Day two of presents

Day two of presents was spent at Jeff's parents' house.

Or as I like to think of it, a smorgasbord of snacky foods. Yum. I love snacky foods.

Surprise. More Aggie gear. I had to special order this visor because they don't carry visors at the stores. Now Jeff can finally go to the games in style with the new logo.  Gonna have to order a white one now too.

Even Blu got a Christmas present... she is the favorite now.

Funny side story. The first time I met Jeff's parents I thought they looked just like the perfect Santa and Mrs. Claus. And they are just about as sweet as they are too.

While we were in Logan, it decided to give us a preview of what a "white Christmas" should be! 

And so it begins

And so it begins...

Three days of presents (and three blog posts to commemorate said presents).

First up. My parents' house. 

Can we please open presents now? The kids were dying!

My Grandpa and Grandma Allen were able to stay and watch the chaos, wrapping paper frenzy. They said it has been years since they've been able to watch little kids open presents at Christmas time and they loved it. My Grandpa is so sweet to my Grandma. She has had some major mental health issues the past few years and he has sweetly and gently taken care of her without complaining. Mental health isn't fair... my Grandma isn't my Grandma anymore. I miss being able to talk to her, hear her laugh (and tell an occasional dirty joke). It's like she is lost inside of herself somewhere. I miss her.

It was fun to see Pearl make my Grandma smile, even for a brief minute. She made both her "greats" a book. This one was about a snowflake and a butterfly.

The only picture of me and my Fern. Blurry but I love that little smile. 

Aggie gear. Who would have thought.

I gave my brother this snazzy sweater. Can you guess which one is from me? I thought it looked like something he'd wear when I saw it in the store. Apparently I should have gotten Jesse some new pants though. 

We - and by we, I mean 99% Jeff - made my parents and sister these super cool sunburst mirrors, from This Old House, out of door shims. It took a few weeks to get them all glued, sanded, re-glued, re-sanded, and stained but in the end I think they looked awesome. I'm hoping Jeff has it in him to make me one now. 

But the highlight of the evening came when Jesse opened this present from his wife. No. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Those are "fornicating reindeer" as my parents' hilarious and amazingly talented neighbor, Maren, named her hand-knitted Christmas caps.

And you know what happens when something funny is said in our family. We can't stop saying it or talking about it. Even if it's a tad irreverent for a Sunday evening two days before Christmas.

Epic parenting fail... or is it?

We've had an epic parenting fail.

When you ask most kids about why we have Christmas, they'll rattle something off about Santa or more importantly Jesus.

But not Cole.

Nope. For weeks, he was convinced that the reason we celebrate Christmas was because it's his birthday. Makes logical sense if you think about it. The only time he probably remembers getting presents is on his birthday. After getting asked 50 zillion times every day if it was "me birthday?", I decided to go a different route. I tried explaining that the real reason we celebrate Christmas is because it's Jesus' birthday.

Cole was having none of it. 

You should have seen the look on his face. It was one of those "Mom. Seriously?" kind of looks Pearl shoots at me when she thinks I totally don't get it. 

So... I tried it's Santa's birthday. The kid has to believe that one, right?

Wrong again. 

Apparently the reason we have Christmas is because, according to Cole's own logic, it's Big Blue's birthday.

Yep. Big Blue. As in the Big Blue mascot at Utah State. 

I have no idea where this kid got the idea. I mean, his Dad only has an entire Christmas tree dedicated to blue, white, and USU ornaments with a Big Blue bobble head zip tied to the top (with two blue balls... he he he). The only Christmas decoration that kid was actually excited to help with too (see picture with all the blue balls lined up together). And he nearly threw a conniption fit when we left Locker 42 without the real helmet. $650 is but a small price for happiness I guess.

We have failed as parents.

Or have we?

Ditto house

We get asked all the time where we live. We explain it's right across the street from "the bubble" and next to "the house that decorates for every holiday." But people can't place it until they ask,
 "Wait. Are you the Ditto house?"

Yep. That's us.

The funny thing about it is, our neighbors - the ones who decorate for every holiday (EVERY holiday) - are the ones who bought the sign and hang it for every holiday. And it's sign #2. The first one got ripped to shreds after the windstorm last year. 

