Papa and Jackson spending some time together after Christmas. Jackson sure loves all of his grandparents and flying to go see them. He asks frequently about when we're going.

Mom and Dad did a great job of grandparenting all of the little ones. They stayed three weeks, long enough for everyone but Mom to get sick and recover/begin recovery. Dad did his usual "we're not opening a present on Christmas Eve" routine, so it really felt like the holiday. Mom taught Jackson and Delaney how to make Frosty out of a tube sock, rice, and some do-dads. What fun! 

And here's the photo of us immediately before the day of combat ensued. Notice the conspicuous lack of paint and bruises. :)

The mighty warriors prepare to depart

This is one of 3 "before" pictures on the occasion of the paintball day I organized while my nephw Trey was in town.

This is one of about a zillion pictures Kysa took at Red Rock - apparently a great place for a model photo-shoot. I guess Kysa's got gook instincts because I really like this picture of Kyla and me. She's my only niece. 

Red Rock in Dec.

Our nephew, Trey, hanging out at Red Rock Canyon. It's one of the places we love to take visitors. It's maybe 30 minutes from our house and you can see these amazing striations in the rock and scramble all the way to the top. 

Hiking at Red Rock Canyon

Could Dad be a model, or what? 

"Frosty the snowman, was a jolly happy soul, he was filled with rice and glued real nice, and he was made of a tube sock..." It kind-of works with the tune. Kyla and Kysa making a Frosty. 

Here we all are - Christmas morning in the desert. Did you know that the Joshua tree (in the background) really is a tree and not a cactus at all?! We call them Dr. Seuss trees.

The Missouri Georges on Christmas Eve at our house. 

On the first hill up of the "mini" roller coaster - Jackson's first. After the ride was over he stated with big, silent tears rolling down his face, "That was a little fast for me. It was a little too scary." 

Jackson and Kyla were master Disney Celebrity Hunters. Grandma Jackie supplied them autograph books to fill. 

Apparently the Haunted Mansion Ride IS scary.

SC and Missouri Georges and CA Cooks gathered for Christmas in sunny Southern California this year. Here are some of the crew at the "happiest place on earth" - can't you feel the love? Was Disneyland ready for this crowd? 

The never-ending line to go into "Small World", followed by the never ending song "It's a Small World."

"So this is.......snow?" She was not so impressed later on when a few flakes fell upon her precious little head. Her daddy caught her deep in thought, looking out the window of our condo at Tahoe. 

The highlight of the Tahoe trip for Jackson....building Frosty the Snowman. Although Jackson took off his gloves every 1 1/2 minutes and cried because snow got in them and they wouldn't stay absolutey inside his coat sleeves, when asked about his favorite part of the trip he replied, "Building Frosty." There you have it - the inner workings of a 3 year old's thought process. 

First cousins Nate and Kevin with their sons at Lake Tahoe. Also cold for the desert dwellers. Kevin's family lives in CO, note the light shell of a fleece and jeans - the desert Cooks wore thermals under about 30 layers of more warm stuff. 

Picking apples in the mountains for Nate's birthday. It was very, very cold for the desert dwellers. 

Nate wears his birthday crown (courtesy of Jackson Cook Designs) and celebrates another birthday that keeps him older than Jen. 

Halloween! The Princess and the Ladybug

Elinor shared her beautiful flower with everyone, while Jackson kept the neighborhood aphid-free! 

Halloween! Glow Stick in the Bath!

After a full night, Jackson got to take a special bath in the dark with only his glow stick to light the way!

With the bubbles, it looked very cool.

This was a long exposure, so you can see where Jackson had been before he moved. 

Halloween! Our little pum'kin

Delaney in her usual position, strapped down in a seat of some kind.

You can't see it in this photo, but the bottoms of her feet say, "Boo!" 

Halloween! Goooeeeey!

Jackson digging into the guts of his pumpkin.

Funny story, there. So we leave in July for 6 weeks. When we left, the backyard was in okay shape.

When we return, a lot of things have grown up including an 8 foot tall sunflower and a HUGE pumpkin patch! We had months earlier cut back something that looked like a squash of some kind. And now it looks like we'll be harvesting pumpkins well into the winter! We already have cut 5 or 6, and there are still blooms on the plant.

Apparently, with a modicum of top soil and regular watering (thanks to an automatic sprinkler system), ANYTHING will grow in the desert. 

Halloween! Pumpkin' it old school

Jackson said, "I want a *scaaaarrrry* pumpkin, Daddy!" Judge for yourself. This pumpkin hails back to the original reason for jack o' lanterns...scaring the sheet off a ghost!