Black Friday...

Well, they don't know it yet, bit the boys are proud owners of an iPod Touch and a Nintendo DS lite. So, any games or iTunes giftcards would probably be appreciated. Aunt Jill already bought two games for the boys, so don't get these:







Also, if you aren't in California, but would like the boys to open your gifts on Christmas (that is when they will open their electronics), ship them to my parents' address. If you don't have it, email me. I don't want to post it here.

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Skype and spoiled..

We heard from both the Guthrie and Kasal sides of the family today. Miss you guys! Here is a quick glimpse of the Skype conversation from our end:

Also, our remaining dog is finding herself quite spoiled. Rodney's heart has soften toward her (for the time being) and she can do anything she wants, apparently, including laying on the furniture. She now has her own pillow by the couches in the living room, for when she gets tired of lounging on the furniture. Just for record, don't let her melancholy expression fool you. Marble does not at all appear to miss Ripley. In fact, she stretches out across the ex-pen at night, taking up as much space as possible. Plus, she has been bouncing around the house like a puppy, inviting Rodney (of all people) to play. I guess she is living up to her canine gender...

Thanksgiving 2010...

The Guthrie's had their third annual Thanksgiving poker game and both ended up winners. Can;t ask for more than that! After all the guests went home, I got busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, Jessica cooked. Seriously. And, with the baking yesterday and the cooking today, I think I am good on the cooking front for another year. It's kind of like wearing a dress to the Marine Corps prom - once a year is just perfect.

The boys thought it was weird that Mom was cooking, but Dad enjoyed sitting around making fun of Mom while she cooked. The house did not burn down and all of the food turned out beautifully: Roasted turkey from Honeybaked (thanks Pen Air), gravy, sweet potato casserole (a nod to the mother), almond green beans (found on the Internet and VERY tasty), rolls, stuffing (Pepperidge farms stuffing I got cheap from the "bread man" at work - 75 cents!), deviled eggs (a nod to the mother-in-law) and cranberry sauce. Topped it all off by heating up a frozen Dutch Apple Pie and making it a la mode. And we should have enough leftovers to keep Rodney happy for at least 36 hours (nod to the spouse.) Funny moment: Xan wanted to know who shot the turkey.

Pre-Thanksgiving baking...

... the boys and I baked cranberry-orange bread last night, a recipe that Will brought home from school this week. He had a substitute teacher this week and she brought the bread to class. Of the four loaves we made, only the two baked in the metal pans (versus the glass pan) turned out tasty. It was still fun.

My 34th birthday...

The gift from my co-workers.

Rodney cooked dinner and he and the boys brought in a cupcake cake for me. And Will tricked me in to standing up so he could give me 34 spankings. At least he eliminated the one to grow on.

Special guests, sweaters and slutty shoes...

On Thursday, Will was allowed to bring a "special guest" to lunch at his school. He brought his Daddy and they both had a great time.


With Ripley's passing, Marble has been cashing in on the extra attention. Rodney found a sweater for her in the dollar aisle at Target. It was a bit small for her, but with some alterations, she was sporting it just fine. Rodney suggested we have her in our family Christmas pictures and I was not going to argue. ;) We were going to have family pictures this weekend, but Xan got a black eye horsing around this morning, so pictures have been postponed.


Xan is mastering the (computer) mouse. He's been practicing while he plays Lego computer games and caught on very quickly. Of course, Will was more than happy to coach him.

And here is my favorite birthday card so far...

Surprisingly enough it was from Grandma and Grandpa.... Thanks, guys!

Flowers and cards...

I forgot to post a picture of the kids' Halloween cards - thanks to all of you who sent them.

We also came home today to a delivery: our vet sent us flowers for Ripley. very thoughtful.

RIP, Ripley...

... Ripley passed over the Rainbow Bridge today. While tests were inconclusive, pretty much everything but a tumor or neurological problem were ruled out, neither fix-able. He got progressively worse the past two weeks, and finally couldn't walk this morning. We put him to sleep. He will be cremated and buried with Slade in Illinois.

We will miss his happy, fun personality, and his 70-pound lapdog tendencies. Evenings just won't be the same without him making a quick tour to each family member to get pet and then sitting by the fridge waiting for his Puperoni treat. Or him putting his head on my laptop keyboard so I would pet him instead of type. And, of course, our laps will be colder this winter without him. Good-bye Ripley-Dip. Thank you for the 9 1/2 years of laughs and kisses.

Ball and hibachi...

... I forgot to take my camera to the ball... (what?!), so I am depending upon my iPhone and other people's photos. Also, Peggy did not have her camera, so not too many photos of the boys this weekend while they were at the air show and beach.

This could have been a nice photo...


At lunch after I got my hair did.





Apparently, red was the color for the year. If I had know I would have chosen a different color. ;) Rodney was too busy making a bar run to get in the accompanying Marine photos, so please don't think I am just all about ME!


And, finally, Peggy and the boys at hibachi.

Holiday gift ideas...

If anyone is pondering holiday gift ideas for the Guthrie's, here are some ideas:

Will - Will is a size 10 in clothes, size 5.5 in a shoe (almost in mens!). He is fond of Pokemon cards, silly bandz, Legos and Nintendo DS games (shhh... the boys are getting one for Christmas).

Xan - Xan is a size 5 in clothes and a size 12.5 in shoes, although he has plenty of clothes thanks to Will's hand-me-downs and a recent shopping trip. He likes Legos (especially the people), monster trucks and superhero figurines.

Rodney - Call him for ideas.

Jessica - I want an iPad with WiFi and 3G. Just thought I would throw that in there in case someone won the lottery and wanted to buy me something nice. :) Barring that, a gift certificate to Amazon.com would be nice, or to this scrap site: http://www.embellishonline.com/product/gift . They carry my favorite line of paper, Basic Grey. iTunes gift card is good, too.

Blind golf, the Macarena and tough B's...

As a team building exercise, the Marketing and Business Development departments played mini golf - blindfolded. I was teamed up with our military liaison, John for this segment.

Will got his first report card from Hellen Caro last week. While he was disappointed in the B's at first, I think he has now gotten over it. He's doing 5th-grade work in some cases. He did get on the A-B honor roll and had perfect attendance.

We went to the Ice Flyers game Saturday with some tickets from work. While the game was fun, the boys especially enjoyed dancing with one of the Ice Flyer's Flight Attendants. Will was more focused on learning the Macarena than Xan was... obviously.

Will got his shot of Rodney and I. Not too bad, I guess...

And, last, but not least, is Will's 3rd grade picture. Xan does not have a counterpart because he refused to have his photo taken. Don't worry, grandparents. We have a Plan "B."