Merry Christmas 2017!

The calm before the storm.  You can't tell but it's still dark outside.  

Merry Christmas!  I'm sitting on the couch with Reina while the guys watch Dunkirk in the den.  Reina and Will woke up crazy early this morning (5 something) and dragged us all out of bed.  Reina took a break from unwrapping presents to briefly throw up, rallied to open presents and play and then barfed again a few minutes ago.  So now we get to experience that lovely purgatory of "does my stomach hurt, does anyone else's stomach hurt, does that burp mean something" until it either does or doesn't.

Stomach issues aside, we had a great day.  Vicky and Matt and the baby/toddler cousins were over bright and early because their wakeup call was even earlier than our's.  Pop-pop and Grandma weren't too far behind them.  It was a flurry of opening presents and paper and some minor toddler meltdowns, delicious food and good company.  The morning was over with way too fast but then we all got to nap.  We had a white Christmas with bitter temperatures (I think 14 degrees was the high?) so we had good reasons to stay inside and watch movies.  Even the dogs weren't looking for a walk.  For dinner, Glenn and I cooked up an elk roast with a side of leftover Christmas candy and our stomachs are full. Well, except for Reina's.

I asked everyone about their favorite parts of the day and here are their responses:

Reina loved opening presents and being with family.  Reina's favorite present was her twin Hatchimal but she wants it known that she loved all of her presents.

Glenn is watching Dunkirk so I can't ask him his favorite part of the day but he said earlier that his favorite present was the French Press coffee maker I bought him at Target for $19.99.  Shhhh... don't tell him it wasn't more expensive.

Will is also still watching Dunkirk and he told me earlier that he couldn't decide what his favorite present was but I've been hearing him ride his skateboard around the den all afternoon when he's not playing with his new Lego's, sitting in his beanbag chair listening to Sports Jamz while wearing his new clothes.  I think that about covers it.

Coco loves her catnip and is currently sleeping off her cat high.

The two dogs loved all of Reina's leftover dinner.

I had a great time watching all of the kiddos open presents and Baby Cousin fighting Toddler Cousin over her new cash register that was suddenly the present du jour.  My nap was pretty awesome too.  My favorite present is my Rockies jacket followed closely by a new cookbook and an Outlander adult coloring book that makes me giggle every time I see the cover.

What a happy day!

Someone else is enjoying the new bean bag chair too. 

How we spent our Sunday afternoons

We took a break from holiday preparations to spend a little time watching some football.  Will and I headed to Denver for our final Broncos game of the season.  It hasn't been a banner year for Broncos football but the team showed up today and we watched a fun game.  Will and I have yet to attend a losing game together so our streak continues!  The weather was unseasonably nice - we were jacket-less until the sun fell behind the stadium.  We cheered and had some snacks and watched a shutout - Broncos won 23-0.  

We might be the Broncos good luck charm!  

 Will filled up my phone with shots of the field and the scoreboard.  He even tried taking a picture by holding up the phone to the binoculars.  Yes, certain parts of the game were less than exciting. 

Who's big kid is this?!

 While we were sitting in the sun in Denver, Glenn took Reina duck hunting.  It was a little chillier in Wyoming but they bundled up and spent the afternoon sitting near an iced-over pond.  Reina was a trooper and Glenn proudly told me that she had packed her own snacks!  The ducks won this round but a good time was had by all. 

Wearing big brother's camo... shhhhhh don't tell him!  

It's beginning to look a lot like something

So it's December and didn't we just have Thanksgiving?  This month is flying by.  Surprisingly, I'm almost finished my Christmas shopping.  I'm mailing packages on Monday, a big chunk of the baking is done, I've wrapped a few presents and it's all coming together.  My weekend projects include cranking out a Christmas card and going with Will to the Broncos game on Sunday. This blog has been short on football news mostly because there is nothing fun to report.  I'll wear my Super Bowl 50 shirt on Sunday and look forward to brighter football days.  

Back on the homefront, the house is decorated.  We brought the tree home last Friday in what is Coco's favorite day of the year.  She loves that tree.  I think she's slept under it every night since we brought it home and every day after work I have to put back up a bunch of ornaments that have mysteriously landed on the floor.  Today, she somehow unwound a couple of laps of the lights.  Luckily the lights were unplugged.  

Yes, we see you.  

Earlier in the week, I started a batch of the Spritz - a recipe from the Pauley side of the family.  The spritz has to be pushed through a cookie press and Glenn helps me because honestly, I can't ever get the dough to come out.  So we started on the first batch and the dough was too cold and lo and behold, the handle on the press snapped.  We tried to glue it back in place but the press was broken.  Here's the blog-worthy part.  Glenn hopped in the car and drove to the store to buy a new one.  Be still my heart!  AND he filled up my gas tank while he was out.  Swoon!   

Lastly, meet Brownie, our Elf on the Shelf. I've made it a decade of parenting without bringing home an Elf until this year.  Thanks to my darling aunt (who couldn't resist Reina), Brownie is visiting us for the month.  So far, she's shown up in the dollhouse, the Christmas tree, the mantel, and one night she even took a few selfies.  Coco's interest in all of the Christmas decorations has so far not included Brownie, and let's hope it stays that way.