Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you in blogland! Every year, my very creative hubby writes our family letter (family consists of hubby, me, and our 2 mini schnauzer "kids"). Friends and family alike chomp at the bit until our letter arrives in their mailbox. B has a way of making our antics throughout the year humorous and interesting...below is this year's installment...I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


Land of Ah’s

If you’re looking to lose a little weight, try a quick trip to Ireland. In March we took a seven-day trip to attend a real Irish wedding. B promptly went on a hunger strike for the first 72 hours, refusing to partake in blood pudding and mutton. The Irish wedding (in a castle!) was cool and the links golf was cooler (50 degrees!) and the photo taken beside the only statue in the world of slick Willy Clinton was, well, odd. But not as odd as driving on the left side of the road all week. Watch out for those side mirrors, Sally! Watch out for knackers!

In June the "S" family reunion was at every child’s (and Papa Joe’s) favorite place – Disneyland. While at Disneyland we learned that you can fit 10 tired people in the cab of a Ford F-350. We also learned that Sally will NOT buy cheap ice cream and that B has not lost his basketball shooting skills. Sally finally put her buffet prejudice aside (“I will NOT eat at any buffet restaurants!”) and we had a great buffet family dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen. While at dinner Dan and Jana® educated us on the ‘greatest sport in the world – soccer!’ and on the evils of a mafia-run organization called Young Life.

In July our dreams of moving to Kansas came true – more on that later. But first, a final shopping trip to old Mexico. During our day-trip (we refuse to be in Tijuana after dark) we made many new friends (“Come into my shop, Gringo, I will rip you off less!”) ate some questionable food (“Yes, Gringo, this is real beef!”) and spent our hard-earned American dollars on hard-to-find items like leather belts, cheap jewelry and real Cuban cigars (“Just like Castro smokes, Gringo!”).

Ah, yes, the move to Wichita. Why Kansas? B has a top ten list of reasons why – just ask him. (No smog, quality golf, English-only -- to name a few.) Three days of driving was all it took. We are only slightly scarred from the hotel-on-the-wrong-side–of-the-tracks disaster in Gallup, N.M. Ask Sally about this. And we are only slightly upset about the road-under-construction-rocks-cracking-windshield experience in Amarillo. Ask B about this. And we are only slightly perturbed about the no-pets-allowed-in-this-hotel fiasco in Weatherford, OK. Ask Rerun and Lucy about this. Otherwise, a fine trip.

We cannot end this letter without a Chiefs update. Two weeks ago we visited Arrowhead Stadium to see the mighty Chiefs triumph over the hapless Raiders. That makes it seven victories in a row over the ‘Raider Nation’. Giddy-up. Now that’s a Merry Christmas!