Bragg Family South

For all of you wondering how Bragg Family South handled Favre and the Vikings losing in overtime last weekend, I can tell you this--we'd like to have seen Favre do well, but we didn't lose an ounce of sleep over the Vikings not making the Super Bowl... The picture above was actually taken prior to the Packer's playoff loss, but it was just too cute not to include... In addition to our kids Stephen and Beth (middle of the picture), a couple of their little friends (Elisabeth and Gabe) got into the act... Our big news since the last posting was the beginning of a new home improvement project--this one focusing on the exterior of our house. With our recent purchase of a pop-up camper and the bringing of my Dodge Charger to Arkansas, we don't really have adequate protected parking for these vehicles (or my truck). So, we're starting an expansion of our carport, as well as moving a fence and getting some gravel brought in to firm up a portion of our yard. But, th...

Yes, those two bundles of feline energy that we brought up with us over the holidays do have their quiet, affectionate times... The picture above shows Bella and Draco curled up together in front of our fireplace, which is glowing with the coals of a fire. We seem to have left the northern door open when we returned from our holiday trip, as cold air penetrated far south, well into Florida and the Gulf Coast. While not nearly as cold as the north was, southern Arkansas plunged well below freezing for days at a time, enough for the ground to freeze and lakes, ponds, and slow moving streams to build up a layer of ice 1-2 inches thick. The temperature has moderated some over the last couple of weeks, but parts of that archeological site I've been working were still too frozen to excavate Friday... We haven't been doing much, except enduring another gut-wrenching post-season loss by the Packers and getting back into our routines. On Saturday, I had a meeting up near Little R...

Kenny and Beth, hopefully learning a lesson on charity... Whew!! We arrived back in Monticello safely Saturday evening after a day-long drive from Whitmore Lake, Michigan. Another enjoyable holiday season visit up north, even when all the driving is figured in. Let me update y'all from the material I posted earlier today... We had a number of Christmas parties to attend before we headed up north, including a nice little get together with members of our research unit, their family, and some friends: I had previously posted on an archeology party we attended--the kids also had parties at their schools. We picked Kenny up after his school's Christmas party, and started driving northward. By the time we reached our hotel in Vandalia , Illinois, a moderate rain was turning into a rain/snow mix, and all snow by the next morning. The snow tapered off as we headed to Wisconsin the next day. The Madison area was well-blanketed by a heavy snow they had gotten a week or so earl...

In the picture above, Hope, Beth, and Stephen eagerly anticipate Kenny's Christmas program (this, of course, was before we left for our holiday visit up north). The dark-haired woman Hope is talking to sitting behind her is Jamie McBride, Beth's preschool teacher from last year, and her blonde-haired daughter standing in front of her, Elisabeth, is one of Beth's best friends. Below, Kenny and his classmates sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with gusto: Here is a brief video clip of their performance: I will post much more on our holiday trip later today...