Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf, came to visit on December 1. Each morning during the month we found Buddy in a different location in our house. Here is the photo recap of his whereabouts each day until Christmas Eve when he reported back to the North Pole. To see where he showed up last year, you can look here, here, here, here and here.
Viewing The VaseSearching From Atop The SnowflakeFocused From The FridgeConcentrating In The CanisterLooking From The LightContemplating In The Clay PotPeering From The PendantFrozen On The FrameCaptivated In The CandleStaring From The StockingPlaced In The PotteryGazing From The GobletSitting On A CircleFixed In The FluffPlanted In The PresentsFrozen In The FoliageSnuggling With SantaLooking Dashing On The DoorSitting On The ChandelierFastened On The FireplaceGlancing At The Snow GlobeBrowsing The Book
Buddy followed us to the Twin Cities while we stayed with Mike’s parents to celebrate an early Christmas. The final two photos were taken at their house.
Mellowing On The MantleRoosting On The Railing
We said good-bye to Buddy on the 24th. We look forward to his return next December.
You may have noticed that we have neglected our blog this month. The big factor has been that are dearly beloved Toshiba laptop that allows me to load, edit and upload photos has recently passed away. We originally thought it was a Windows 7 issue. Unfortunately, a local computer guy gave us the news that no one wants to receive, the hard drive had crashed. The good news is that I backed up everything within in a couple of weeks of the demise of the hard drive. Also, for an additional fee, I can have the computer guy try to pull all the data off the laptop – just in case my backup isn’t as good as I though it was. Our household is currently using our 2004 PC (running Windows XP). The kids have complained how slow it is. They should be grateful that they haven’t been trying to run a photo editing program with it. I’m back to Photoshop Elements 6 with no actions. Extremely slow and limited in its abilities! Therefore, the posting to this blog has been on hold. Perhaps there will be some post-holiday sales where we can get a great deal on a fast new laptop. We will have to reload all of our programs and data, so it may be a while before we are “back in the picture”.
I did get a few pictures edited and uploaded though. Here’s a quick peek at some things that have been going on this month.
Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf, returned from the North Pole.
Just Hangin’
Sophia still doesn’t know how he got up there and stayed there throughout the day and evening. Magic, of course!
We had a snowfall that allowed for some play in the backyard, but it wasn’t sticky enough to make real snowmen. Mike and Sophia improvised by making mini snow people.
Building A Mini SnowmanMr. Mini SnowmanMr. & Mrs. Mini Snowman
Sophia’s school had their winter concert. She sang with both the school choir and with her class. She did a great job and it was fun to see how much she enjoyed being on stage.
Caroling
Her class also performed “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”. We took some video and pictures, but they have made their way to our makeshift editing room yet.
Mike and I enjoyed a day off from work on our wedding anniversary last week. We celebrated 18 years of marriage by having a quiet morning at home after the kids were off to school. We went to lunch at a new restaurant in Canal Park and then walked around checking out the stores. We finished with coffee and hot chocolate at Caribou Coffee. The evenings are always chaotic during the school week, so it was nice to spend some uninterrupted time together during the day.
In the days or weeks ahead, I hope to get caught up on photo editing and posting. Maybe Santa will bring me a new laptop for Christmas. 🙂
M. Sullivan Photography 