Have you ever seen talent like this?

(Jon does have a shirt on. It's yellow. You just can't see it.)

Hey, it's tradition

Every time we go home to visit, we take a trip to Sonic in my parent's camper. I know it sounds silly, but Jack LOVES it, and hey, it's tradition. We order our food and eat it at the table inside. It all started two years ago at Christmas. Jon, Jack and I were visiting my mom and dad along with my brother Matt and his wife Elizabeth. We were all running errands together but didn't want to drive separately. So we all jumped in the camper together, and while we were out, we ate at Sonic. And it stuck. And Lucy went too.

Oh no they didn't...

Oh yes they did. The First Annual Briaroak Drive Redneck Christmas Parade at Big Mama's house joined by the neighbors of Briaroak Drive. Wearing Santa hats, throwing candy canes, and waving like royalty.

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus! Santa came to the Tyner house last night while Jack and Lucy were sound asleep. Well, not Lucy. You can see her opened eyes shining. Maybe that's why Santa didn't leave her anything.

We got up this morning to find our stockings full, crumbs left in the milk, and the carrot left for the reindeer on our front porch chewed to pieces. (Thanks to my friend Kris for the reindeer food.) Jack got two transformers - one that he specifically asked for by name, Optimus Prime, or Octamus Crime, ask Jack says. The other transformer was a total surprise, Silver Bolt. He left Jon and me a french press coffee pot - it makes the freshest coffee for all you coffee connoisseurs.
We all gave each other fun and useful things this year. Jon gave me some fabulous green shoes. :) And he gave me a creme brulee torch which serves dual purposes - me cooking, him eating.

Jack gave Jon Mariocart for his wii. I gave him a gift certificate for a one-hour massage. I thought it would be selfish and greedy of me to buy him a couples massage, so I figured when I call to book his, I'll just upgrade then. :)

Merry Christmas from the Tyners

We let Jack open just one present today...

the traditional Christmas pajamas.

One pair for Jack and one for Lucy, of course.

Merry Christmas!

HO! HO! HO!

This was the first year since Jack was about 8 months old that he's wanted to go see Santa. So we went to the mall yesterday and actually sat in his lap. We were shocked. He wouldn't really look at him while he was talking to him and his little face looked like he could burst into tears at any moment, but he REALLY wanted to tell Santa about the transformer that he wants so badly for Christmas. Something about a person dressed up in a costume just terrifies him. Even at Disneyworld. He didn't want to see any of the characters not to mention having his picture taken with them. Except Buzz Lightyear... because he's a real man. Anyway, Merry Christmas!

What not to say...

So apparently we've been watching Elf a little too much this year. While walking into the church this morning for school, Jon and I had to remind Jack that he could not say "Son of a Nutcracker" nor could he call anyone a "cotton-headed-ninny-muggins". It's for the best.

Really Cool...

http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/48958-angietyner/

The Tree

I don't want to write too much about the Living Christmas Tree for two reasons... 1) I don't think I could do it justice in describing it and 2) there's really too much to tell for one blog entry. We had a GREAT time and God blessed it.

I do have to say something about the little shepherd boys. How cute are they??? They did such a great job!!!

Shew Fly

Shew fly, don't bother me.

Shew fly, don't bother me.

Shew fly, don't bother me,

'Cause I will punch you with my big orange fist.

(And that's exactly what happened.)

Long time, no blogging

Well, I'll tell ya...there's been absolutely nothing going on around here and I really have no excuse for missing a whole week of blogging. HA!!!! Apparently, there's this little thing that Sevier Heights "does" every year called the Living Christmas Tree. Although it is fun and great and festive, it does take just a little bit of time to "do". So that's my excuse.

Naughty or Nice

I picked Jack up from Mother's Day Out yesterday, and here's the conversation...

Angie: How was school today?

Jack: Fine. It's so hard to be good sometimes.

Angie: Why?

Jack: Well, this one boy was being so bad and it looked like so much fun. It's just so hard to be good!

Say What?

Since today is the official beginning of the Christmas season, we've pulled out the Christmas movies starting with ELF. It's our favorite. We've been repeating lines from the movie all day today.
1. I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!
2. You sit on a throne of LIES
3. I love smiling. Smiling's my favorite.
Any more good lines?

Happy Thanksgiving

My sister left Knoxville on Tuesday, and then Wednesday came Big Mama, Aunt Polly (accompanied by Birdie), and Uncle Justin and Aunt Christi (accompanied by Prissy). Our house was a used car lot/dog kennel for about 2 days. All we did was eat and sleep. And then repeated those two activities about every 3 hours.

Jon's plate BEFORE...

AFTER...

We REALLY missed Poppy this Thanksgiving. It's his FAVORITE holiday! We thought about you all day, and we're really thankful for you. We love you!

Jack, wearing his hat all the way from the desert.

Picture Perfect

We had the kids pictures taken all together while they were here. Sandra Ryan came over and took them for us. She is so good. Let me emphasize that just a little bit more. She's SOOOO incredibly patient and creative when taken family pictures. This is the second time she has taken our family pictures. Here's just a sample of the 100+ pictures.

What Happens When...

You accidently throw a disposable diaper into the washer?

Answer: It swells up like a balloon and weighs about 7 pounds. Thank the Lord it didn't burst.

New Camera Obsession

Remember that cool thing I told you my friend Shanle showed me about my camera? Well, I just think it's the coolest, so here are a few snapshots.

Early Christmas Anyone?

We had Christmas early with my sister and her kids. Actually, they walked in the door and about 30 minutes later, it was time to open presents. The girls LOVE to cook, so we got them aprons. We also bought them dresses for their Bitty Babies to match their Christmas dresses. George got a new talking Woody doll from Toy Story. Jack got a basket with his name on it. It was filled with great cooking stuff...he loves to cook too. He also got an orange and white striped shirt. He was FIRED UP to get a new Tennessee shirt. :) It's been a few years since the kids have opened presents together, so it was a real treat.

Company in K-Town

My sister and her three kids are coming to visit tomorrow. Yippie!!!

I LOVE those kids!

Chicken Sandwich, clap, clap....clap-clap

We went to the UT basketball game tonight with our friends Shay and Shanle. Someone in the choir generously gave us 5 tickets to the game tonight. This was our first UT basketball game. Jack was fired up. So, we found our seats and he spotted the only cotton candy vendor in the whole arena as seen in picture #1. He actually found him from that far away. Picture #2 is the cotton candy vendor zoomed in really close so the rest of us without 20/20 vision can see him.

We were playing UT Martin and the game was expected to be a total blowout. So a few minutes into the game, the announcer said if UT reaches 90 points, you can redeem your ticket for a free chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-a. The boys in the row behind us REALLY wanted that chicken sandwich, so they hollered the chicken sandwich, clap clap thing a bunch of times. Come on now boys. They're $2.55. But anyway, Jack repeated everything they said. And luckily, it was all G-rated. We did get our chicken sandwich and some cotton candy. Oh, and it was FREEZING!!! Jack was so bundled up, he couldn't even buckle his seatbelt. Bless his heart.

Shanle also helped me find some really cool effects on my camera during the game. I suppose if I read the instruction manual, I would know these really cool things too.

Oh My, It's Cold

Snow flurries before Christmas??? That's all I have to say.

Happy Early Turkey Day

Didn't we get crafty today? Thanks to the idea from my sister.

Next project...indian hats.