Santa Brunch

We had a wonderful time this eyar at the Santa Brunch out at the Country Club. Grandma Barbi joined us for a delightful morning with good food and good conversation.

Max and his friend Riley cheesed for the camera. What a strapping young pair!

Max loves Santa. Bella and Brighton love Santa as well (or "ho, ho, ho" as Brighton calls him), but they do NOT like sitting on Santa's lap. So. . .Mom decided to sit on Santa's lap with Brighton, hoping this would alleviate her concerns. It didn't work, but we got a picture (and some laughs from our friends watching) in the process.

The Murphy Family Christmas Card

As you all know, each year we do a photo Christmas card so our friends and family can see how fast the kidlets are changing, which is much faster than their mom and dad would like. As I was struggling over which of the 80 photos to utilize for our card this year, I decided to give those of you who have forgotten the TORTURE that is getting three (or two, or even one) little ones to look at the camera and smile SIMULTANEOUSLY a little refresher. These are only a fraction of our cast-offs; there are many, many more. When you receive your Christmas card you will see which picture (none of these, thankfully) made the final cut. It wasn't perfect, but after 80 shots I was pleased to get one with all three of my little cherubs staring into the camera lens at the same time. Now, if I could only finish my shopping.

Chicago!

The wonderful city of Chicago, taken from the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center.

For the partnership meeting this year, my firm decided to carry on some business from the wonderful city of Chicago. Myself and Gavin joined Carey Matovich and her husband, Bob, and Geoff Keller, and his significant other, Paige, for a long weekend in the Windy City. We had so much fun eating and drinking, shopping and eating and seeing the sights and . . . eating. Wonderful food, great Christmas cheer (the decorations on Michigan Avenue were spectacular), and fabulous company; we truly had an amazing weekend. I just feel so blessed to work (and play) with such terrific people.

The second night were were in Chicago, Geoff and Paige and Gavin and I headed to Kinston Mines for some Chicago Blues. It was AMAZING music, and a casual (but packed) little joint that turns out to be famous for its blues. The singer in the band pictured below is actually up for Blues Singer of the Year. We were fortunate to catch him. Paige and I had an amazing time dancing while Geoff and Gavin watched (and shook their heads).

Below is the crew at 3:00 a.m. (I know, we are party ANIMALS) leaving Kingston Mines. Tired, yes, but only after some good cheer and great blues.

I love the below picture of Gavin and I. We were outside the Chicago Blues Center and it was snowing (obviously). The camera picked up the snow and the activity at this early hour on Saturday morning. The next day we headed out for an authentic Chicago hotdog and fries at Al's Italian Beef. It hit the spot. We also saw Jersey Boys, which was a great production (story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons).
Gavin and I missed the kids, but enjoyed the opportunity to have some adult time and remember how much we enjoy each other's company even without the pitter-patter of little feet. It gave us the chance to remember the little things that drew us to one another before diapers and kids took over our lives. We had an amazing time.

The Polar Express

On Saturday Dad treated us all to a wonderful trip on the Copper King Express' Christmas train ride, which the kids called "The Polar Express." It actually was once referred to as the Polar Express before they got busted for copyright infringement and had to change the name to "The North Pole Express," but, that is another story as told by one of the "elves." We all had a great time and really enjoyed the train ride. Ryan, Dad and Gavin enjoying some very manly conversation before we deparated from the station. Ryan is Kendall's boyfriend.

Mom, me, Kendall and Bella (representing three generations) pose above. Bella spent most of the trainride protected from the Grinch between her Grandma and her Auntie.

Max and Bella were more than happy to give Santa a big hug, while Brighton sang Jingle Bells with glee below. She screams "hey" at the top of her lungs everytime the song gets to "laughing all the way. " It is rather adorable, and here she is throwing her arm in the air to scream "hey" while the whole train sang. The Grinch jumped on the train in Fairmont and stole our packages. Santa was able to get them back, however, much to everyone's relief.

Flying with Grandpa

I got to go for a flight with Dad in the Husky on Friday. It was a beautiful day for a flight, and a great opportunity to see the Ranch from the air. This little plane allows Dad to fly low and check cattle, as well as check for trespassers hunting without permission, which is what we did. I felt like a vigilante! It was fun and invigorating, but I was glad to be back on firm ground (my stomach was pleased as well).

The big thumbs up before take-off. And finally, our take-off, from the field right in front of the house.

Ranch Life, Continued

Ranch life is the good life, especially when your five and your grandparents like to spoil you. Grandpa and Grandma have four wheelers (five year old size) for the kids to ride when we are at the Ranch, and boy do we like to ride them. Thankfully, Grandpa and Grandma also have great helmets (stylish, too) for the kids to wear while they're cruising.

Daddy and Max enjoyed using the binoculars to look at the deer that were ample in the fields behind the house. Gavin thought about stepping off the back deck and shooting one, but decided against it (he did hunt on Wednesday with Uncle Joe and his buddy, Scott Mackney).

Below is my Maxer checking out the deer with Dad's binoculars. It was very exciting once he discovered what he could actually see with them.

Here Max and Bella pose with their Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Rice. Max told Great-Grandma over the weekend how lucky he was to have "three Great-Grandmas." He actually has two, but thinks that Cindy Curnow, Connor's Grandma, is also a Great. We think this is because he knows that Cindy is not Daddy's mom or Mommy's mom, so she must be a Great!Max and Great-Grandpa enjoyed watching some good boob-tube together.

And the next night, Maxer watched the boob-tube with his Great Grandma.

Auntie Kendall, Grandma, Brighton and Bella snuggled up to watch movies (below).Finally, we spent a fair amount of time in the pool. Auntie Kendall was nice enough to give Gavin and I a night off (from the pool) on Friday. She swam that night and . . .
Gavin watched with a beer and a cigar. Ahhhhh . . . Ranch life is the good life.

Kickin' it Ranch Style

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Ranch this year and enjoyed being out in the sticks and becoming one with the land. Not really one with the land, but we did head out to feed the horses on Thanksgiving Day. The llamas were out and about as well, which was very exciting. Max and Bella "touched" the horses (okay, so we don't spend a lot of time with the horses while we're at the ranch, and the kids are, thankfully, very cautious).

Here's Auntie Kendall bringing Auntie Ali's old mare, Bonnie, in for some grain. Bonnie is about 200 years old in horse time. She is 27, I believe, and starting to struggle with her age. Because she gets kicked out when trying to eat hay, Ali (or Kendall when she is home) grains her to keep some weight on.

Here we are "touching" Benny. The kids rubbed his nose a bit until Benny started getting angry that we were graining Bonnie (he wanted some, too). Benny then kicked the metal gate, which gave us all a start.

Brighton enjoyed the horses as well. Here she is holding Bonnie's halter while Bonnie ate her grain contentedly. This took 45 minutes because Bonnie is so old and it is difficult for her to chew. Poor girl. As you can see, Brighton even donned her ranch jacket for the occasion (Bella isn't too crazy about the brown, she preferred her purple coat and dress - but check out the cowboy boots!).