We've watched dozens of cars slow down, point, laugh, tap on the person sitting next to them to look, and U-turn to get a picture or a second look. It's quite entertaining for us. But this was a first. Getting tagged in some random stranger's Facebook post and watching complete strangers post about how much our house makes them giggle. 

Stranger #1: "Best decorations in (insert our city)!"

Stranger #2: "I just saw that too & thought it was hilarious!"

Stranger #3: "Ha! That's awesome!"

Me: "Hey that's my house!"

Stranger #4: Jenny - I made my husband U-turn TWICE!!!! with fighting kids in the car, late to a party just to see this again! Thank you for making my entire holiday season, I laughed the whole way to (insert neighboring city's name). Plus you can probably leave it up all year."

Jeff: "We do. It will be up for valentines, July 4th, Halloween."

Stranger #5: I saw it first on Halloween and had the same reaction! It's great!"

Stranger #6: "That's awesome!"

So yeah. We're the ditto house. 

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

It seems a little sad to be posting about this today. Given that Coach Gary Andersen - Jeff's man crush - has resigned to coach at Wisconsin. Pfff. What do the Badgers have over the Aggies? 

Sigh. The shock, heartbreak, anger, and unease about the future of Aggie football have dominated our household this week. Especially given Coach A's undying loyalty to USU just days ago.

But that's for another post. And as Jeff pointed out, with the appointment of Matt Wells (Offensive Coordinator under Coach A), life has been restored. 

After an unbelievable season with 10 wins, there was no way Jeff was missing the Aggies' bowl game. Even if it meant freezing our "A"s off in Boise, Idaho. 

And by freezing, I mean fah-reez-ing!!! My feet hurt so bad after the game I thought I'd have frostbite on my toes. Thank goodness we're moving to the Mountain West Conference next season because their bowl games are places that are warm in December... like Vegas and San Diego. Oh please let us go to San Diego!!!

We went with some friends that we haven't hung out with in years. I must admit, I was a tad hesitant about going with another couple... it's just not what we normally do. But it was a blast! We didn't have to drive, we yapped on and on and on for four hours there and four hours back almost non-stop (it's obvious we don't get out much with other adults), and we didn't have to decide where to go for dinner. 

We went to the pre-game potato lunch, bulking up on our carbs and Aggie excitement. Yum. Wish I would have had that warm potato about half-time when I couldn't feel my fingers or nose anymore. 

Pre-victory picture. Jeff was dying that I wanted a picture... he was ready for the game to FINALLY get started. He's like a kid on Christmas morning!

Here comes the Aggies to the cheers of thousands and thousands of our closest Aggie friends. It was awesome. Everywhere we went - PF Changs for dinner, gas stations along the way, and the breakfast buffet at the hotel - we were surrounded by Aggie fans decked out in USU apparel.

 

To be blunt honest, the game sucked. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and go sit in the bathroom where it was actually warm until the game was over. But I persisted through the cold, hoping they'd finally start to get some touchdowns. And then the 4th quarter happened. Finally, the Aggies we'd watched all season started to play. Boom! 41-15 victory over the Toledo Rockets. 

 

Post game victory picture. Jeff was more excited about this picture than the pre-victory one. Me? I was too cold to smile. 

Alesha and Kof-dog. Love this picture of Alesha all bundled up. You would have thought she'd had stayed warm with all those layers.

I followed Jeff down to the "smurf turf" after the game and basically followed him around as he soaked in the victory. I found it hilarious that the trophy was filled with Idaho potatoes.

"I don't like you guys, I love ya!" (Please don't leave Coach) And out of the way, burly, bearded man with a security vest.

Chuckie!!!!

I don't know who this guy is but Jeff was excited to see him. 

Thanks aggiefan33 (aka, Jeff) for getting me a season ticket this year and for taking me to Boise. Finally, a reason to sit outside at Romney Stadium in the cold! It's literally been a once in a lifetime season.

Go Aggies!

--- And a huge thank you to my in-laws who offered to watch the kids (all three of them) for the weekend ----