We Wish You A Merry Ice Storm

It's that time of year.  My stress level is to the max and I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  Merry Christmas!

While knee-deep in the chaos, we had our very first winter concert at the big boys' school.  Last year the concert was cancelled due to the teacher strike.  So our baptism was this year.  By fire.  Almost literally.  It was a super long line up to mad-dash rush into the gymnasium that was a thousand degrees. 

But it was all worth it.

"Tuppens A Bag..."

Grade two, tallest in the class, hates to sing.  My heart burst.

Then winter break began so we got out of dodge. 

New Berlin, WI

AKA: the frozen tundra.  My homeland.  A 10 hr drive. 

We do it for the Neuens Family Christmas party on my mom's side.  She's one of six kids that still all get together for the holiday.  Of course, most of the siblings are grandparents now and the offspring is exponential.  My husband has been to 10 of these and still has no idea who some people are.

Me & G Playing Bingo

The highlight of the party is Bingo.  Everyone plays.  First winner picks a grab bag from the middle, opens and displays "prize" (unless you consider a frying pan from goodwill a score).  Second winner can swipe the prize or pick new.  And on and on until the popular prize has changed hands 20 times, grab bags are gone and my kids are in tears over prizes they hate.  Merry Christmas!!

Best Prize

Somehow my dad scored the best prize this year.  I don't know how he did it, but nobody swiped his garbage bag filled with pre-buttered theater popcorn.  (Courtesy of my cousin who works at the local movie theater ;) )

The next day, we headed down to my brother's house for the second half of our holiday vacation.  He got his Christmas present early, but I managed to borrow it for a few minutes.

"Ok, glass..."

I am not tech-y.  Nor am I much of an early adopter.  But Google Glass got me.

"How Do I Do This?"

It got my old man, too.  He took a few videos by voice command and winked a few pictures.  The future is here!!!

And then we snapped back into reality with news of an ice storm back home.

Uh Oh

We love our neighbors.  We were quickly informed of a branch that fell from the tree on the right of this picture.  It's a tree we don't own, but prune regularly for safety.  It hit the porch roof and caught the edge of the eavestrough on the way down...

...and landed on the wires that run from the street to our home.

Which ripped the mast that holds those wires right off the house.  We still have power (thankfully) but the situation is dangerous.  I think Steve's words were, "There's nothing more exciting than home ownership."

Merry Christmas!!!