Christmas Countdown - 2011

[Christmas-A-Holic]

My daughter goes for her dental surgery this morning (broken tooth and 2 wisdom teeth to be removed)

I bet she will be glad to get that surgery over with!

A lovely, cool morning - I need to get started on the housework before the day heats up.

You can also come to my house for a cleaning party! I will even put on some Christmas music. =)

Noel is teething again and sleep is... rare over here. I am so tired!

I hope you can get a nap in today.

A 50 percent or better chance of rain is predicted here for the balace of the forecast period.

If you get some rain, share some with us. =)

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

Now that 4th of July is behind us, I am SO ready for Christmas in July! This is the time I really start thinking about the holidays ahead.

This is what I CANNOT WAIT FOR! This is our annual Black Friday tradition we do every year. Here is a video we took of Santa ice skating at the Galleria Mall followed by lighting the nations tallest indoor tree:

[youtube_browser]VnJG9oTFpq0[/youtube_browser]

 

[Seawaters]

Again, you have painted a beautiful picture of Americana! Thanks.

Boy, what an epic Fourth.

Like most daytime hours on the Fourth it kind of dragged for me today. I was up working on the site until about 5 am and then went to bed for a few hours. When I got up around ten the kids were well underway with their water battle plans so I puttered, as they say. I watched 1776, which is kind of a tradition for me every 4th of July.

Then I went out to buy a few more "parachute men", the particular kind of daylight fireworks my kids have loved since they were little. You light them during the day and they shoot up about 50 feet in the air, explode and a little parachute opens and it falls to the groud. I bouight like 100 of them knowing with all the kids in the neighborhood, in the midst of battle, would love it.

And they did. The water fight was all ready by the time I got back from the store. The weather was weird today, kind of overcast and muggy but certainly not the hot we had yesterday. So they kids were kind of milling around, waiting I thought for someone to fire the first shot.

Well, the kids had prepped -- and this is no exageration -- more than 500 water bombs. They were all over the place so I grabbed an ice chest full of them and pulled them behind my car and started firing. I got off maybe four before the return barrage began.

I got creamed. Inside of 30 seconds I was soaked as every kid took aim at me and I got charged by my two teenage daughters (13 and 15 years old) who fearlessly and relentlessly attacked. I did my best to hold them off but I couldn't overcome all of them and the falling water bombs fired off from a distance.

After getting cleaned up from that and taking a safe view of things from inside I watched the battle before heading off to cook the food.

Utah is a state that has allowed fireworks in specific areas for years but this year they changed the laws and now anyone can shoot off fireworks that stay within 150 feet. That's a really big change and we didn't realize it until tonight.

We usually use the street in front of our house and the one across the street for the cookout and the fireworks (and, evidently, it is ground zero now for the water battle too). Everyone lines up chairs on either side and the Dads and older boys light off the fountains and such we've traditionally purchased. I looked at the new legal aerial fireworks available this year but didn't buy any because the cheapest ones were like $15 a piece and I just couldn't justify that. But a neighbor bought five of them and added them to the pile that everyone else brought.

This year it took us nearly 2 hours to get through it all but what really made it spectacular were all the new fireworks going off everywhere. The biggest fireworks show in the country is evidently held just south of me in Provo every year and they call it the Stadium of Fire. Well, from where I was sitting in front of my house I felt I was in the stadium of fire -- or living in Beirut -- as all these new fireworks filled the sky from every direction as my neighborhood erupted in fireworkds like I've never seen.

In years passed we have always had the fire department come by and check us out. It became something of an annual joke because we had several families involved in our festivities each year and we saw the same firemen every year. Last year, we actually talked them in to having a hot dog with us because we see them every year, they look at all the fireworks we're using and move on.

One year they came by just as we were ending our show. Three doors down from us there is an elementary school and some other neighbors at that precise moment had decided to use the school to shoot off their illegal fireworks they had obtained over the border in Wyoming. The firemen didn't even have time to turn one his lights, he made a beeline for the school and aprehended our neighbors. My neighbor across the street got smart and called the cops and asked that they be arrested. Turns out he called a family friend who was a cop and he did just that -- came out, cuffed the neighbor and put him in the squad car right in front of the firemen, who started to freak out because it was their job to issue citations and they didn't want to get in trouble for allowing a citizen to be arrested for illegal fireworks.

It all ended up fun and we have had a good laugh about it for years. But this year the firemen never came by and it made me a little sad.

When I'm not watching Christmas movies I'm watching baseball movies and one I love is callled The Sandlot, which is all about little boys and their love of baseball. There is a scene in that movie where they are playing ball on the Fourth as fireworks explode in the sky to the tune of America the Beautiful by Ray Charles. That was the way I felt tonight with all the fireworks going off at once in all directions in the sky.

It was an epic night, for sure. Once always to be remembered. I hope everyone here had a terrific weekend.

 

[MerryCarey]

CM3 and RachRon, you are in my thoughts and in my heart.

Well, the Red Sox lost yesterday, but the pre-game festivities were great ... they staged a surprise reunion between a solider and her family, and for the National Anthem, they dropped a HUGE American flag over the scoreboard---and the Anthem was followed by a flyover! It was great to hear about 40,000 people cheer our flag! We left during the eighth inning so we wouldn't miss the train, then spent the evening watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and other patriotic goodies. (And I enjoyed opening my birthday presents and reading the birthday greetings on MMC!)

