The Sigerson Hoke Institute of Talent Christmas Extravaganza!

Sigerson Hoke Institute of Talent (SHIT). I came up with that acronym when I was approximately 10 years old. We've used it ever since. It pretty much sums my family up... we're a bunch of sick-minded, yet (in my opinion) hilarious people, who like to joke around about inappropriate things and thoroughly enjoy each other's company while doing so. Going home for Christmas this year was a dream come true. I haven't been with my own family for Christmas in over 3 years. Finally, I got to be with everyone except my brother, who is currently serving in the Airforce over in Japan. He did, however, join us via Skype, along with his girlfriend Chelsea.

It really couldn't have gone better. Jeff and I arrived on December 18th. Meghan picked us up from the airport, and took us to my parent's home in Littleton, CO. I was concerned Meghan and Jeff wouldn't get along, but it was just the opposite. They get along great! They both enjoy intellectual conversations, both are well read, with great vocabularies, and both have similar opinions on the same subjects. It was really cool to watch them bond over these things and I am really glad now that when I want Meghan to come visit, or we want to go visit Meghan, Meghan and Jeff can both look forward to seeing each other, meaning I will get more Meghan time. Did I say Meghan enough in that sentence? lol.

Of course my Mom loves Jeff, and my Step-Dad gets along well with Jeff as well, because they are both sci-fi readers, and both understand money stuff like stocks and bonds and what not. I think one of my favorite parts about our trip was the games we played after dinner. We played Scattergories, Mexican Train,Taboo,Things, etc. etc.. I also enjoyed going with Meghan to Chingu's training. Chingu is Meghan's dog that she adopted from Korea. He's a sweet, very gorgeous Jindo mix. He's also quite a handful, hence the training. Meghan and I did a ton of Christmas shopping, and finally pulled it all together the day before Christmas. It was awesome.

I also have missed my mom's cooking a LOT. So here are a few pics of me enjoying her food, or just her cooking her food. Don't be fooled by my face, I'm happy here.

The day before Christmas, Dusty, Valerie, April, Dave (her husband), and their baby Ian all came. Ian is 4 years old now, and REALLY into Indiana Jones. I still have the theme song stuck in my head. Dun duh dun dun! dun da da! Anyway... he spent the next few days running around with his Indiana Jones whip that plays the theme song over and over again, and asking all of his Aunts to be Marian. haha. I had fun with that. He's really a cute kid. Poor guy broke his arm a few weeks ago, but it definitely did not slow him down from running around, trying to jump on the couch, and whipping "bad guys" with "Marian". I really like being an Aunt. I just want to brag on and on about Ian. He is the most articulate 4 year old I've ever met, he's super sweet, and a pretty good kid. He even told us that he didn't need more than 2 presents for Christmas. It was so cute. He definitely got more than that though. Anyway..

Christmas itself was pretty sweet! We all got and gave some great presents.

We got up super early for Ian's sake, and you can tell by the following photos how happy we were about it:

In fact while we waited, Jeff and Ian played a spirited game of Indiana Jones VS Pink Bunneh! You may see what looks like a blur coming from Ian's hand.. it's his whip moving at the speed of lightning!Ian got to play Santa this year and hand out the presents. He and his Dad, Dave, and Jeff all got matching Camo night gowns. How cuuuuute!

Afterward, almost everyone took a nap. Those of us who didn't sleep played Hungry Hippos with Ian, Sorry, Legos, and a few other games. It was good times.

I don't really have any super crazy stories to tell, I just had an amazingly great time with my family, and am so glad to have gotten to see everyone. However, I did miss my baby Akira, she apparently missed me too, because she's been clingier than EVER and is currently sitting RIGHT BY the computer screen staring at me intently.
Chris took good care of her, though, and I really appreciate how responsible he was in taking care of Akira, even though he's allergic to cats. He's a good friend.

Alrighty, well, I'll end this with a few random photos of our vacation to Colorado. Some of the following are from my parents' or Valerie's cameras.

Me and Val on my Camera
Me and Jeff also taken with my camera

Me and Jeff with Val's camera.. I just really like these pictures, I think they really reflect how well we mesh. :)
Me and Val on Val's Camera... I love Val. She's such a cute sister. I wish she lived closer.

Me and Val's Top Model Poses... yeah... you can tell I'm definitely not America's next top model...

Blog Out.