Woo hoo! Let the Christmas celebrating begin! I am thrilled to pieces this year. I really am. It is such a different year than last year, and I am so grateful.

Our tree is in the family room this year, and I am really enjoying it. It’s just so cheerful. I wish I could leave it up year round, except then I’d be one of those ladies.  And then it’s just a slippery slope to having a dozen cats, you know?

Look at these cute star lights I got at Ikea. They’re good indoor or outdoor – I envisioned them hanging in the tree in the front yard, but I like getting to see them every day indoors.

I keep forgetting to show you photos of the night we went to see Christmas lights with Amy & Eric and the boyz. We went out to Okarche, Oklahoma, a teeny tiny town whose only claim to fame is Eischen’s, which is basically a bar that serves the most amazing fried chicken ever. They were even featured on FoodNetwork’s Diners Drive-Ins & Dives. A dive, well, yeah, it kinda is. Because we went on the night of the OU/OSU Bedlam game, we were able to walk right in and get a table. They told us later that it’s usually a 2 hour wait on a Saturday night.

But mmmmmmm … that fried chicken really was good. It’s legendary for a reason!

A little Guitar Hero. FYI, my nephews totally kicked my rear at this. I thought I was so cool … I am not.

Then we made our way back towards OKC, stopping in Kingfisher to see their lights, and then in Yukon. It was frigid!

But wait! First, we passed the Squawk & Skoot! HA!

We rode on the tiny train in Yukon at their lights. We were soooooo cold but it was fun to all be together. We laughed a lot that night. My nephews are hilarious.

Look at Eric in the background of this photo. That nut!

Hmmm.  Like father, like son. Luke is in the next one. I cracked up when I was going through the photos.   Jude just looks stunned in both photos.

The other day we went to see Santa and to the movies. Rudolph came, too.  “Tangled” was really cute even though Jude screamed bloody murder when the wicked witch cut off a lock of Rapunzel’s hair. I about jumped out of my seat. Here’s Jude looking like a little blind child with his 3D glasses on:

Jude with Surly Santa.

What fun things are you doing this holiday season? Any crazy Christmas lights?