Walcott Whirlwind of Christmas

Christmas 2010 was a fabulous whirlwind of celebrations. We did 5 family parties from Friday to Sunday, and it should have been 6 parties. We missed one because two were scheduled at the same time.

Brighton fully understood presents this year and of course loved them. He couldn't get enough. He kept saying, "Now what present am I going to open first?" By day two he grasped the concept of taking turns, but he still needs to learn the word next. An extra measure of patience would be great too, but he's 2 1/2. Hope and pray you and yours had a blessed whirlwind of holiday celebrations as well.

Merry Christmas 2010!

Walcott Lanes

Jon planned planned for us to go bowling again this week since we had so much fun LAST TIME. When he threw out the idea to his family nearly everyone wanted to and was free to join us. We hit Northland Lanes this week and did bowling the Walcott way.

It was a grand time. Two members of our family own their own shoes. One family member actually threw the ball backwards - no, I am not making this up. And lastly, Brighton beat both of his parents. No lie! I'm just thrilled when my score breaks into three digits, but Brighton had no trouble with bumpers and a ramp - lucky kid.

Beyond the World of Chevys

We visited Daddy at work today, but work for Jon changed quite a bit just over a month ago. He ended a 13 year long career working for Chevrolet dealerships (We love Chevys!), and he made a move to an independent shop in town, D's Transmission & Auto Tech. The move provides lots of opportunity for Jon as well as working with a great group of guys. At D's, they fix everything on any car. They also are the best transmission shop in town - no really, Jon did his research because he really likes to fix transmissions. To make them even better than the already are, they now have Jon.

Congrats on the new job Jon! Does this mean I can start looking at foreign cars?

Rocky and Cranky Please

Today was my first day off of school - yahoo! Tonight we did Santa - round two for 2010 at Ottawa Beach Inn. Brighton was very hesitant again, but he eventually warmed up to Santa & Mrs. Claus proudly announcing, "I would like Rocky & Cranky please." Of course these are additions to his Thomas the Train collection, and thankfully they're already wrapped and hiding in the basement ready to appear later this week.

West Ottawa High School Lip Dub 2010

What is a lip dub?
A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song. There is often some form of mobile audio device used such as an MP3 players. Often they look like simple music videos, although many involve a lot of preparation and production. Lip dubs can be done in a single unedited shot that often travels through different rooms and situations within a building. - Wikipedia

Walcott Ginger Bread House 2010

What was intended to be a fun holiday activity for Brighton quickly became a slightly competitive event over here in Walcott land. Brighton didn't really want to have anything to do with making a ginger bread house. Go figure. I should've seen that coming. Maybe better luck next year.Anyway, we decided to do the best we could under the circumstances. Three adults attacked this house project with creativity and vigor all while attempting perfection. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks people. I had ginger bread house experience, but not since my childhood with Grandma. There were other families doing the same thing around us, so the competition was palpable even though admittedly it wasn't a contest.

I think we might have won if it were.

The Polar Express Trip

We went to the North Pole this holiday season. Have you been lately?

If you have children or grandchildren that enjoy "The Polar Express" as much as our son does, you maybe take short excursions there. We make it out there a couple times a week via the book or the movie, and this is a journey we make year round - not just in December. So this December, we brought in the holiday season with a trip on an actual train. It's a holiday excursion out of the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan.

As you can imagine, it was a huge deal for our train-lovin' son. He really thought we were going to the North Pole. We met the conductor, had hot chocolate, and sat with Santa and Mrs. Claus; there was even a jingle bell waiting on our seats when we returned to the train.

What's not to believe? As the last line of the book reads, "...the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe."