Adiós Papá Noel

Christmas has come and gone. It was a pretty good time considering that I am almost 1,000 miles away from home. We had a good time with Tops and them on Christmas eve. The truck decided that it wanted to give us some problems on the way there. It kept running hot and on the way home that night the water pump went kaput. We turned around and parked it at Top's house and Willie brought us home....sweeet Willie. Their mechanic is going to take a look at it and hopefully get 'er up and runnin' again. ****UPDATE**** They called and told us that it's gonna' be all of about $150 to get the 'ole danger ranger back on the road. YIPEE!!!
Once we were home we did the Santa thing and was getting ready for bed when we heard this loud explosion. It wasn't a firework kind of boom, it was more muffled, as if it exploded in an enclosed area. Clint immediately went into "war mode". He said, "What in the HELL was that? That sounded like freakin' incoming." We jumped up and went out onto the patio and immediately could see and smell smoke and heard car alarms in our parking lot going off. So it was obvious that it was close by. We came back inside and then "BOOM" heard it again. So yeah, that really got Clint's attention. He put on some clothes, grabbed his cell, and rushed outside. He hopped on his motorcycle and did a quick run around the neighborhood, and came back still clueless as to what it was. He could see smoke and stuff, but there was no sign of anything else. I can only imagine that it was a bunch of kids who thought it would be a good idea to throw a firework in a garbage bin or something of the sorts. Who knows. So that was our drama for the night. It was definitely a time for me to count my blessings that my husband was home for the holidays. For him, noises like that have been life or death situations. I'm just so glad he's home!
On a lighter note, CJ got lots of good stuff from good 'old Santa. His new Hot Wheels bicycle is definitely his most prized possession. We gave his Harley Davidson bike to Noah because CJ was outgrowing it and we knew Santa would be bringing him one. We told CJ that if he didn't get rid of it that Santa would see that he already had a bike and might not get him a new one. That was convincing enough. Tops and Willie got him the neatest gift. It came with roller blades, a small skateboard, knee and elbow pads, hand guards, and a helmet. The roller blades are so tiny! They fit CJ perfectly and have let out room so he can use them for a while to come. Mama and Greg got him a hand made wooden log truck. We are going to buy some paints and him and his daddy can have them a "boy project". His Gma and Gpa Parks got him some Lincoln logs and a shave/hygeine kit. It was sooooo ironic b/c those are the EXACT things that Clint and I looked and looked for to get him but couldn't find it. Good thing!
As for Kiley Bug... she seemed to have gotten all she wanted this year. I sent her an "IClops". It's a cool hand held microscope of sorts. Also some clothes and hair accessories. Unfortunately her father told her that Santa Claus did not exsist. Well, not that he didn't EXSIST, but that he isn't a big old hairy guy with a sleigh and reindeer. He told her that Santa is everyone who loves her and buys her gifts. Apparently she was heartbroken at the fact that it appeared as though he didn't get her any presents but he got his g-friend something. I guess he had to let her know that he indeed got her things.... which happen to be what "Santa" left. I guess it was more or less poor planning on his part. He should have wrapped a few things and put them from him. This is his first year with her and doing the whole "SANTA" thing....urgh. I'm not ready for her to know these kinds of things!!! Of course she asked me about it and I didn't have the heart to lie to her, but I did say that Santa comes to our house and as long as she believes he will always exsist. Then I quickly changed the subject. LOL
I posted a couple short clips of CJ doing tricks and "skid outs" on his new bike. (He's been riding without training wheels since he was 3 yrs. old so he's pretty impressive for just turning 5.)