Twas The Weekend Before Christmas...

For one reason or another this year's build up to Christmas has been flat and I don't care for that much. Could be our kids are older and this is probably Ian's last year of believing in Santa (although I'm pretty sure he is on the fence but doesn't want to admit he's not real just in case he is), Deb and I have been busier with other things than in the past, a combination of the two, or who knows. One thing for certain is there seems to be so many 'activities' on a regular basis these days unlike when I was a kid when those were far and few between that Christmas was a huge production/celebration. It seemed Dec 25th would never get here and that pop's scripture readings lasted half of the day (they didn't, but it sure felt like it was it was all that stood between you and wrapped packages); now it's just another drive here or time spent there like any other 'activity' we do on a regular basis. Somewhere out there the Grinch is smiling... and I'm finding it harder and harder to wear one of my own.

***When looking for a good blog picture I debated between traditional Grinch or Jimmy C Grinch as I am a fan of both, but since I reflected on my youth I went 'old school' Grinch***

Deb has been under the weather since Thursday (but is back to full-Deb mode now) so it was a relatively quite and easy weekend. The boys knock everything back a step or two when mom is not at her best (which hardly happens) and it's great to see how much they pamper and take care of her.

Friday I snuck in a solid run a little over an hour at noon; about the same time the kids got out of school for Christmas break. I took Jake and Ian to SGF for the afternoon/evening, which started off with a Courts basketball game for Ian (sometimes the best medicine is peace and quiet so I gave Deb a big dose). The boys played their best game of the year so far and easily won 17 to 10(6-4 right now with one to go). Last game is Wednesday night so we are guaranteed a winning session. After b-ball we grabbed some food with my mom and dad and then we did some shopping for mom. Both Jake and Ian were in good spirits which made for a fun evening with a lot of laughs. Interestingly the boys each had specific items they wanted to get their mom so it made for easy and quick stops.

Saturday morning temp was 22* and the wind chill had it below 10* so Ira and I called off the AM trail run. The entire Jones crew was full of laziness the entire day, except for my 1:10hr run on the dreadmill in the afternoon. We skipped our Sunday School's Christmas party as Deb was still not 100% and it turned out nice and restful. Deb and I caught some movies on TV while I worked on repacking wheel bearings (two sets down and one to go). SNL topped off the evening before system shutdown.

Sunday I wanted Deb to continue to recover so Jake and I went to church while she and Ian (now battling a cough) stayed home. After lunch I hopped out to the city park and got in 1:15hrs of running mostly the trails on the outer perimeter. That was my third hour+ run in as many days and although I am getting my 'running legs' back they were starting to feel the new type of workouts/loads (Monday is off). Returned in time to grab Ian and Deb to see Avatar (Jake was already going with a couple friends). Interestingly good flick, but maybe not as hyped as I hoped. I do want to see it in the 3D version though and imagine it would take it to the level I was expecting. Ian loved it. Got back home for a ton of Bananagram games with Deb before kicking back for a little Sunday Night Football.

Take a look at the below picture and you'll see the 'designer' print our cat made on one of Deb's sugar cookies...

The boys are hanging out together this week and Jake always does a good job of humoring his bro (when it is required). Jake pulled out a huge container of Legos the other day and Ian is having a great time playing with them. I mention this because historically Ian would set up toys for display and simply look at them, but this time he is creating various 'ships' and 'rockets' and playing. Along with this is the 20 hrs (per day) of SportsCenter for E. It's pretty nice for me as I don't have to watch and he gives me most stats and updates at request.

So they are killing tome together until we leave for South Dakota Wednesday night (that's right I said 'night'). Ian's last session game is at 8pm so we'll finish up around 9pm, grab some food for the road, drive by Bolivar on our way to 'however long I can make it before getting too tired'; hopefully somewhere near Omaha, NE. This will be the first Christmas for Deb's folks to host the holiday in their home in years. Everyone is looking forward to family time, snow mobiling, and skiing (and hopefully some of Jim's smoked ribs). I hope to get Jake and myself on some XC skis once or twice. During the visit Jake (along with Deb and I) is visiting Black Hills State University (one of two places for whom he is looking to run and study). The school is lining up a XC coach for him on the visit.

Ran across some info on an mid-Sept '10 event in Branson that has got me thinking... wouldn't mind going sub-5hrs again.