It's beginning to look a lot like....what?

I feel like after the election that there was way too much hate going round....okay, there was probably way too much beforehand, but let's face it...November 8th was not a very nice day to look at social media. Thankfully, I watched "Buddy the Elf" so I know how to have Christmas Cheer all year long. It includes one ugly Christmas sweater dress...

Two decorated Christmas trees...that would include our gingerbread Christmas tree ya'll..

and you can't forget the train around the Christmas tree....

 No seriously, you can't forget it....especially when you insist on laying with your face 3 inches away from the track and continually run it forwards and backwards, and forwards and backwards for hours on end. The scouts came over yesterday before their campout and even they got bored of it and begged Buddy to do something different.

The answer was a resounding Negatron and thankfully their ride to the camp site arrived shortly thereafter, so I didn't have to intervene during Train Armageddon! Sheesh! Thankfully, I've got my Christmas Sweater dress on to make everything better! Buddy even told me I looked beautiful in it....12 year old boys are easily impressed (at least when you have gingerbread cookies stuffed in your pockets). So all in all a super fantastic, wearing my dress for Christmas cheer until next year, day! 

Awkward....

This week has been a whole lot of awkwardness all around. People are going crazy the day after the elections...and Buddy and I are like....

 As in....holy bananas....the peacemakers in us just want to give out free hugs, sing Kumbaya and make everything better! 

To add to all the awkwardness going round, I took my Troop of Boy Scouts to place flags at the Veteran's Cemetery on Veterans Day. It only got awkward when we showed up an hour after the Girl Scout had already blown in and out, completing EVERYTHING that needed to be set up for their 11 am services. Talk about feeling awkward just standing around! That's okay, I know how to use photoshop now so we can make it look like we actually did something! Afterwards, we high tailed it to Volcano National Park to do some glamping and apparently build a fort....

I promise, there is a fort behind them!!! I pretty much went for the free bike rides...

Unfortunately, those bike rides lasted approximately 3 pedals....but it was an AMAZING 3 pedals worth! So all in all a super fantastic, now we all need hot showers and a week of sleep, day!

Surprises....

This morning I was expecting to get a breakfast in bed, followed by a day at the beach filled with paddle boarding and kayaking to my hearts content. Instead, I was told to hurry up so we could drive 2 hours over to Hilo to look at a car that was really out of my mentally set price range. I wasn't sure why Shane wanted to waste everyones time....especially mine, since unfortunately, my birthday only comes around once a year! We looked at the car, I agreed it was cute, then Shane started hustling a cash only deal....which was weird, because I'm pretty certain between all 3 (that'd be me, Shane and the Budster who has been told to stay out of school for the week) of us we were carrying 20 bucks total and that was mostly in the change scattered throughout my car. I kept punching Shane to get him to stop his wheeling and dealing with his imaginary money, he kept telling me not to worry about it. I'm pretty certain the cops would be worried when they got a call that some guy was trying to pay for a car with imaginary money!!!!!! I mean, I do need a new car, my odometer is close to 270K, the child locks in the back stay scarily locked and my car usually starts after a wing and a prayer, but not at the expense of Shane being incarcerated for wheeling and dealing with imaginary money, and the tight wad in me didn't want to go into debt for a silly little car....I'm pretty certain my Betsy Beast could make it to 300K with enough duct tape! Turns out, the man that usually forgets it's my birthday until I remind him the night before (because I don't want to be mad when he completely forgets like he has in the past) has been saving since Christmas of last year to buy this tightwad a car for her birthday!

Holy bananas, am I the lucky one!!!!! So all in all a super fantastic, what a good surprise, day!

Tis the Season!

If you know anything about me you'll know one of my things about the Christmas season is the opportunity to just sit back, relax and take some casual family photos for our Christmas cards. Just kidding, if you thought that statement was true, you don't know me at all! Buddy and I love brainstorming ideas for our Christmas card pictures, and Shane earns his Sainthood every year by putting up with us! Here are a few blasts from the past.....

