 7 shot aerial that fell over. One in the air, one under the trampoline, one at the storage shed, two at the house( I think?), one right past me off the roof of the car just missing Bran and exploding by the roof, and one that was headed for my husband and the kids car which my SIL blocked with a kick to have it explode within about 4 feet of him. As scary as it was no one was hurt and nothing was damaged. I think the funny parts was what was said in the confusion. It was pretty quite except for the explosions. At one point you hear in this wavering voice, "Daddy" and it wasn't Heather or Emily but me. Where was my brave hero? Then Brandon who has been hit before in a similar incident goes, "Oh, snap" in a really not me again kind of voice then pops up from behind the car to shout "I'm alright!". And Heather then deciding perhaps it was time to call in her husband since Daddy wasn't playing hero called out "Aaron" but sounded like she changed her mind about the time hubby takes a kick at the aerial flying at him. We laughed for quite a while afterwards but definitely decided we were through shooting off fireworks for the night. Heather has requested that Daddy buy more fountains and fewer aerials next time.

Other than lots of laying around, tons of late nights with movies and video games and way too much junk food that is our last 4 or so weeks in a nut shell.