FLORIDA

Danny and I joined Anne & Leah on a quick trip to Florida to visit Grandmother & Papa over MLK weekend. Danny had fun with his big cousin Leah on the airplane. And to the joy of all the passengers, he fell asleep once we took off. Aunt Lisa met us during our long layover in Atlanta for some brunch and visiting. Hannah and Ariana had a ton of fun with Danny since they hadn't seen him in almost a year. Ari taught him how to "play" Papa's organ. Danny had fun showing off his singing skills to Aunt Liz on their Karaoke machine. Maybe we have the next American Idol. We spent a day at the Mote Marine Lab & Aquarium. Danny oohed and aahed at the fish and also thought it was fun to splash in the shallow touch pool. Hannah had fun helping him crawl through a fish net. We also spent an afternoon at the beach. I do love the Florida beaches! Thanks for a great visit Grandmother and Papa!!

Ringing in the New Year with a Bang

After a nice morning at church (what a good looking pair Grandma and Danny were) we were playing a thrilling game of hide and seek at Grandma Hong's house (as thrilling as it gets with a 14 month old). A little too excited about finding a good hiding spot, I turned quickly to run down the hallway and BANG! I hit the corner of the wall with my forehead. A quick trip to an urgent care clinic and 4 stitches later I was doing fine. On New Year's Eve it was back to the urgent care clinic for a tetanus shot. Now, almost a month later, I still have a pretty good pirate scar.

Danny also spent a good part of his New Year's Eve BANGING pots and pans while helping Grandma clean out her pan drawer. We were proud when he actually put most of them back in all by himself.

We celebrated New Year's Eve night at Matt's brother's house with lots of family. Danny didn't quite make it until midnight. In fact, by 9:00 PM he was all partied out so went home to G-Pops house to go to bed. The rest of us stayed up late having various couple competitions - disc golf putting, ping pong, phase 10. Lance and Mindy dominated, though we did manage to win Phase 10.

Sadly, New Year's Day meant a long flight back to Texas and reality. We wished we could have vacationed with family longer.

SKIING

Lots of great snow meant lots of great skiing. We enjoyed an afternoon downhill skiing (thanks for babysitting Grandma!) and a day cross country skiing at the outdoor rec area Lance manages. Danny rode in a backpack while Matt skied. While both enjoyed the adventure, it was also quite exhausting for both of them. Danny looked awfully cute in all his snow gear (Thanks Hollie!), though at one point I had him so bundled up he couldn't walk without tipping. After being out in the snow, Danny was happy to snuggle up with his Grandma Hong in the warming tent.

More Christmas Highlights

We spent Christmas afternoon at Dad & Angie's feasting with all the cousins. Danny had fun playing with all of his cousins. He "played" with the girls new toys, but preferred Luke's new game - Rock Band. I think he left plenty of drool on the microphone and used the drumsticks to hit more than the drums. Fortunately nobody was damaged during his play. One of the highlights of the holidays for Danny was lots of time with his dad. To mom's delight, Danny and his dad spent many mornings playing together. Before leaving for Idaho, Danny was also Dad's #1 assistant cookie chef!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Christmas in Idaho was fantastic. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at Mom Hong's house. Danny had a blast unwrapping presents and oohing and aahing at whatever was inside. He was equally excited about the process of unwrapping and the actual gift. He and Kaya were cute playing together in their matching PJS (thanks Grandma). There was loads and loads of snow. Most of the time we admired the white stuff from the windows instead of going outside. We were grateful for cozy homes to stay in with lots of scrumptious food!

Christmas Preparations

Danny has had fun "helping" make Christmas goodies. This is fair warning to anyone who may receive some. I didn't see him put any nonedibles in, but he can be pretty sneaky! Also, as a bonus to those of you reading the blog after getting our Christmas newsletter, I've uploaded the picture that didn't make the final cut. (Matt wasn't really hitting Daisy, but it sure looks like it!)

Santa

Danny got to sit on Santa's lap at the mall. "Sit" . . . more like squirm away as quickly as possible. Lucky for Danny, we were surprised with a visit from Santa at our ward party too. Danny still didn't like him. Maybe next year.

The Holy Hand Grenade

Matt's work has an annual chili cook off where each group has a themed booth and chili. Matt's group chose a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. For the game people had to knock down the ferocious bunny using the Holy Hand Grenade. Matt dressed as King Arthur. I had fun using spray paint, hot glue, and duct tape to create the costumes and game. However, when I visited the chili cook off to see how the booth turned out, I was a little disappointed. I forgot I was dealing with tech people - almost every other game was a projected video game of some sort (like Wii and Guitar Hero). That will be an easier solution for next year. :)

Danny and the Christmas Tree

Danny has been doing a good job staying out of trouble with the Christmas Tree. We've taught him to look and touch with one finger, but not to grab ornaments off the tree. So far it's worked pretty well, but most likely just because A - the tree is tucked away behind a sofa or B - shortly after the tree was all set up and decorated, Dozer knocked Danny into it giving him a pretty good scratch. The tree must not have seemed quite as enticing after that. Below you can hear him say tree - "tee."

Walking Danny!

Danny and Freckles

THANKSGIVING

Matt had fun with his turducken - a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey. He ordered it from a meat shop up here and then did the cooking himself. We enjoyed celebrating and EATING with Carrie's family.

Danny's New Jobs

Now that Danny has turned 1 we decided it was time for him to do his share of chores around the house. Here he is helping with laundry and dishes. He has also decided food can make great artwork.

Danny Beagle Pictures

Danny is all ready for Halloween. Carrie did an awesome job on his costume.

Our new beagle ...

Isn't this the cutest little beagle pup you ever saw?