Rudolph the Red Nosed Rusty

So judging by the overwelming amount of comments on my last update, so tantalizingly entitled "Boring Update" (bless you Cindy, for your lone comment) I suppose that I have a hoard of people obsessively checking my blog for more fascinating information about my holidays. Well I don't want to disappoint you, (Cindy) so here it is! Actually, I've been a little lax on checking blogs the last few days--I reinstalled Sims 2 on my computer and haven't really come up for air for a while. Yesterday morning while Trevor worked a half day, I spent ALL MORNING playing it, and it was SO nice to just having nothing better to do and no one bugging me to do something better with my time--other than my own conscience. I grew up in a home where my mother likes to call down the stairs, "What are you doing?" And if your answer isn't good, if you aren't doing something useful and productive (i.e cleaning) then she's got a list for you. Computer time is a precious commodity in my Mom's house. So now I don't have her here yelling "What are you doing?" but she's there. She's there in the back of my head, haunting me.


But I digress.


So we had a very fun Christmas this year. I have been debating whether to post a certain video that was taken at our famly Christmas party--I am the only one who got it on tape (thanks to Crockett!) so the power is mine, all mine!
I cannot just throw this video up without some sort of explanation. You see, every year my Mom makes the grandkids do the whole nativity thing. Well, this year SHE HAD A DREAM. That's right. A dream. She dreamed up this whole big thing where all the ADULTS would to the program this year, and we would just ditch the whole nativity idea and go with hard-core Christmas. Yeah. Rudolph. She had it all cast and planned on how she wanted us to do it.
Well we weren't thrilled. Not that you can tell from the video--we all look quite happy and campy up there, but that's because we are Nielson girls. And we know how to smile through our tears. Boy do we ever! Mom even managed to rope Aundi's husband Matt in. Look closely--he's the one holding the "fog" cloud. Which is upside down. My cousin Mike got stuck holding the "history" book, and Dad is a pretty convincing Santa. But no one had a more important role than Rusty, who was called upon to be Rudolph himself. Dad made his "costume" and I have to admit it's QUITE clever. Bee managed to get off easy by playing the music, and Crockett filmed it. The rest of us were relegated to ridiculous reindeer/greek chorus. So here it is, the only copy of this year's "christmas program" which will apparently be done next year by the grand kids instead of us adults. Oh, the things we do to entertain children...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

In other news, our Christmas was wonderful. We really enjoyed our time with the family, and especially with each other. It's been a long time since Trevor had this much time off work. We got suddenly VERY addicted to board games this season. Our friends Ryan and Anna are game freaks too, and Ryan distributes games so he has EVERYTHING. We've played more games the last few days than all year! Our favorites are Scotland Yard, Alhambra, Pirate's Cove, Medici, and Elixer. So if if you're looking for some good games, there are some great ones!
Also, Cindy pointed out that have not mentioned our new kitty on this blog. So here he is: TITUS.

Trevor and I got Titus from Mom's next door neighbor. At first, Tarzan was none to happy. But now they are total buddies! They play all the time, and they are often laying by each other. Not quite cuddling--yet--but the distance between them gets smaller and smaller! Titus is sweet and cute and he will cuddle with me (unlike Tarzan) and he never scratches or bites. I just love him! We got a lot of new cats around here. Mom got a kitty for Christmas from Me and Aundi. This is Duke, named after John Wayne, of course. Mom just loves him, and he's so perfect for her! And, because I have a picture of her and she's GORGEOUS, this is Aundi's cat Miley (yes, stupid name, but she was already named when they got her. Urg.) She's a pure-bred bengal, and she's the most striking cat I've ever seen!