Christmas 2005

We started Christmas Eve with the traditional big Subway sandwich.

It's always fun for the kids to see if Dad can actually fit his piled-high sandwich into his mouth. He hasn't disappointed us yet.

Abby was Mary this year for the nativity, Adam a shepherd, and Madeline an angel.

Next came our yearly "Secret Santa" project.

Christmas Eve jammies came next. The girls cooperated with the photographer and had cute jammie pictures taken in their matching pink flannel nightgowns. Adam, however, had to be tricked into getting a photo of his Snoopy "Jingle Beagle" boxer shorts. Here, Lyle was giving him a hug so I could sneak in for the photo.

Another tradition from the Vern and Carole Beck family--the pyramid. I'm sure it was more impressive with 8!

On Christmas morning, Santa was good to Adam and brought him "Electronic Snap Circuits". He's built all sorts of interesting things--alarms, lasers, radio, etc.

Madeline worked hard on her K-Nex ferris wheel. Here, Lyle is helping her with the batteries. She did a great job.

Abby had only one thing on her list--A "floating Kelly doll" set. She was pretty thrilled.

We're excited to have little Maya here with us next year.

Carting

Lyle drove down to Oregon yesterday and purchased a new toy for Charlie and Olaf. Olaf's breed is known for their carting abilities, so we primarily got it for him. When we hooked him up he did quite well, but he still has a little too much puppy energy to be a calm cart dog.

Charlie, on the other hand, thinks it's absolutely wonderful. This photo is of his first unassisted pull. Madeline was a little worried he'd head off into the woods with her along for the ride--hence the helmet. You use mushing terms "gee" for right and "haw" for left and "whoa" for stop.

Charlie came back and sat perfectly for Madeline to get out. The cart is suprisingly easy to pull. It's meant for an adult person to ride in, so when it's just one of the kids, we have to put a weight in the back so it can be balanced. Our neighbors all want to give it a try. When Olaf gets more mature we can hook up both dogs. Lyle wants to be able to go jogging with the dogs and give Abby a ride at the same time.

Dave requested "a really nice picture of Olaf" to be added to the website. Lyle said, "like a glamour shot?" Anyway, we haven't had his picture professionally done, but hopefully this is o.k.

Olaf wan't too into the photo session. He sat nicely for me but he looked pretty bored with the whole thing.