Well, at long last .. the much anticipated Christmas Blog from Champion Chores  ..  as you have probably heard by now, 905 Champion CT won the Columbus IN Christmas decoration competition ..   front page news in the local Republic!!  Following are just a few of the highlights ..

Welcome too the award winning Christmas home                                                                        

Award winning tree with a few of the early 

presents beginning to arrive.

The stockings are hung on the Chimney with care!

Where is Santa????

There is Santa and Mrs. Clause!!

Nativity Scene that Carolyn recently 

added to the annual decorations.

Ready for our Christmas feast ..

bring on the ham and tenderloin!!!

Then.. there is the wounded reindeer that finally found

                                        a resting spot after Riley attacked it a few years ago.

                                               

So now for a few snaphots of Christmas preparation at 905 .. 

Riley helping wrap presents on Christmas Eve.

Bailey supervising.

Photo op for the big guy!!  He sure does take a great pic.

Switching gears to earlier in the week ..  Morgan Elaine decided that she couldn't wait 

for Christmas of 2012 .. she wanted to be here to see Santa in 2011!!!

Morgan Elaine Trobaugh ..  just a few minutes old!!

Uncle Mikey after the long trek south ..  holding Morgan

in the hospital and practicing for baby Trueblood (on its way 

in June of 2012)!!  Rumor has it that he even changed a few

 of Ethan's diapers .. he is really gearing up. 

Wow .. now for the big Christmas eve presents .. get ready ..  set .. go!

Santa was really busy this year ..  a secret photo of Santa 

making the 50th trip down the chimney at 905!

The prizes awaiting those that know their state capitals

..  not many did .. took a loooooong time!!

Well, that is a wrap for the 1st annual Holiday Blog competition from Champion Chores ..  want to leave you with a copy of the 1st of many family home movies to come ...................

Jim's Clothes

Jim has been wearing Mike's clothes ever since Mike left a pile of clothes he didn't want anymore. Mike thinks most of the clothes were purchased when he was in 7th or 8th grade. Everyone makes fun of Jim's jeans. Here's a picture I took of Jim with a big engine. When I sent it to Mike, the only reply was- "looks good- that's not what he's wearing tomorrow, is it?"



After all this ribbing, Jim looked (for 30 seconds) for new jeans. A quick view through the racks proved 8th grade Abercrombie's are here to stay.



Here's a picture of current jeans for purchase. Looks like Jim's style!



He's so into it!



Getting closer!




Jim picked out the scruffiest pair with holes in both jeans to prove his point.

Abercrombie 8th grade rocks on!

Projects

I bought some yarn this summer to make a scarf. Well, I didn't buy enough yarn; so I ordered more online. I'm still working on my scarf. I tried the scarf on and realized its still too short and when you wear it on black the mohair in the yarn sheds all over you. (note-check label before buying yarn) I went to TJ Maxx and saw a similar scarf for $29.99. My yarn and materials is now up to $100.00. (includes shipping) One of my New Years Resolutions is to not start any new projects!

Well, Carolyn finally set me up on our blog so I can begin to tickle the keyboard ..  so this is just a warm up for the big competition ..  have a little first time jitters ..

Picking out our tree for 2021!

Looking forward to a fun Holiday season with everyone .. and of course the big blog competition .. the pre-season ratings just hit the airways !!!!!

1. Champion Chores
2. The Trobaugh Tribune
3. Is it Snowing yet?

Season starts on Thursday and ends on Saturday ..  good luck to everyone!

PS ..

The rules committee is a bit concerned about the team from the northern division ..  haven't seen much press from their practice sessions.


Yours Truly .. The Rules Committee

Christmas Surprises!

Jim surprises me every Christmas with.....still guessing....?? A complete car detailing including steam cleaning of my engine. The first time I received the gift, I asked why anyone would want their engine steam cleaned. Jim explained that the first thing you do when you buy a car is look under the hood at the engine. Now, if you know a Trueblood, you know that they keep their cars for life. A strong attachment occurs - like a bond to a child. So, I'm still not sure why my engine gets cleaned every year.

I passed 'Bob's Custom Car Wash' today and their "Buy Gift Certificates" sign was front and center. I'm hopefully looking forward to another year of a clean engine.

Organization

Organized people have always amazed me. I imagine their brain synapses waking every morning, standing at attention to receive their orders for the day. I imagine disorganized people's synapses looking like a bad hair day with their eyes half open.

It's with this image that I watched Ethan line his golden raisins on his high chair.



I had put a handful on his tray, but he quickly put them in a line.







The line up didn't last long, so there's hope!

Focused!

I want to share a few pictures of Jim playing golf. It's not to show off his stance, grip, or swing. It's to show his focus. He stays completely focused the entire round, and sometime even later when he does a synopsis of his play (seriously...I'm not kidding).

Now if only you could watch me play golf. I played 6 games of scrabble, wrote 7 text messages, researched Cyber Monday, and sent 4 emails today while playing.

Guess who's the better golfer?

Giving Thanks

Today is the day where we stop and take a minute to give thanks to all the people we love and who love us. (those are not necessarily mutually exclusive[2nd math term in a row])

Here are some things I will be giving thanks to today:




My Mom, who brings a smile to my face whenever I see her.





Jim, who still looks dang good in Mike's 8th jeans!



Ethan, Anne, and Corey; who let me be a part of their lives.




Riley, Mike, and Ali ( sorry you guys....you got represented by a wet dog)

And the rest of my wonderful family who I don't have a picture on my phone....yet!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Whoops....I almost forgot my car....so I don't have to travel in something like this:



Seriously...what would Jim Trueblood do with this!

Toddler Toys

I watched Ethan today while Anne had a work meeting on her vacation day. I'm not sure what you call a vacation day in which you go to work, but it's not a vacation day in my vocabulary. Regardless, I got to play with Ethan. And, I got to play with Ethan's toys.

While Ethan read to Bear, I worked on a puzzle. Ethan took his reading seriously.















After all this reading, Bear fell asleep.

Here is my finished puzzle. Understand each cube face has a different puzzle. There are 6 sides to a cube. I counted in case you are wondering (twice). So, this took me a long time to finish the puzzle. Ethan and I accused Bear of losing the missing piece.



I can't wait to be asked back. I'm going to work on another side of the puzzle!

Where's Waldo

We visited our art teacher's house on the last day of the workshop. The first thing you notice about the house is lots of fun things stuck into the tabby.

Like....her father's car keys


And a coffee cup.....




And what looks like a bracelet....and lots more things....if you can find them!




Some things stand out!





And some things are a little creepy....(these are old family tombstones removed when a road went through a cemetery) my teacher says she's a reincarnated twin from one of these stones...who says artists aren't crazy.




Here's the back of her house where some people painted on the porch.


Inside there are lots of pictures....everywhere!




This was my last painting of the workshop.




We ended the day with a pontoon boat ride....with a real motor! Here are some views from the boat.








It's been a fun three days in the Golden Isles.

Day #2

We spent the day at Clam Creek at Jekyll Island on our 2nd day. Jim and I had been to Jekyll, not never to this part of the island.

Here's a shot of our location.






Here's our teacher's interpretation.



Here's my semi finished painting. Semi since I woke up and made some changes. Clam creek is a curvy creek, but it's painted as zig zags. I took out the S curve at the bottom of the left corner.



We are spending the last day at our teacher's house. I can't wait to share the house with you. A true creative endeavor!