In December?

Troy's sister and her family arrived today and are spending several days with us. The day they leave, my brother and sister-in-law will get in. I think we're going to have family at our house for the next nine days or so. I doubt I'll be posting much. Because, cousins and uncles and aunts, oh my.

Things I still need to post about include the final days of THE ELVES ARE WATCHING YOU SO KNOCK IT OFF. Also, CHRISTMAS! And don't let me forget to tell you about the GREAT CHICKEN STORY of 2012.

I'll get to it. In time.

For now, I leave you with two things. The first is a conversation overheard here in Doozleberrydom. (Wow, haven't used that moniker in awhile!) Several days ago we were sitting around. Well, I was standing around because my oldest child had decided that our cookies were not festive enough for Santa and so we had to bake more with FESTIVENESS and SPRINKLES! I was mixing and preheating and Garrett was sitting at the table drawing a picture.

"Mom?" he began. "I am trying to write 'Savior' and I already did the 'S' and the 'A' but I forget what letter says vuh." Now, mind you, he is reading these days and must have just had a temporary brain cramp because he totally knows the answer.

Matthew, who was busy bouncing to and fro with all the energy that I used to have didn't even pause or contemplate or think about it. He just looked at his brother and said, "It's the 'V.'"

And Garrett said, "Thanks, Matt!" The three-year-old helping out the six-year-old, gotta love it.

Also, completely unrelated, my husband bought me a requested brown jacket for Christmas. Well, the jacket was requested but not a specific one. I liked the one he picked out but it was slightly, ever so slightly, tight across my shoulder blades. I decided to exchange it for another one. He bought it at Target so I was anticipating a horrendous return line. I waited approximately thirty seconds. Score one for Target! I made the return and then went in search of another one.

The coats were on clearance. In the place of where they used to be hung rows and rows of swim suits.

People. This is Utah. This is December. It is currently snowing outside and the temperature is at least two degrees under miserable. I really feel like they're missing their market.

They had no brown jackets. Well, except one but it was U.G.L.Y. you ain't got no alibi ugly. (Uh. 80's flashback. Sorry.) Kohl's had very few (but they did have a ridiculously long return line). I decided to check Sears. I scored a brown coat--regularly $160 for A LOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS. It was, in fact, only barely more than my husband had spent at Target (and I'd since accumulated money from my grandparents so it all worked out brilliantly in the end).

Except that I started picturing myself in a bathing suit and now I want to throw out all of our leftover Christmas sweets. So, boo for that.