Sorry for the interruption but I was out of town for most of the holiday (we left the 26th for Chicago, but thats a whole post on its own!). I did however, want to brag about some of the Christmas Gifts that blessed our house this season though.

Amy’s big gift this year is to have the Master Bath and Bedroom repainted. When we bought the house from her parents, we inherited the DEEP red color of the bath and bed room. Its a dark red (think maroon) that is hard to match colors with. Now we’re going for a lighter, beachier look and are painting them Beachnut (its a lowes color). The master bath is done (Amy found some Votive candle holders at a store in Nashville), next on to the bedroom!

Grace had a very Hannah Montanna Christmas. She got a Hannah Montanna Guitar Game (like Guitar Hero) that plugs in to the tv, a Hannah Costume, and doll. Its pretty cool and she likes pretending to be a rockstar. Maybe someday. I like playing her game (since I haven’t bought Guitar HEro World Tour yet) and she’s getting better at it.

Mose got a Trampoline. One of her favorite things to do is jump. We’d wake on Saturday mornings to the heavy thud of emma jumping up and down in our door way. Now she can do it all she wants and it doesn’t make the house shake. Its pretty cool and Grace and Emma take turns on it. Amy wanted to try it out, but its for people under 80 pounds (and neither of us meet that requirement!

The girls also got some tinkertoys, and some other little odds and ends that they like to play with, but the coolest by far is my Ultimate Wall-E Robot.

We saw the movie in the theaters and we’re big fans (mose loves him). We had seen the Ultimate Wall-e at the Disney Store but we weren’t going to get him because of the price tag. Needless to say, Santa found him on Sale and he was wrapped and under the tree for me on Christmas morning. He has fun dancing, chasing the dogs around and just exploring on his own. If you haven’t seen one yet, I’ll work on some video and see if I can get anything posted. Its pretty cool though and the way he can respond to voice commands or find his own way around the room is fairly smooth.

Was there one gift that you prized more than the others??

How cool would it be if a pirate really stole someone’s soul?? This ballad by Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden is a sweeping song. Long on melody and sound. Not so much a choice for a nice sunny day, but a nice moving song all the same.

Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden hail from the Northwest corner of Seattle, Washington, amidst the fisherman and sailors of Ballard. They play lush indie pop with shimmering melodies, sparkling soundscapes, and beats like a train on a track.

Formed in 2006, their self-titled debut was produced by Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, Metric, The Gossip), and features Nic Danielson of the Kindness Kind and Seattle folk luminary Damien Jurado.

The new album has been featured on Itunes Singer-Songwriter page and is currently on the playlists of Starbucks stores nationwide. Starbucks included “Faster Than Cars Drive” on their recent “Have You Heard” compilation and the band is also contributing a song for an upcoming Starbucks compilation.

Named a CMJ Spotlight Artist and one of 10 bands to watch in 2008 by Sound Magazine, the Sons of Sweden are taking the show on the road. The band played showcases at SXSW and Bumbershoot and continue to tour. They will be at the CMJ Music Marathon in NY this October.