and so it was Christmas..

 mostly another day here. i did put a pile of wrapped prezzies out for the puppies to dig into.  loads of toys and they picked up on the opening presents thing right off.  no instructions needed.

 spoke to family members and did some texting...otherwise it was a pretty chill day. my gift to myself i guess was the gift of rest.

 here is their pile.  Ivy kept taking her next toy up the stairs to unwrap and Tusker took his into the main room to open.  a few of the toys are already showing some wear.  they don't de-stuff really, more that they like to chew some toys into tiny bits. frisbee's are always at risk.

 finally made my way out to Prospect Heights for a nice walk.  they had a great time running and running.

 no major jumping incidents today so i was very happy with my well behaved puppies.

 a little treat in their breakfast food bowls. looks quite tasty right!!

 leftovers for dinner.  can't go wrong with that.

 not sure if i put this in yesterday but it's cute enough for a repeat i guess.

 tonight, i decided the tree was so dried out i would just take it down.  not that many ornaments on it anyway.  will have to see about taking the rest of the seasonal stuff down and putting it back in the closet til next year. so the tree is outside in it's bag awaiting the annual tree drag to the recycling center.  will be going with 2 new dogs....

 it was pretty cloudy out and a few flakes fell here and there.

 temp wasn't bad though.  one lost tennis ball.

 while i slowly removed and packed ornaments there was this thing on that was about this one family and their medical issues.  the couple had 3 kids.  at some point the eldest daughter got sick and turned out to have cardiomyopathy.  she got bad quickly and ended up getting a heart transplant.

 they did a check on the other kids and were told all was well.  they had a few more kids and then another kid got sick and turned out to have heart trouble.  a more intense check now showed that all the kids are already showing some issues.  another daughter needed a transplant.  after waiting many months she did get one...in the meantime a son had to get a pacemaker and then the first daughter at age 15 needed a second heart transplant.  the sons pacer had to be changed to an aicd/pacer so he could get shocked if needed.

 it was just crazy all that this family has dealt with and will continue to deal with.  anytime you feel bad for your situation you see a story such as this and you get that little reminder of how really really good you have it.

 let them wear their sweaters out there today. I've kind of thought they would shred them on the trails with all their wrestling but the sweaters were totally intact by the end.  i also figured...they will probably outgrow these sweaters by next Christmas.

 how big will they get?

 dreaming and snoring at this time.  these are my cute puppies.

 this is Tusker before he is about to make a run at Ivy.

 look how handsome he is.

 can't say it was one of those beautiful days out there, but walks are always lovely and therapeutic as well.

 they looks super cute in their sweaters...i may have to invest in more clothing for my kids. they don't seem to be getting Blossoms fluffy and insulating coat, so i may need to keep them warm.  :-)

 adds to the pics too. so far they aren't too keen on stuff on their heads. i'll have to work on that.

 romping.

 no moose sightings today.  a few times i thought they may be catching the scent of something.

 lots of dogs pics today.

 day went okay.  took me a bit to get out of bed.  wanted to mope i think.  the puppies opening gifts perked me up.

 Anchorage below.

thankful for: A. health and the health of my family.  we have been quite lucky or blessed, which ever your slant on that.  probably a bit of both.  B. dogs.  they make life much more enjoyable for me.  they encourage me when i am down and make me laugh when i need to be perked up.  C.  lazy days and the gift of being able to have them.