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.

Princesses

Hi folks,

So, as a father, I feel like I've dropped the ball somewhat.  I swore to myself, back when I first found out I was having a daughter, that I would never end up raising one of those 'pretty, pretty princess' girls.  No daughter of Col. Brian J. Hough would ever grow up idolizing Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella.


Screw that.


My daughters would end up liking pirates, Star Wars, and punk rock.  They'd wear throwback tees, dye their hair, and blast rock and roll.  For Halloween, they'd want to dress up like Boba Fett, not Rapunzel.

Yet here we are.

This year, we decided to let the Cannonball pick out her own Halloween costume.  Last year, we steered her into the Punk Rocker direction, and while that was a sweet costume - and despite the fact that we got continuous positive feedback throughout last year's Halloween weekend - she really didn't pick the ensemble out herself.  We were more or less living vicariously through our daughter.

...and I always thought parents that did that sort of thing were lame.

So now Halloween is almost upon us, once again.  This year, Alayna is choosing her own costume, and she wants to be Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled.

I have officially raised one of those girls.  Obsessed with Disney princesses, an avid supporter of all things 'pink,' and a sucker for anything with thin-waisted cartoon characters plastered across it.  On the plus side, having raised such a child plays out in our favor - there's a ton of bullshit out there with the Disney Princesses on it.  Dolls, books, toys, clothing, home decor, movies, accessories, you name it.

...And gigantic, frickin' vehicles.

One day, while out scouring local garage sales, Kris stumbled across a Disney Princess PowerWheel in nearly pristine condition.  It was missing a AA-battery cover on the dashboard, and there was no battery charger with it, but that's seriously about it.  Initially the people selling it were asking $50, which is a steal considering this particular model - a Little Tikes two-seater Disney Princess Jeep - retails for around $300.

Well, as luck would have it, this was a charity garage sale, and they were taking donations.  Kris dropped off a bunch of baby clothes that Abby had already grown out of, as well as a horrible stroller we had picked up at a similar garage sale a year earlier for $5 (and only used once) and a few other toys.  Taking this all into consideration, the people offered to give Kris the PowerWheel for $30.

Alas, Kris only had a $20 on her, and offered to drive out to the bank and withdraw more cash for it, but the sellers wouldn't hear of it.  They gave it to us for $20!!

Or, in other words, 93% off.  That's somewhat of a good deal, right?


Shittin'-A, it is.

- Brian

Backyard Renovations, Vol. I

Having survived last week's garage sale, it was time for the Houghs to move into Phase II of our diabolical plan: the acquisition of additional crap that we probably didn't need but were going to purchase anyway.

The whole purpose of having a garage sale - besides getting rid of a bunch of junk that was cluttering up my garage - was so that we'd have some funding to purchase some stuff for the backyard. It was decided on some months ago that, with this garage sale money, we'd purchase a swimming pool for the backyard. We opted to buy one of those Intex Easy Set pools, and went with a 12' x 36" size, as it'd be ideal for the kids and enough so that Kris and I can sit in it and take a break from the horrible, horrible summer heat we get down here.

So we picked up the pool from Toys 'R Us, and I began buying some of the accessories for it - the solar cover, an inflation pump, etc. - off Amazon ('cause its way cheaper than buying it in a store around here). I still need to get a maintenance kit, a tarp or the ground cover, some additional filter pump filters, and a ladder, but that stuff's all relatively cheap so we're going to grab it later.

We can't set the pool up until Adam has a chance to come over and help me install a circuit splitter (or whatever the hell its called) in our patio light so that I can have a power outlet in the backyard. I want to run an electrical cord down one of the patio rafters in order to plug the pool filter in, as our house has an added-on room that was never part of the original floor plan when all the electrical work was done.

Good times.

Anyway, besides the pool program being implemented with great fervor, we also picked up a new Little Tikes picnic table/umbrella set-up for the girls. That was a long time coming as well. They needed an outdoor chill area in the backyard, so that thing will definitely come in handy come summer time.


We then purchased one of those large, outdoor, storage bin/treasure chest-looking things from Target. Ideally, this is where pool toys, extra pool filters, and other such pool-related hooplah will end up... though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if fruit snacks or half-eaten sandwiches end up in there, either.


So, in order to make room for all this new crap, Yours Truly had to do some yard work. I ran to Home Depot and bought a dozen of those border paver stones (whatever the hell those are called). I dug up some of the existing pavers and relined a trench around the outside of the patio, placing those border stones in so that weeds and the yard wouldn't creep back onto the pavers (which had been the case all last summer - our backyard has a mind of its own).

So with an additional ten or so square feet along the back porch, I moved all the cacti and plants off the main back patio and into a separated area away from curious fingers and mouths.


In closing, here's some more footage from around the house. Enjoy.

- Brian