Christmas and Its Aftermath

Christmas Day, the kids actually slept in with us for a while, until about 8:15 or so. We got around and headed out to the den to see what was in the stockings and under the tree. Benjamin was very excited to see that Santa had brought the ClickStart learning computer that he’d asked for. He also got three games for it (two from my aunt and uncle that we’d kept him from opening that past Saturday) and still enjoys it quite a bit.

He also got a batch of discontinued Thomas the Tank Engine track that I had bought off ebay. He had an engine and just a little bit of this blue track, but the lot I bought had 70+ pieces plus about 7 engines, a couple of stations, etc. We set up a nice three-loop track and let the engines go.

Sarah did pretty well also, even if she didn’t really know what was going on. The biggest thing that she got was called (I believe) the Incrediblock. It was an activity center for these Peek-a-Blocks to go into and be used with. It had what looks like a Plinko board on one side, a lever to stack them and release them on another, etc.

Not only did she enjoy this toy, but she used it to pull herself into a standing position, which was a new thing. She’s not done it a lot since then, but it does help keep her upright for a bit.

(And going through the walking process with this child is going to be so different than it was with Benjamin after the whole GBS thing…..)

Meron did pretty well (even if I do say so myself). She got a Heroes shirt which she loved, some books (including a book/DVD set celebrating the 20^th anniversary of The Princess Bride), Lost Season 3, some coffee from Boca Java and some chocolate, among other things.

I was lucky enough to get a couple of DVD sets (24 Season 5, The Bob Newhart Show Season 1), some Star Trek books, and a Cars videogame for the Playstation2. Benjamin and I have had fun playing it. (Well, I play it and give him the controller that’s not working since it’s not really a two-player game.)

After that, we went out to my parents, where everyone did very well again. Benjamin got a different Thomas set, so we spent some time setting it up and playing with it. Meron and I got gift cards, which will come in handy.

We then went to see one of my dad’s aunts and one of my dad’s brothers, who both live out by him (at least pretty close). We showed off the kids and just generally did what families do.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but I did get to play poker that Friday night. It was a pick-up game, so the entry fee was less but that also meant there were fewer people there. Only five showed up, which worked to my advantage. For whatever reasons, my game is much more successful when fewer people are in the game. (I dominate when I’m the only one!) I fended off what looked to be a death blow when I went all in with pocket 10s to Russell’s two overs. When he paired on the turn, it looked over, but he didn’t think so. “Ten!” he said, and, sure enough, a ten came out to give me trips and keep me alive. I took off from there and won the game. Few people and no points for the 2008 Shootout, but hey, a win is a win.

New Year’s Eve was spent over at our friends Joe and Kaye Owens as we have the last few years. Sarah and Meron didn’t say the whole time—I took them home so Sarah could have her dinner and go to bed on her regular schedule—but Benjamin stayed up the whole time. The kids played at the Owens’s neighbors (the Kellys, who also go to our church) while the adults stayed at the Owens, so he got to run around with his friends and have a good time. He slept in some the next day, though!

I went back over to the Owens’s with some others to watch the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. Talk about a waste of time. Arkansas had a nice opening drive, but didn’t get any points out of it. We should have known it’d be a long day right there. By the second half, we were flipping channels to see if there was anything better on.

Since then, it’s been the normal work/home/church routine. Hard to believe the holidays are over and there are no more days off until Memorial Day for us, plus the fact that I’ll start working Saturdays pretty soon. It’s the least wonderful time of the year! Plan to play some poker this Friday. We’ll see if I can get an early jump on qualifying for the Shootout, but if there are more than 7 people there, I’d doubt it.