Christmas Candids

Not much to show from Christmas. We went way overboard, overcompensating for missing all y'all, I guess. Anyway, here are a few candids--it's almost like you're right there with us now!

Makin' cookies:



Boy . . . in booties. Or stocking. Well, behind stocking.



So we got the big boys iPods--an elaborate and secretive procedure since Riley had overtly requested one, and reminded us ad nauseam of his peculiar desire. So I had to persuade him it wasn't happening. In fact, we had agreed on a stocking-only Christmas, so at 2:00 a.m. Christmas morning, Riley snuck a peak expecting to find his new toy, and was disappointed. Mwa-ha-ha!

He was a bit sullen Christmas morning, but put on a brave face. And gave up. Imagine his total chagrin when Christopher, who never asks for anything, fairly backflipped with joy over his gift (it's nice to have one effusive kid in the family):



And then the moment arrived. And there was much rejoicing. Obviously:



We were joined for dinner by L Ylanan, whose wife was on shift at her job in Abu Dhabi, and J Shewell, whose family was and is in Korea. He'll be joining them this week. The camera adds 20 pounds. Shut up.



Filed under "What the?": Ski Dubai. We're going tomorrow morning. It's actually pretty cheap, considering the overhead they must pay.