December 12, 2014, Christmas Parades, Firewood, Kid's Toys, Roof Leaks and Lake Time

We're getting settled in at our new location.  Boulder City had their Christmas parade on the 6th of December.  We went last year at a friend's invitation and had a good time in spite of the freezing temperatures.  This year it was a lot warmer!

The Park Service has a small fire in front of their main office and allows kids of all ages to roast marshmallows and make smores (and they furnish everything). Scott went through the line at least twice.  H'e old enough now to remember the parade from last year and this is what he remembered most.

The biggest challenge was getting him to wait until the marshmallow was ready.

Grandma escorting him back to our chairs.

Scott cleaning his fingers afterwards while we wait for the start of the parade.

This is Athena and Cooper.

The parade had a couple of bands, an ROTC unit, and dozens of floats and displays.

And lots of candy being tossed out to the kids.

Now that we have the wood stove ready to go we needed a source of firewood.  We hit a nearby wash to gather up some of the wood that had been washed downstream in one of the flash floods the area is famous for.

Scott got to open a couple of late birthday presents.  We waited until now because it was easier to transport them in their original boxes and put them together here.  The wagon was a hit and came with it's own power source.

The digger was a favorite as well.

I put together a lawn swing.  We almost brought it last year but chickened out.  It comes apart very easily for transport when we move.  All you have to do is take the swing off, take the legs loose from the top bar, and take one bolt out of the crossbar.  Everything folds up nicely into a relatively small package.

We needed to find and fix a couple of water leaks on the roof.  I found the source (I think!) over the marker lights on the back but decided to caulk up all the seams on top as well.  Four tubes of silicone caulk later we were finished.

Scott lent his expertise as well.

We walk down to the lake for some water time fun.  It's too cold for swimming right now but the dog loves it and Scott never tires of climbing the rocks and playing in the sand.

Odie gives her approval.

Susan is testing the water temperature.  It's still cold!

Odie going for a quick swim.

On a trip into Henderson Scott spotted Santa.  Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and Scott pointed to the red scooter with the reindeer antlers.  Santa though he just wanted to sit on it but Scott quickly corrected him telling Santa that he wanted the scooter for Christmas.  Scott was polite though so I think Santa still has him on the "Nice" list.  (He still isn't getting the scooter though!)

Sunrise at Lake Mead ...

and ... sunset at Lake Mead.