Last night Buddy and I joined our evil forces and completed our 2016 Christmas cards....

Like I said, WE had a blast....Shane, perhaps not too much. But if you're on my Christmas mailing list you'll see soon enough! So all in all a super fantastic, love my partner in picture planning crime, day!

The cool kids

Buddy turned 12 last weekend, so this week we grabbed one of our favorite accessories (that would be Buddy's BFF Tyler) and entered our next step into manhood...

Well, some of us are entering the next step of manhood! So all in all a super fantastic, pretty awesome, day!

Good Grief!!!!!

Someone really needs to get a handle on this blogging thing...and perhaps a handle on their child! Seriously, whose kid is this anyway?

 The boy has missed school for a month, we kept sending him, the school would send him right back like a little reject! He's fine, just a cough....apparently they don't want him back until March when his coughing will eventually stop!

 Buddy was spending so much time sleeping in our room, the nice parents we are we made him his own safe sleeping space....I mean you can never be too careful when you're co-sleeping.....

 I'm pretty certain I won't be rolling over him by accident in my sleep now...Sheesh, what a worry lifted from my mind. With him sleeping nice in cozy without a guardrail 8 feet up in the air on a sliver of a platform I don't have a worry in my mind!

 Since Buddy hasn't been able to socialize with all of his friends from school, he made a few of his own...

 (Between you and me, I think I like these kids better since Buddy said everyone at school is talking about the birds and the bees and cussing....actually, Buddy would 100% agree with that statement....Middle School stinks no matter who you are!).  I also gave him his birthday present from me a little early to help pass the time (without using computers or tv). He either really loves his present or he was bored to tears....It's really hard to tell... 

 Then my parents showed up to break up the monotony. To show our gratitude we took them out for a fine dining experience....

 We made it up to them and gave them exactly 2 minutes to stand outside the Kona Temple to take drive by pictures....

Then we threw them back in the car and took them to see a rainforest...... 

 Did I mention the rain?

Or the fact that there were a bazillion spider webs?

Thank goodness Buddy was our designated web smasher....well, we didn't actually designate him, but when you walk ahead of everyone else in a place teaming with webs, you're bound to get smashed by a few....hundred! Heehee!!!!! While my parents have been here, Buddy has been using his time wisely to educate his Papaw on modern technology....

Then we went about to expose my mom to emojis....

 I'm positive that will come in extremely useful for her down the road and I'm waiting for my emoticon filled text from her any day now! Buddy had his birthday party on Friday! The kids played a glow in the dark game of capture the flag and filled their bellies with pooey cupcakes! It was a poo filled success, although in retrospect, the prankster in me should have looked into finding a poo scented flavoring to add to the cupcakes to give it a little extra something special!

 Yesterday was the boy's 12th birthday so we let him open his present from his dad. It's a ridiculously fast remote control car....Buddy was obviously disappointed about it.....

 Then we had our ward trunk or treat...In the background is my castle we made for our trunk or treating contest, complete with dragon....sadly we didn't win ANYTHING the whole night....

 We did end up winning some strange guy with hair that decided 10 minutes before we left that he wanted a costume too! Thank goodness I had something laying around the house for him! Although from the looks of my unicorn, I think it's a little upset that the guy in the track suit isn't fitting in with our medieval theme!!!

I agree sad unicorn! So all in all not a superly fantastically themed matched day(s)!

Paired up....

Some things are just meant to be together. I mean, who else would cuddle me for an entire hour in the morning....

Wear matching bunny suits while watching cartoons....

Stuff themselves into a ridiculously huge rubbery ducky in a ridiculously cold pool....

You know what pair I could do without? This one right here...

Buddy was running "experiments" while I was taking my pre-night shift nap. Shane I"m sure was nearby parenting....at least I hope so...well, at least the bright side is my house is still standing and I haven't found any burn marks....yet! So all in all a super fantastic, never going to take a nap again, day!