After Christmas and a New year

I thought that I would share some pictures of our favorite gifts.  Mom got me a Nerf Gun it was great, better than all the other neat stuff she gave me.  I have had a great time in the week between Christmas and New Year making great shots when she was not expecting it.  Now I can't find it.  It is just like the fates to have your best stuff gone when you were enjoying it the most.
Mom lost the Diamond in her anniversary ring, so I took it to the Jeweler and since it was the center stone replaced it with a Ruby.  I think it looks great.  Mom likes it too. 
Bruce and Tara came to see us the Tuesday of the week before Christmas.  They could not come to the family party at Melodies house so we had a great visit and exchanged gifts.  They as so tied down with the job they have at the shelter home.  He is going to School while they work and is still on course to get the degree he is working for. 

We had Todd and Shelly come to spend New Years Eve with us.  We went on the Square to share in the First Night events.  The Island  dancers were really good and the last event was just what Mom wanted, John Schmidt put on a great performance.  He played the Piano with his foot and all the weird stuff he does.  

We were working on the Square when Utah played in the Sugar Bowl, so we missed the fun when they beat up on Alabama.

Story about Christmas Past. 

When the kids were still very small and I was working as a Radiographer.  I was asked to go to Nevada just before Thanksgiving for a few days.  We went and found that we had been assigned to work as welding inspectors on the encasement sphere at the Nevada Test Site.  We were to go down in the bottom of a very deep shaft where they were going to place a nuke for testing and see that the the welding was done properly.  Time went by and I could not go home, more time passed, three months, until the job was finished on the 24th of December.  

I got up early in the morning and drove home so I could be there for Christmas.  I was so excited to come in the house after dark on Christmas eve to great my family after so long of a separation.  I walked in my home to find Mom finishing the Christmas that she had prepared. She was really glad to see me.  Todd, Melody and Clay were all in bed waiting for Santa to come.  They heard the commotion and came running down the stairs shouting Santa, Santa, Santa.  Todd got down stairs and saw what was really going on and said "Oh it is only Dad".

I didn't have any gifts so after giving my wife a kiss I went looking for a store that would be open on Christmas Eve after 10:00 pm, the only store I could find was a "Grand Central Market".  I did get some gifts and I found that the prices are pretty good late Christmas Eve even if the clerks were a little bit grouchy.