Christmas Eve in Africa.  This is an African Christmas tree. Yes, we have the regular Christmas trees too but when you're at The Lodge, this is the best kind.  Simple decor.  The table on the deck was set. The food was ready and we had filled our plates.  The candles were lit and the table looked perfect.  And then my sister photobombed my picture. Ain't she purrrrty.  All 15 of us around the table. The Stone ...

Today is Christmas Eve. Today we went horseback riding.  I love looking at horses. They are amazing beasts.  My kids love to ride. They haven't ridden much in their Colorado-based lives mainly because riding lessons are so darn expensive.  Everyone was game - except for my parents and my sister-in-law Rozanna. She was too nips to ride. My sister and brother-in-law opted out too. They had a quiet morning together which I'm sure ...

There was great excitement at our house on Christmas Eve.  The day was finally here and the boys were excited.  We'd returned from the Christmas Eve service, watched The Polar Express, had our hot chocolate and put the boys to bed. Santa and Mrs. Claus were wrapping gifts in the basement and we had a couple of elves who kept coming down the stairs to let us know "I'm too excited ...

Two days ago, the skies opened and we had over 12 inches of snow by the end of the day and it kept on falling. The night before, I decided to get a few things 'in case we were snowed in'. It was fun to slip and slide around the roads, navigating other vehicles and trying to see out of fogged up windows. Not so much!  Yesterday, the sun came out and the ...

We do it every year because it has to be done. By order of Mom! We go and see Santa at the mall.  But this year we went on Christmas Eve. Big mistake! We had an agonizing two and a half hour wait to see the man in the red suit (yes, he's real!!)  After the photo session, Jordan said "Mom, his beard is real...I looked closely and it came right out ...