Serendipitous

Today was a sweet day. No, not perfect, which, I guess, goes against the title of my post. But, as I told Stephie, it was one of those days that you'll look back on and go, "remember the day we went to the parade and baked cookies and watched football - that was a really fun day".

So, I guess I don't need to post anymore since I just summed up our day. I took lots of pictures of us with the Quigleys, Whites, and Lisa's parents at the Springfield Christmas parade. The last time I went to this annual event was in 1989 - I know this because I participated in the parade as part of our high school's dance/drill team. I was excited to watch the "Cabaret" perform this year until I realized halfway through the event that I wasn't likely to see them or Thurston High School's band perform as the are competing tonight for the 5A State Football Championship. (I just checked, our "Colts" lost, how sad!). The parade was quite long, a bit lame, but festive nonetheless. We had a great time watching the kids enjoy themselves and hanging out with our own buddies.








Tonight, everyone re-convened here and watched some football while Steph assisted me in the kitchen to work on some of the 8 different baking recipes I'll be completing by Monday morning for the annual cookie-tray gifts to John's co-workers. With her help, the fudge looked to have been one of the best (and easiest) batches I've ever pulled off. I'm over half way done with the baking, so that will really help for tomorrow.

The only bummer for the day is that Mikayla has an ear that is really hurting. She's had a cold all week so it's not a big surprise, however, after our bad experiences in Hawaii with her ears, I don't feel like this is one of those things I should just wait out - particularly since I'm currently planning on heading to Woodburn on Monday (the kids will both have playdates after school), so I kind of need to have this issue settled. Perhaps a visit to Urgent Care will be on the schedule for tomorrow (maybe I'll make that the "Countdown Calendar" activity for the day!).

Oh, I should also note that John and I had a great time Friday night for John's work's Christmas party. It was held at Tyson and Gjusta's house - with catered prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, truffles, etc., etc. Tyson and Gjusta have a beautiful home and are wonderful hosts (as well as boss...), and to top it off, Gjusta enjoys giving presents to the "wives and giflfriends" of the 5 guys that work for them, so I walked away with a gorgeous crushed velvet cinnamon scarf and a gift certificate for a spa pedicure. Lucky me! The evening also gives me a chance to catch up with my dear friend, Liz, the wife of the previously mentioned gifted singer, Scott (who has worked together with John for nearly as long as we've been married). She's one of those people that I see rarely these days, but time virtually stands still when it comes to catching up and our love for each other.

=) Challenge, Day Five: This was an easy one, I had signed up a long time ago to bring treats in to the staff of the kids' school. That definitely evoked some smiles.

=) Challenge, Day Six: Not such an obvious smile occasion - I brought some cookies to the parade which made the Quigleys smile - and we made an effort to compliment one of our neighbors on his efforts at putting up lights as we drove home today.