Happy Snow Days!

The residents of Michael Delving were pleasantly surprised by actual snowfall starting on Sunday. The weather apps tend to overpredict snow through the winter, so it's fun when there's actual snow accumulation. We kicked things off watching the Super Bowl; the Mayor is clearly entranced, as he only rarely gets to watch football on TV. Ela got cozy and got her hair played with.

 The lack of preparation meant that there were some hand-me-down snowsuits, such as Eejee wearing Ela's old suit. 

Sons of Thunder Snow Fight!

Ela's stylish snowman

Playing in the backyard

Making snow candy

Our resident hummingbirds have been enjoying regularly restocked, warm nectar in the feeders.

The Mayor coming inside from changing out the feeders.

Even the chickadees and junkos have been getting in on the action as we put out bird seed for them.

Here's Eejee's played-out aftermath - happy snow days!

Aeolian snow sculpture next to the Mayor's shop.

Boookie giving the Mayor a ride on the sled.

Mush, Boookie, Mush!

Ela's turn on the sled

Seimi's turn on the sled

And last but not least, Eejee's turn on the sled.

Hyah, Daddy, Hyah!

Ang-shent civilizations

Amidst all the ancient world information that swirls around Michael Delving, historians will want to remember some civilizations that haven't made it into the history books yet:

• E-lympians. Not to be confused with Olympians - this is a completely different and unique civilization that was discovered by Seimi
• Brosians. Frequently spoken of by their discoverer, Seimi.
• Tectunic Sharks. Not tectonic - tectunic. And they aren't sharks - these are regular people. This civilization was discovered by Seimi and gifted to Eejee.

Boy Logic

Eejee's pants got stuck around his ankles as he was getting ready for bed. He asked Seimi for help, so they thought collectively about a solution. Pulling the pants off was clearly too simple an answer. It's obvious that if you're stuck, you aren't applying enough speed and/or power to your problem.

Therefore, Seimi held the pants and told Eejee to run as fast as possible so he could get enough power to escape from the pants. Eejee took off like a shot and fell flat on the floor. No injuries, fortunately.

Just some mild side sprains from laughing after we found out the source of the noise downstairs.

We love our Sons of Thunder.

Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful holiday season at Michael Delving. GranDma and Apu's house was the first stop on the celebration. The hobbitlings lent their enthusiasm to get the tree decorated.

The hobbitlings also lent their energy to Apu to pick up post-windstorm pine cones. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds when a bounty was offered, and they reached their quota in very short order.

Here's a nativity set the Hobbit Wife made when she was a wee lass.

The hobbitlings engrossed in new books from Great Grandma Ruth.

2018 was the year in which Boookie outgrew 75% of his grandparents!

GranDma and Apu gave all four hobbitlings pop guns, and the ball ammunition was set aside for outdoor use only. Eejee discovered that his Nerf Thor hammer happens to be the same diameter as the balls, and here he is shooting his "jackhammer."

We have had a mix of beautiful and bad weather, and here are the hobbitlings enjoying a spot of sunshine during one of the beautiful weather moments.

Christmas Eve - the tree is decorated, presents are wrapped, and the Scalextric track set up.

Happy sock owners on Christmas morning!

Eejee showing off the "sea urchins" that Otter and Otter B got for Christmas.

The family collection of Harry Potter LEGO figures.

Slot cars before breakfast.

Opening military surplus (or is it surpli?) from Uncle Gabe and Aunt Becky.

More books! It was a rich Christmas of books.

All the lads admiring Eejee's LEGO Minion castle.

Otter getting into Eejee's candy fish from Grammy.

Seimi and Eejee each got Greek hoplite LEGOs.

Boookie got some additional Roman LEGO legionnaires as well.

Eejee's completed LEGO Minion castle. He enjoyed building it with the Mayor and at one point, asked Seimi, "Hey Seimi, can you go away? Aren't you supposed to be doing screen time?"

Screen time got a major upgrade this Christmas, with a family gaming PC.

The aftermath of the traditional open table.

The aftermath of Scalextric slot cars.

The aftermath of screen time.

The aftermath of the Hobbit Wife and the Mayor, out on a date.

Books and Chocolate Night, which happened at some point (you know the break is good when it takes six hobbits to reconstruct exactly what happened on which day of break!).

Books and Chocolate hobbit lads.

The gaming PC was moved into its permanent home in the Mayor's shop. The Mayor's employer was good enough to equip the Mayor with a decent laptop that is capable of holding its own with some gaming, so there was much multiplayer activity.

And we wrap things up on New Year's Day!

The Mayor installed new undercabinet lights. Soft white LED lights have been on the wish list for over a decade, and they are finally here!

 Merry Christmas, and Happy 2019!

Christmas Incoming

As we rapidly move into the end of the year, here's a quick update on what we've been up to. The Mayor collected all the tokens for a work contest.

The hobbitlings finished school and are enjoying a well-deserved Christmas break.

And the hobbitlings decorated their gingerbread house (almost) all by themselves. The Mayor helped with some structural modifications and remodeling when the roof broke, but the rest was all hobbitling.

All cozy and ready for Christmas!