Down south again (in the nic of time!)

Our trip up north went by so quickly. We've been back in Asheville for 2 days now and it sounds like we "got the heck outta dodge" (aka Ohio) just in time!! Snow, ice, cold.......................WINTER!! It was nice to see a little of the white stuff, but today as I was walking around outside in my jean jacket enjoying the 52 degree temperature, I wasn't too upset about leaving Ohio when we did.

We had a great time visiting friends and family while we were there. I was so happy to spend some time with our kids and celebrate a late Christmas. It was also entertaining to watch the kids play some new wii games. I never realized how dangerous those games can be until Danny somehow managed to punch his own nose while participating in one of the Olympic Events. It was something like a combination of the shot-put and the discus throw and we were watching Danny's little wii-man on the TV, spinning around in circles before throwing his device when I heard a loud "THWACK!" Apparently Danny got a little carried away and somehow his nose got in the way of the wii control! Had to leave a mark. No blood though, thank goodness!! Only DanWray could manage to clean his own clock!

The most fun, though, was getting together with the whole WrayClan (sans Holly) and having our 3rd Annual Cookie Decorating Contest! I am posting the whole array of photos to my Picasa site, but will include a few with this blog entry.

I have to admit that even though I think the winning cookie was well-rendered, I am just a tad bitter about the judging since my cookie was not deemed a winner. As demonstrated last year by Steve's loss, the judges demonstrated a definite lack of knowledgeable appreciation towards those of us who like to add an "extra dimension" to our cookie decorating. Some of us just aren't satisfied with the flat, 2-dimensional bla-ness of "painting" icing on the cookie surface. No, we try to "think outside the box" and in essence "raise the bar" of the art of cookie decor. Apparently cookie decorating suffers from the same preconceived prejudices that exist in the arena of "fine art" where artists who work in 3-dimensional surfaces, such as POTTERY, are shunned by the conventional art elitists who only want to see one side of an object!! Apparently Steve was so psychologically wounded by last year's judging that he reverted back to traditional 2-D cookie decor. It has yet to be determined how far-reaching the repercussions of this year's judging will be!

So without further adieu, The 3rd Annual Wray Clan Cookie Decorating Contest..................

The line-up of entries...........

The Winning Entry and its creators...........

My entry.........

c'mon, it's a helicopter.