A Hough Family Christmas (Observed)

CHRISTMAS

(sort of)

Since we're flying home to Michigan this year for Christmas, we decided that, like the previous few years, we'd have Christmas with the girls the weekend before we fly out.  The idea of packing a bunch of presents just to unwrap up in Michigan and then bring all the way back down to Florida is absolutely retarded.  So, once again, we woke up in the morning and had Christmas with just the four of us (six, if you count some e-grandparents, courtesy of Skype).

Check it out:

We try to stay within budget for the girls every year, but we went over by about 50% apiece this year.  Which is pretty typical.

Little Tikes Princess Jeep.  The new ride.

Stocking plunder.

Chocolate for breakfast. . .

Papa and Nana, via Skype.

This was the only thing Abby cared about opening for Christmas. . .

The astute observer will notice Kristina's awesome shirt.

"It's a box!"

"A cozy corner!"

More bean bag chairs!

Auto mechanics.

Still eating that damn chocolate bar. . .

PRESENTS!

SuperWhy-  the Boardgame.  Alayna's been obsessed with this show lately.

Abby showing off some Yo Gabba Gabba bath toys to Nana and Papa. . .

More Duplos! (still eating that chocolate, by the way)

Beadin'

 

Of course, the big present the girls got this year was that Little Tikes Princess Jeep.  We were a little apprehensive about the Cannonball being able to operate it at first, but she took to it eerily fast.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, she drives like her dad, which, more or less, means we're going to be put upon for a lot of car repairs throughout her teenage years.

Can't.  Wait.

Trying out the gas pedal for the first time.

As you an see, Kris was using our video camera, so I didn't get any videos from my phone to upload.  My apologies.

Abby had a hard time staying in the Jeep, as she didn't want to buckle her seatbelt.  Accordingly, she spent the majority of the time outside chasing after Alayna. . .

Trying out the Disney Princess Radio in the Jeep's dashboard.  These songs already make me want to kill myself.

Hell on wheels.

The Cannonball's official stamp of approval.

The Houghs' 200th Episode: Holiday Blast-Off

Happy African American Friday, y'all!

Black Friday has gotten out of control, and people are becoming nothing more than masses of greedy sheep after Thanksgiving.  Accordingly, we didn't participate at all this year.  We didn't buy a damn thing on Black Friday, and I won't bother wasting time talking about it now. 

So, today morale was low in the realm of the Houghs.  Puking kid lying around the house, half-decorated Christmas tree.  You know the drill.  Not fun.

Well, the morale dropped even further when I decided to hook up Alayna's Fisher Price iXL and upload some new Christmas music and more pictures.  I'll spare you the nerdish details of this six hour ordeal (as only those savvy in computer-speak would appreciate and/or understand what I'm talking about), but it involved utilizing two different computers, multiple AA batteries, and a hell of a lot of cords.  In the end, the music was uploaded, the pictures were added, I added two new games for her, but lost three of the originals... and now face the task of resyncing the damn thing again (probably next month, when we go up to Dad's in Michigan) when I have access to another PC (I can no longer install it on any computer I own, since the software was updated and now the sync process is impossible).

I love the iXL, but the sync process is absolute shit.

By the time I threw in the towel, it was practically time for Kris to go to work.  The Cannonball was still pretty sick, so she only took Abby with her this afternoon.  Having failed in my attempt to update her iXL, I let her use my laptop to watch some movies in her bedroom . . .

. . . when she wasn't puking, of course.

Anyway, after an afternoon and evening spent lounging around, drinking water, and watching Pixar, the kid started to actually feel better.  The Hough Family Thanksgiving Curse had apparently subsided, its damage done.

By the time Kris and Abby got back from Sunchild, she was actually up and running around and in good spirits again.  So much so, in fact, that we decided that we'd attempt to finish what we had started the night before: throwing up the damn Christmas Tree.

Check it out:

Once we decided to finish decorating the tree, I dragged Alayna out to Target and we picked up $20 worth of cheaper, non-breakable Christmas ornaments to hang along the lower half of the tree (where inquisitive fingers frequently roam).

Jingle Bells:  Durable, shakable, fun to rip off the tree

Alayna hanging up a Mickey ornament she got last year from Papa and Nana

My old school Grover ornament I painted when I was in elementary school.  Yes, is still hangs on my tree.  Because Grover is awesome.

Abby having a snack.

Believe it or not, that's a Christmas movie on in the background. . .

We got this set of tacky, pink glass ornaments from my folks one year as a joke gift. . . and they somehow turned into a HUGE favorite with the kids.  Go figure.

Candy canes.  They are crack for children.

Alayna figured the candy canes were best hung clustered.

The Cannonball checks out Kris' old Angel tree-topper - something that we've discussed replacing with a light-up star for the past, oh, seven years or so. . .

Ornament exchange - I got a six-piece set of wooden Gye Nyames .

. . . and I got Kris a Dunkin' Donuts ornament 'cause, well, the chick loves the hell out of that place.

Christmas Decorating - complete

In closing, behold this year's Hough Family Christmas Card.  Print it out, slap it on your fridge, and add a touch of sexy yule to your holiday season:

(You're welcome.)

- Brian