news of the boy
Sun, 18 Dec 2005 - 16:57
The Boy just returned from a quick Down-n-Back trip to visit his cousin Sarah to celebrate her 4th birthday. A fine time was had by all, but as usual some bug jumped him there and Dalton spent the morning tossing his cookies (actually, banana, toast and milk). Lexie chucked in the truck on the way home the previous night, and Mommy figured it was the car-sickness that she's prone to. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't -- Boo chowed plenty of food this morning and hasn't hurled (yet) so if we're all lucky it'll be a mild 24-hour-or-less deal (and Mommy and Daddy won't get it at all!).
He's making gingerbread men with Mommy at the moment, and you'd never know he is (or was) sick.
In other news, we all went to ride The Polar Express on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad -- and the fact that it was the 13th made itself apparent. The tickets Mommy reserved turned out to be for the 14th -- but since the train wasn't sold out, we only had to cough up some extra cash to "transfer" the tickets for the 13th. Mommy claims the dude on the phone didn't get the order right when she called to make the reservations.
There would be pictures to view, but in the train coach Mommy sat on the digital camera and it was D.O.A. We'll probably be able to pull the photos that are on it off at some point, but the camera itself is toast. Might be worth fixing, we don't know. Happily, we brought the video camera as well, and that worked (as far as we know).
Finally, after we got off the train, Daddy decided we'd have lunch at "The Station Restaurant" right across the street from the depot. Bad choice, Daddy. Six and a half bucks for a mediocre Reuben sandwich that came with nothing but a pickle, and a glass of water which tasted like it came from the toilet bowl. According to Mommy, her Lobster Ravioli was alright, and the Boo chowed down most of the Chicken Strips that she and Dalton shared (he concentrated on the French Fries, and Daddy snared a few of those, too), so it wasn't a total loss. Won't be dropping back in for a return visit, however.
In between the mishaps, we had a great time. The coach we were in had 8-10 other people in it who were all very nice, and the two "chefs" that were our hosts during the trip were terrific. We all got hot chocolate and cookies, and sang Christmas carols and heard the story of The Polar Express. Then Santa Claus boarded the train.Dalton has seen the movie several times (and watched it on the way to the train station that morning) and has said all he wants for Christmas is a Silver Bell from Santa's sleigh. Well, he got one (and so did Lexie) directly from Santa on the train. He has misplaced it since then, but is confident that Santa will bring it back to him on Christmas, just like in the story.
Earlier in December, we visited his cousin Isabel, who just turned two. His Grandma and Grandpobbies came down from Minnesota, and it was good to see them. One of the highlights of the day for Dalton was the trip to a nearby school playground -- and since that happened before the death of the digital camera, there are pictures to look at, too. Isabel's grandparents (George and Nita) arrived later on, and we all had a fine pizza dinner before heading back home.
The day before that, we went to Bonsal with Granni and Pop-Pop and rode the Santa Train there (more pictures) -- luckily it was a nice day, since we were in open-air cars and the train moved at a pretty good clip. We were bundled up, though, and had a good time. Dalton ran around like a loon, looking at all the engines and coaches, but wasn't all that thrilled with Santa. At least he didn't scream or cry.
Thanksgiving dinner was at Dalton's house this year, and Granni and Pop-Pop, the Smith Family and cousins Amanda and Chelsea all packed in for the feast. It was Mommy's first-ever turkey, and it was tasty! We put the turkey in a brine the previous evening (following the recipe from Alton Brown of Good Eats on the Food Network) and it couldn't have been better. Yum! Of course, there were all the usual fixin's to go with it and we all stuffed ourselves silly, with stuffing, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, and pies. There are, of course, photos of the festivities.
Now you're all caught up. Guess the "more frequent" part of this deal hasn't panned out quite as planned, but hey -- you're getting what you pay for, right?
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
