House-Hop and the Holidazzle

We had our neighborhood house-hop last weekend with about 12 couples joining in. It's always a fun time and usually a late night. The hit of the party was without question, Guitar Hero, at Tom and Mary Wignall's home. Neither Tammy nor I had ever played it before but that didn't stop Tammy from trying the classic over the head and behind the back position with the guitar once she got it strapped on. We both really sucked but had a great time trying.

Little does Tammy know that I went out and purchased a Play Station 2 the other night with intentions of buying Rock Band when it arrives in stores on Wednesday. A family Christmas gift. I can see Tammy and I entertaining ourselves for hours while Rachel looks on and wonders what's becoming of us. I think the three of us could put together a tight little band with just a bit of work. I'll be on the skins.

Rachel came home from school on Thursday and wondered if we could head into Minneapolis that night for the Holidazzle parade. It was a great idea and one I'd been kicking around the past couple weeks as well. The Lakeville Now and Then Singers were going to be performing in the parade and she wanted to see them. I think it's been five years since we've taken in the Holidazzle.

We bundled up and headed out with plenty of time to spare so we could hit a coffee shop once we got on the parade route. The temp was in the single digits and a hot cup in your hands helps keep the chill at bay. We brought hand warmers too.

The parade was what it always is, a bit on the lame side but still worth the effort to go see it. Anything for an excuse to get out and do something in the dead of winter in our part of the world is good enough for me.

After the parade, we headed up to the 8th floor of Macy's to see their animated Christmas display, their 45th annual. This year's feature was the Nutcracker.

It was a fun time and I, of course, had our video camera along...

I've been getting on my rollers several days a week trying not to lose the gains I've made. Indoor training can be a bit monotonous at times so I've got to have a diversion from the pain. I find that tapes and DVDs of bicycle races work well to distract me. I was watching some footage from the 2000 Tour de France and had it on the big screen. It was almost as though I was actually riding in the peloton...very cool...until the pack veered left to avoid a fallen rider and I veered left as well...right off my rollers. Quite funny actually but I've got to be more careful. We took some time yesterday to snap our family photo for our 2007 Christmas cards. If you're on our list you'll be seeing this photo again real soon. Notice what we put our poor pups through.

Comments

John A Hill said…
Great photo, funny video. Good luck with the Amazing Race thing.
Kevin Gilmore said…
John, thanks...the Amazing Race has been something we've been wanting to do for a few years.

They had a pair of Air Traffic Controllers from Chicago Center on a couple years ago. We haven't seen a father/stepdaughter combination yet so we're hoping they'll find that unique enough to consider us.

Getting time off work could well be the biggest obstacle. :(

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