Boy, what an epic Fourth . . .

That sounds like the perfect American Fourth of July! I love "1776," but didn't get to see it this year because we attended the baseball game.

 

[Seawaters]

Good morning, Christmas friends. I hope all of y'all had a great Fourth. We had a good lunch at the Elks Lodge. We came home, and I took a nap. Then we went out with friends to our favorite Mexican restaurant. After that, we came back to our place and watched the fireworks. It was so sultry, though, I was glad when the fireworks were over and we could go into the house and the AC! Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[Seawaters]

This sounds so special!

...but the pre-game festivities were great ... they staged a surprise reunion between a solider and her family, and for the National Anthem, they dropped a HUGE American flag over the scoreboard---and the Anthem was followed by a flyover! It was great to hear about 40,000 people cheer our flag!

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

It was great to hear about 40,000 people cheer our flag!

I get a little emotional when I hear the Anthem. I love to hear people cheer on our country. =)

Good morning, Christmas friends. I hope all of y'all had a great Fourth. We had a good lunch at the Elks Lodge. We came home, and I took a nap. Then we went out with friends to our favorite Mexican restaurant. After that, we came back to our place and watched the fireworks. It was so sultry, though, I was glad when the fireworks were over and we could go into the house and the AC! Hope everyone has a great day!

It was really hot out yesterday here but we went to the lake for fireworks and it really helped cool things down a bit.

Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[Christmasstar]

Update on the kittens - Willie is taking care of them still. She moved them way out back so I don't have to feed them any more.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!

we have kittens due next month! My daughter wanted her cat to have a litter before she go spayed.

 

[Christmasstar]

Now that 4th of July is behind us, I am SO ready for Christmas in July! This is the time I really start thinking about the holidays ahead.

This is what I CANNOT WAIT FOR! This is our annual Black Friday tradition we do every year. Here is a video we took of Santa ice skating at the Galleria Mall followed by lighting the nations tallest indoor tree:

[youtube_browser]VnJG9oTFpq0[/youtube_browser]

that was such a cool video, thanks for sharing!

 

[xmas365]

Good morning Christmas friends!

 

[Holiday]

Good afternoon!! Hope you all had a GREAT Fourth of July weekend!! We had a super fun time with our Pittsburgh friends in town! Was sad to see them leave. Back to the grind today - it's hard to get back into the swing!

Make it a great day! :smile:

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

Christmasstar (and anyone else who watched the video), don't you just love the way Santa turns flips on the ice?! People thought Santa was out of shape, the video proves differently! cheesy

I have mentioned this before but every year Santa skates they have a guest Olympic skater joining him in the end. The first year we went, Dorothy Hamill was there. Santa got more applause and cheers than Dorothy!!! Wow! He really is a star!

 

[Irishsnow]

Good evening all :

 

[Holiday]

Sorry if this has already been posted --- Terrys Village, Christmas in July sale:

http://www.terrysvillage.com/ui/bro...l-_-TV Cmas Sale 070511-_-Control-_-cmas sale

 

[made582]

Good Afternoon Everyoen!!!!! It is a hot day here in central Indy but luckily there isn't a lot of humidty today. I am pretty wore out today. It was a long weekend with not a whole lot of sleep. I also had neighbors putting off fireworks until 1am last night. I need to get busy though because I have alot of cleaning to do. I hope everyone is having a GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[made582]

20 Days until Christmas in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26 Days until the Brickyard 400!!!!!!!!!
118 Days until Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
142 Days until Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Undrtakr]

20 Days until Christmas in July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26 Days until the Brickyard 400!!!!!!!!!
118 Days until Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
142 Days until Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

118 days till Halloween??? Wait...wait...*breath*..that means...119 days till my Christmas tree goes up...whoa....thats right around the CORNER!!!! *Runs off to get the tree ready* lol!

 

[MerryCarey]

I get a little emotional when I hear the Anthem. I love to hear people cheer on our country. =)

Good for you! It bothers me to see how many people in the ballpark keep on chattering through the Anthem or don't take off their hats out of respect. (And I hate it when they ask the spectators to rise for "God Bless America" in the 7th-inning stretch---love the song, but that privilege is meant to be reserved for the National Anthem.)

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

Good for you! It bothers me to see how many people in the ballpark keep on chattering through the Anthem or don't take off their hats out of respect. (And I hate it when they ask the spectators to rise for "God Bless America" in the 7th-inning stretch---love the song, but that privilege is meant to be reserved for the National Anthem.)

I agree it's disrespectful for those who ignore and chatter during the anthem.

We had a patriotic service at church on Sunday and we sang the National Anthem, I got chills singing it. It really does move me.

I love watching the Olympics for the very same reason that when the United States win and we hear our Anthem. I feel happy for other countries as well because I know the pride they feel when they hear theirs.

 

[Christmasstar]

Christmasstar (and anyone else who watched the video), don't you just love the way Santa turns flips on the ice?! People thought Santa was out of shape, the video proves differently! cheesy

I have mentioned this before but every year Santa skates they have a guest Olympic skater joining him in the end. The first year we went, Dorothy Hamill was there. Santa got more applause and cheers than Dorothy!!! Wow! He really is a star!

he did great for an old guy!!!cheesy
Santa is always a star no matter what he does.