Let the Yule Tide Chaos Begin

Mindy & I were awake near 7am but not out of bed until 730am. I headed downstairs first to prep coffee, exercise, and await the arrival of the boys, who were expected to show up somewhere close to 8am.

I'd just sat back down at my PC with a cup of coffee when I heard a car door. It was Lindsey dropping the boys. They were both happy and excited and smiling ear to ear. It didn't take long for the boys to pop the big question. Can we play Wii? Asked that we wait until the kids were up.

Mindy was up early and back to wrapping presents while did my best to keep the boys entertained. I left for a run near 9am. Both boys asked if they could join me. Sure, if you think you can keep up. Landon expressed disappointment when I didn't let him go. :) But by then we had a movie whirling in the Blu-Ray. I hoped that would not only keep them occupied, but also quiet. It was 36 degrees and cloudy when I headed out. I ran just three miles and felt terrific.

Mindy put a beef roast in the crock-pot and then left for Kroger. She was picking up a Honey Baked ham as well as some other stuff for our upcoming holiday celebrations. Of course Jacob and Bella were up by then and were interacting with the boys. Jacob and Rocky asked if they could slip off to the park to play. I agreed as long as they left without alerting Landon who was busy playing Wii.

Mindy was back around 1130am and asked me to brown sausage for her famous breakfast casserole while she showered. My mom arrived around 1230pm. She'd be staying with us through sometime Xmas day. My dad showed up a little bit later. Mindy was still in the basement wrapping presents at her make shift wrapping station.

Mom and dad left to visit the cemetery where aunt Linda's buried mid-afternoon. They were gone for roughly an hour. Jacob & Bella were leaving late afternoon to spend the night and celebrate Xmas with him. They'd be back home Xmas eve evening. Jimaken must've gotten off work a little early and was there sometime between 4-430pm.  Not long after they left, Mindy dished up the roast beef that had been cooking in the crock-pot all day. Rocky was much looking forward to it. It's his favorite dish. Dad opted not to have and roast. Instead, he left for brother Bob's Xmas celebration.

We weren't expecting Lindsey until some time after her usual get-off time of 730pm, but she showed up while we were enjoying dinner. She got off early for not being busy. She took a few minutes to enjoy some dinner before heading home with the boys. Before she left we did her finances.  Not expecting Lindsey to get off early, we had asked my mom to keep an eye on the boys while Mindy & I made a quick visit to Barley's. But given that Lindsey got out of work early, that was no longer necessary. We offered that mom join us, but she refused. She simply asked that we set the TV up for her. We also invited her to join us for the island Xmas party at the O'Connell's which was slated to start at 8pm. We planned to head over there as soon as we were back from Barley's.

I'm thinking we showed up at Barley's around 630pm.  Decent crowd but nowhere close to what we encountered Wednesday. We brought two growlers to be filled, but I didn't think that was going to happen after discovering that they were out of the Double Dog IPA. Manager Zach said that they sold well over 200 growlers that day. Said they ran out of three of their most popular beers.  I ordered a pint of Cousin Eddie from their guest selections, and then ordered a St Joan's for Mindy. Unbeknownst to me, Mindy had already ordered a glass of wine. By the way, they can't or won't sell growlers of their guest selections. Mindy and I agreed to finish our beers then head to CBC to have our growlers filled.

We spotted Atlanta Tim just over the half wall at a table with his biking buddy as well their dates. Mindy went to chat with him first. I joined them later. We heard through the grapevine that he's got a new gig with the railroad in North Carolina. I asked about that. Said it was indeed true but that he needs to sell his house here first.

Meanwhile, Mindy spotted a teacher friend, her baby and husband in a nearby booth. She went over and talked with them. And I think she gave her St Joan's to that woman's husband. I walked over to meet her teacher friend too while Mindy held their baby. I walked back to my peeps at the bar while Mindy carried on with her friend and the baby. At that point we still planned to leave and head to CBC to have our growlers filled, but by the time Mindy rejoined me at the bar a few other longtime peeps showed up (Bob and Carol and banker Dan). We decided to stay for another beer and have our growlers filled with Barleys Pale Ale & St Joan's.

While enjoying a Centennial off the firkin, I shared my recent Hyundai woes with the twins, Kurt and Kevin. They're car guys. If nothing else, I thought they might be able to impart some wisdom. I had to laugh when one of them asked if this was a long story. :) I could tell that I was boring them to tears with all the details.

Kurt advised that he has two Hyundai's and that they've been most reliable. Reminded me that online forums often give the wrong impression because you won't get anyone posting positive feedback. They both agreed, however, that we likely just got a lemon. Agreed that my best bet might be to trade it in.

It was 815pm. We were late for the island party. Mindy asked that I settle the bar tab so we could leave. In years past we have purchased gift cards for all of our Barley's servers. This year we didn't. Instead, I left a hefty tip when settling our bill.

Arrived home near 825pm. Once again, we invited mom to join us at the O'Connell's but she opted instead to head to bed. We wished mom a good night then quickly gathered the island gifts and walked down to the neighbors.

We arrived about 35-40 minutes late. By then, the small gathering was already in full swing. Mindy apologized for out unintended lateness and then quickly transitioned to passing out island Xmas gifts. I cracked one of the three bottled beers I brought. Interestingly enough, since roughly TG, I've been drinking growlered beer almost exclusively. Haven't been into the bottles much at all. Terri laid out a really nice spread of finger foods, including buffalo dip, summer sausage, and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and soaked in barbeque sauce.

We hung out for a couple hours easily. Towards the end of the evening Mindy & Terri got into a philosophical discussions regarding gays. Once again, it quickly turned heated with both expressing their strong but polar opinions. I really wished Mindy hadn't broached the topic since one could easily predict the outcome. We convinced the two of them to change the subject and move on to more common ground ... Christmas. Jesus Christ, can't we all just get along. It's Xmas! :)

Mindy and I headed home I'm guessing around 1130-12 midnight. I walked Eiknarf before we headed to bed. Let the yuletide chaos begin.