Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

It was finally time for our Christmas. Kyle had all day off on Christmas Eve, so we got up, ate a nice breakfast together and exchanged gifts before hitting the road. It's our first Christmas with Oliver and he isn't always sure what to think. He has warmed up to the tree, though, and loves to lay under it now that the presents are gone.   Oliver did not like his elf hat one bit.   He did like his edible Christmas card, though!  And just in case there were any doubt of me being 100% dog crazy, this is the picture I painted for Kyle for Christmas.  It was our year to celebrate with the Foxes on Christmas day, but Greg and Stacie's work schedules didn't allow for travel, so we came to them a day early for a little pre-Christmas celebration. The guys spent their afternoon skeet shooting while us girls kept warm inside. It was so fun to watch Conner and Henry together. Before Conner got there, Henry would walk around the house ...

I am always looking forward to Christmas time, but it usually sneaks up on me. This year, though, I was pretty on top of things. Kyle and I did most of our shopping the weekend before Thanksgiving, leaving plenty of time for decorating the tree, wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies and anticipating the big day. One of my first Christmas celebrations was with my Bunco group. Once a month I get together with some crazy, hilarious and fun ladies. We roll dice, drink margaritas and laugh (and eat) until our stomachs hurt. It's a great time. I'm so glad Donna asked me to join the group almost four years ago because I wouldn't know 75% of these women if she hadn't. Next up were my OSUF Christmas parties. The all staff party was at Fuzzy's again this year, which is always a good time. We did dirty Santa gifts as usual but afterward they handed out silly office awards for a fun twist to the festivities. Our department won the Buddy Award for "always pal...