Christmas Trees and Chickens

I love this tree....the lights look like ribbons, don't they?
It has sort of a dreamy look, I think.
Of course, when you turn on the lights, it changes the entire mood. Santa decided to leave Ethan's presents on the couch this year. That actually confused him, because in the movies, Santa does not leave presents anywhere but under the tree.
See that Batman "laptop"? That was one of his favorite presents this year. He asked Santa for this for about three months. Actually, every time we went to Target he mentioned it. Every time...

You know a gift is popular when the child forgets to finish opening presents so that they can play.

The PJ's that he's wearing are his Christmas Eve present from Mommy and Daddy.

Hello Star Wars man. Have you seen my son? He's about your height.

The theme at Mom and Pops this year was Star Wars. Boo (my nephew) was a lot more animated than Ethan was. Ethan was a little overwhelmed I think. They both got a load of Star Wars loot. Ethan got his first digital camera too!

Boo was ripping into his presents while Ethan lagged behind a little bit. I'm not sure what was up with that.



Doesn't Boo look just like Barry? For those of you that don't know Barry...he's my brother. He looks like this little man.

Ethan of course got my round head. We have no shape to our heads except round. It's both a blessing and a curse.

This is Jaiden, my niece. She is my brother Josh's daughter. She's sassy and can hold her own against two little unnamed boys.

Now this was the surprise of the day. My sister Angie sashayed into the room with.....a chicken! In the house....a chicken in the house. No, I swear we are not redneck. She was on her way out of town yesterday when this pet chicken of hers got attacked by something, so she had no choice but to bring it. It's hanging out in the spare bathroom. I still have a hard time putting this together. Chickens. House. There was a German Sheppard in the next room. It was all so surreal.

The poor chicken had part of his wing missing and only one tail feather left. Ethan wasn't so sure about her. Or him. How can you tell? I couldn't. Anyway, it was a new experience for Ethan. Experience is good. He petted a chicken. At my parents house. I'm still getting used to that.

Now this is the epitome of redneck. I have been trying to get a picture of this house for weeks, but every time I pass it by, I realize I don't have my camera. Today, on the way to my parents, I had Jerry slow down so I could hang out of the window to capture the moment. Unfortunately, people were home...so, we had to speed up and act like we weren't up to anything weird. Well, I wonder though...what do they define as weird?

Don't you love the fleece and head gear these mannequins are wearing? In almost 80 degree weather.... Also, please note the "snow" on the ground and all the festive miscellaneous holiday decorations. My sister has vowed to sneak over there tonight when it's all lit up. OK, I have a confession. This yard makes me giggle. Actually, it made my whole family giggle today just talking about it.


Ahhhh....Merry Christmas everyone! PS- you can click any of the pictures to enlarge.