in honor of the first...

some firsts we experienced on our trip home for christmas:

1. for the first time, we took stover girl rollerskating.  there was a lot of excitement

followed by a spell of disappointment

but there's nothing like the hokey pokey to reclaim the fun. 

2. for the first time, our family were the benefactors of a pay it forward act.  when we asked for our restaurant check, the waitress said a do-gooder who'd been sitting close to us had already paid our bill and left.

3. for the first time, stover boy served as the example to big sister.  when two items were inexplicably broken while staying at my parents home, stover parents inquired among the kids.  stover boy immediately confessed to breaking a piece of wood trim with an immediate 'i'm sorry mommy'.  then, following suit, stover girl cleanly admitted (without the usual excuse, fib, or hesitation) to having broken the phone jack.

4. for the first time, we experienced the humiliating status as THE problem family.  while swimming at the local fitness center, stover fam was the center of a few foibles- including, stover mom not recognizing the name or face of a high school friend, being scolded more than a handful of times by the lifeguard, and stover boy needing a rescue from the hot tub.  ironically, his hero was spotted that same evening while THE problem family was out much too late for icecream buzzes!

5. for the first time, the stover kids played nintendo ds

while the parents played bean boozled (have you played this jelly belly game of dare?)

 and a few rounds of no thanks for new year's

6. for the first time, stover dad sported a pair of coveralls while out sledding on a very frigid south dakota day