Racing Stripes

Five days before Christmas, I tore up my car while watching Billy the Beagle. As I backed up, the mirror failed its clearance of the side of the garage, and it was ripped off. And the side of the tattered, dilapidated old garage? It is just fine. Not even the slightest hint of red paint on it! Oh the injustice!

As for the bottom of the bumper...well, the "landscaping" of the neighbor's flower garden (and by landscaping, I mean a concrete block that is typically the foundation of homes these days) caught it and my bumper tore off as we slid helplessly in reverse due to the ice. Why the duct tape you ask? Well, when I took the car to the body shop to get an estimate, the bumper was sagging down and the wind was blowing hard enough that in order to have the car remain "safe to drive" a man named Herc (short for Hercules...well not based on looks, but that is a separate story...) decided to put some tape on it to hold it all together. Thank you for using the bright, reflective duct tape, Herc...ghetto racing stripes for the car are just how I wanted to ring in the new year!

I picked up Lolita (yes, that is my car's name - everyone should name their car!) from the auto body shop the day after Inauguration Day, only to discover she now needed new brakes. Ugh! Finally, she is home today and she is looking and running better than ever!

Master William

I spent part of the evening with Will.

We combined his love for dinosaurs and puzzles

by fixing (six) dinosaur puzzles. Whew!

Mighty Mack

Awww...

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Following the news of Rod's arrest,

I threw up some decorations and got a slice of chocolate cake.

Let the party begin!

Hardy's Reindeer Ranch

For the first time, I went to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul. I took my youngest sister Sarah (whom can never pass up an opportunity to see the reindeer), and Olivia (whom just took a fieldtrip to the Reindeer Ranch yesterday).

I checked the website for their hours of operation. We planned to "beat the crowd" and arrive at 10am, right when they opened up for business. We pulled in at 9:58am and the place looked empty. After a few minutes pondering whether or not we should sneak away or attempt to go into one of the buildings, Miss Olivia decided we should "just go in already!"

Their very friendly dog, Dakota met us as we headed into a cute little country store. We were then welcomed by a couple of staff members, thus confirming once and for all that the ranch was indeed, open for business.

We enjoyed the Christmas decorations, tasted some hot apple cider (that was actually luke-warm at best), and perused the gift shop.

Olivia chose to purchase a sticky, stretchy, pink snake for $3.99. Most likely you could get a similar toy at the Dollar Store.

She did take some time out from her shopping to pose for a quick photo on top of this saddled reindeer.

The Reindeer had some pretty amazing antlers.

Very cool.

The youngest reindeer....I think her name is Daisy.

And what did Sarah find inside the store?

Hehehehe.........anyone in need of a good hot sauce???

Rugby Beagle