The picture on the right shows Gordon (oldest of the three) playing a game with his sister, Sophia (shown here from the rear) while his little brother Ben looks on. Closer examination of the picture will reveal how thoroughly destroyed my house was after the opening of presents, and that Ben had a considerable amount of chocolate sticking to his face.
On the left is a picture of Sophia playing with one of the most popular presents, an air hockey table that was given to Gordon, but enjoyed by all. In the upper right corner, you can see the gerbil tank containing our darling gerbils, Marshmallow and Peanut. You will also notice gobs of gift wrap hastily and sloppily shoved in the corner.
On the right is my wonderful husband, Jim. Like Bob
Cratchitt, he works hard 364 days of the year, and is taking
a well-earned break. You may notice the cord of the heating
pad lodged under his back, he has had back problems ever
since our children were old enough to beheld. I'm certain
that this is a co-incidence. He is comfortably attired in a
pair of typical Navy command sweatpants and a Planetary
Society t-shirt. He has a close friend who works for the
Planetary Society who periodically treats us with little
goodies like that. You can see the back of Ben's head has
he connives to get his old man off his back and playing with
him.
The picture to the left is of yours truly, engaging in the holiday tradition of calling the relatives and thanking them for
t-shirts are Girl Scout t-shirts. Notice also the Gameboy setting prominently on the table - playing electronic games is the
number one pastime of my family. My husband prefers Quake and flight simulator
games, Gordon is passionate about Final Fantasy, Sophia likes Road Rash (motor
cycle racing - go figure) and Frogger, Ben likes Pajama Sam, and I like Civilization.
Yes, there are pokemon games in the mix (see below).
A boy and his Pikachu - Here, Benjamin is closely
examining his sister's favorite Christmas gift - an electronic
Pikachu. If you don't know what a pikachu is, it's the most
adorable of the pokemon. If you don't know what a
pokemon is, you must be from another planet. Pokemon is
only the hottest fad to hit this country in years. Anyway, this one has cheeks that light up,
ears that wiggle, and it talks. I don't know why this is so exciting for an 8 year old, but my 3
year old thinks it's absolutely magical. Another special new toy is behind him - a Hippity Hop.
I remember wanting one of these when I was a child, they looked like so much fun. My
mother refused, saying that it wouldn't last, that it would pop and be useless in no time. I don't
know if she's right, but I do know that this one has lost air in the past 24 hours.
What comes around, goes around - while Ben
is playing with his sister's toys, Sophia is
helping her self to Ben's loot. She is sitting on
Ben's rocker, resting her smelly feet on Ben's
Hippity Hop, surrounded by Ben's toys, old and
new, and probably is eating Ben's candy to boot. Notice the mischievous
smile of someone who is doing something that she knows she isn't
supposed to be doing, and getting away with it to boot.
I'm sure you've also noticed the tangle of Playstation wires hanging by the TV. I was amazed to discover that no child had bothered to awaken me on Christmas morning, that at 9 a.m., I was still comfortably in bed. I got up, curious as to why no creatures were stirring, when I found my evil spawn parked in front of the TV, playing Road Rash, and totally ignoring the colorful plethora of gifts under the tree. It was enough to make me want to drag it all back to the store.
No description of our holidays would be complete without a picture of the centerpiece of our festivities, the tree.
I hope your festivities were as much fun as ours.