Grandpa's 80th

Today was my Grandpa Nielsen's 80th birthday party.

To celebrate, we went to the Highland Forest park and relaxed in the lodge then went on a sleigh ride. After the ride, we went to Sweet Basil for dinner.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!!!!!!!

Birthday crown

Birthday boy!!!

Grandma and Grandpa

Mom and Jonna with the horses

...after feeding them sugar from the concession stand

Nomnomnom

The crown

Happy 80th (with assorted candy)

big 8-0!!!!!

100 Thing I Hate

My list is complete. I have been working on it for over a year.
These are the 100 things I hate most in the world; now you can see them and know.

1. clowns
2. spiders
3. when people chew with their mouths open
4. when people chew loudly at all
5. when people put milk in soup
6. when people tip their bowls to get the rest of whatever is in there and scrape with their spoon
7. moody people
8. being tickled
9. hopeless messes
10. hopeless people
11. tasteless food
12. being wet unneccesarily
13. when people use the computer for stupid stuff when I actually have work to do
14. cat poop
15. preps
16. fake rapping
17. wusses
18. mud throwing
19. when people yawn loudly unneccesarily
20. loud hiccups
21. airy burps
22. hard pizza
23. other people's obsessions
24. waving cobwebs
25. broken or peeled crayons
26. fake fingernails tapping
27. being shot with nerf guns randomly
28. bad singers who think they are good
29. lines of things that aren't straight
30. people who swear just to be "cool"
31. people whose feet are too big for their sandals
32. boasters
33. ear/nose hairs
34. electronics that don't work
35. being told what to do
36. when people yawn and spit stretches in their mouths
37. when people have boogers sticking out of their noses
38. drama-queens older than 10
39. when people leave the hair dryer out
40. when people don't flush the toilet
41. when people leave the bath mat down
42. when people leave their belongings in my bedroom
43. when people bug me over and over while I am trying to concentrate
44. when people spit
45. when people try to spit gum into the trashcan but totally miss
46. when people spit gum out onto the parking lot
47. chemistry
48. trigonometry
49. dried cherries
50. room temperature milk
51. bananas
52. grape juice
53. when people mutter things when they are angry, that I hear...
54. liver
55. being sassed
56. failing tests
57. headaches
58. stomach aches
59. being told who I am
60. being told I can't do it
61. being called a liar
62. crybabies
63. annoying people who think they're funny
64. smug expressions
65. loud people
66. broken yo-yos
67. wet nail polish smearing
68. the sound of metal on ceramic (or glass)
69. when people ruin my mood
70. when I break
71. bullies
72. long toenails
73. having to be jealous
74. when people move away
75. missing people
76. obnoxious people
77. smelly people
78. slurping
79. waiting
80. being rushed
81. when people skip 1-foot-wide rows in their lawn because it's wet
82. when people leave the steep little hills in front of their houses unmowed
83. loud music played quietly
84. when people talk [loudly] during movies/concerts
85. when people talk about others in front of them
86. when people laugh at nothing
87. being replaced
88. poor people (that there are any)
89. being helpless
90. driving next to big trucks
91. grape pie
92. when people ignore me while they finish eating or brushing their teeth for like a minute
93. when my foot's fast asleep and I move it and it's all tense and 'waaaah!'
94. being late
95. when the bus stops on a bridge
96. when peoples' boots wear out crooked
97. being scared
98. not being in control
99. being dependent
100. sleeves folded up a little or hoods inside out

Winter

As of yesterday, January 13th, 2012, winter is here!
It's been warm, sunny, mushy, and rainy. For those of us here in NY who actually enjoy the cold and the snow, it sucked. But now IT'S HERE!

A bus went off the road at the middle school. The brilliant
guys at the bus garage tried to pull it out with a truck...
surprisingly, it didn't work.

New bus hut

Looking up the driveway. Yep, there's a house up there.

So thick and wet and beautiful

This morning Jessie, Lissa and I went out and frolicked for half an hour; we really tore the place up. But first, I ran out and took a few snowy morning pics: 

Bird foot prints mixed with birdseed

Sumac

Berries

Maxwell the Owl

Eating snow
(that's her tennis ball next to her face, not yellow snow)

Christmas/New Years

We had a progressive dinner with singing, gaming, movies, presents, and sleeping between courses. Jonny came after work, Uncle Pete showed up with desserts (to add to the pile of death Kara and Aaron brought) in the later afternoon, and we partied it up. Crazy, crazy us.

The Swedish Chef strapped down with matches and
Christmas lights. Feel free to come to your own conclusion.

I am addicted to colored goldfish.
(The purple ones are the best) 

Daddy ;)

Pilot Jessie

Sisters :)

Presents

Movie night ingredients

Look at that adorable face!

Cutie pies :)

Syracuse-looking hat

Peanut M&Ms

More presents

Sibs

Bows and ribbons overwhelm me.
I have to do something with them

We played sorry...

I AM THE CHAMPION
(this is where I break into song and anger others)

"It's sooo late! You guys are all crazy! It's
gotta be past 10! Waaay past my bedtime!"

Story time

Awwwww sleepy boy!

There's something about my family and fire...

Sitting with sleeping boy

Cheez-its, cheez-its, cheez-its, shrimp!

Still sleeping...

10:30pm and she's out cold...

We watched Bourne Ultimatum, Star Trek, Svengoolie, and the ball drop (and the memorable reporter kissing-random-cop incident)... It was a night of food, family, and fun.

Let the new year begin!

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