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Merry Christmas to family and friends near and far! I realize it's a day late, but Christmas day can be a bit hectic in this house. Things are settling down now and the kids are playing with their new stuff.

There were a few funny incidents yesterday. As we were pulling out of the church's parking lot, Michael told us in a complete sentence that he didn't have his precious stuffed lamb. It's been happening more and more lately that he absent mindedly leaves his lamb some place but then obsesses once he realizes he's without it. We're just glad he told us early and not once we were half way home.

Another funny thing was to realize once we put the boys down for their naps that we had overlooked one bag of presents. So for short while it was like a "second hit" of the Christmas morning chaos as another bundle of gifts were opened.

Some (dis)assembly required - One thing I've noticed lately is how many kid toys are strapped to their packaging with about a half dozen plastic coated twist ties these days. As the boys would open their cars, airplanes, and trucks, they inevitably wanted me to get them out of the boxes right away. "Help! Open it!" This really slowed down the momentum on Christmas morning as I had to cut/untie all the ties holding the toys in place.

Cranky Michael - For unknown reasons Michael didn't fall asleep for his afternoon nap. This made for a rather whiny evening. Luckily he got over his tired irritability and we were still able to salvage the evening.

Bruce Almighty - That evening Michelle and I watched Bruce Almighty. While I've had hit or miss luck with Jim Carrey, I enjoyed Bruce Almighty. I recommend watching the deleted scenes that are available on the DVD. It's a bit of a shame that the many of the scenes were deleted. They added a bit to the character and story development.

Mario Kart - Thanks again to Chris and Katie for giving us Mario Kart - Double Dash. We played a little of it last night and enjoy it so far. So far we've just played a few time trials to get a feel for the controls before we do any multiplayer modes. What I love about games like Mario Party, Mario Golf, and Mario Kart is that they take themselves less seriously. That way they appeal to Claire and Abby as well as Michelle and me.

There were so many gifts from friends and family that we are thankful for but I don't have time to list them. I have to get back to my family duties for now. Merry Christmas! Enjoy your holiday break!