Crayons and Keyboards: 2014

All She Wanted For Christmas

Tooth #2 is long gone...the Tooth Fairy is about to run out of cash.

A Duel In Frederick

A night on the town for Robyn's 29th birthday (again)...dueling pianos, dear friends, and margaritas made for a good night.

Letter From Elfis

A letter from Elfis letting the kids know that he is gone for the year, but he will be back next year and will be keeping an eye on them at all times.

Any help a parent can get is appreciated...

For our Christmas night with the Coon's; Papi composed a story of the Christmas spirit and how it is represented by the flames in the fire. He dressed in "character", which was Santa's Mexican brother, and told his story and passed out gold (chocolate) coins to all the children. At the end, he used his "fire water" (whiskey) and spread the flame by spitting into the fire. Not sure if the kids grasped his story, but none the less, it made for a compelling few minutes.

What took away from it all...When all else fails, you can look at the flames of a fire and see the spirit that burns in all of us and spread those flames.

Enlightened By The Flames

Santa Makes An Early Appearance

No room for mistakes now, he knows exactly where we live and what the kiddos would like on Christmas morning.

He Came To Our Town...

Joys of living in a small community sometimes can't be measured.

Part of our volunteer fire department's fundraising program is to have Santa visit local neighborhoods and come into the homes for a visit with the kids; a small donation to the fire department secures you a reservation. He arrives in style on the back of a fire truck with lights and sirens blazing.

Our neighbors invited us to their house Saturday night for a party and a Santa visit, and then, we had him at our house on Sunday night.

He must have known what I wanted, because he brought me a Cowboy's win later that night...

Wet Sidewalks

Junie B. Jones and Batman Smells...

Maryland Ensemble Theater is a small theater group in Frederick that I've wanted to see for a while. I've passed by the stage/signs a hundred times but never made it in. Robyn found a deal on Certifikid for discounted tickets.

It was a great show in a very small and intimate setting, and with Jaxson starting his first play for school in a few weeks, I think it really perked his interest.

Followed all that up with some ice cream at one of our local spots in downtown.

Presents Delivered

Boo & Pops surprised the kiddos (and Robbie and I) with some early Christmas presents.

PJ's, mugs, and hot cocoa mix will make for a great family night in the coming weeks...

Protect This House!

Harper's Ferry Panaroma

Three states in one picture.

Virginia to your left. West Virginia in the middle. Maryland on your right.

Grab a map; the point where all three states meet is where this picture is taken.

Harper's Ferry Outlook Hike

Took the opportunity of a sunny November afternoon to take a hike; literally.

Headed to Harper's Ferry and hiked the Outlook Trail; minus Miss Belle due to the trail difficulty and cold outside.

Best words to describe...beautiful.