Sherlock Christmas

Time has been flying out here in Indiana. I can't believe tomorrow will 2012. I wanted to write this post last week, but I was to busy playing Star Wars Lego III. That game is awesome! Best Christmas present I got this year, but it's not a Star Wars Christmas this year, it was a Sherlock Holmes Christmas!

It started the week before Allison left for Idaho. She was done with school, but had to still be in town because of her job. We decide to rent this great BBC show, Sherlock. This series was three movies long. It was set in modern London which made it a lot of fun. The first movie/episode was call A Study in Pink. Which was an awesome retelling of the first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet. A bit different than the original story as there was no Mormons in Pink. Which was a good idea since Sir Arther Conan Doyle didn't get a lot of facts right about the Mormons for his story. I think in England at the time it was still considered a cult. So we watch those three awesome movies and loved it. I think this Sherlock series might be my favorite. Even more than Robert Downey Jr. version. I love that version of Sherlock Holmes too.

Than came Christmas. In my stocking was a Lego mini-figure. If you know anything about the mini-figures they come packaged randomly so you never know what you're getting. When I opened mine up, Sherlock Holmes' head rolled out and was looking at me. I was like no way! This is to awesome. Allison was did you get one you needed. I said yeah I got Sherlock Holmes!!! Allison was like that's so cool. You love Sherlock Holmes. So yeah that was really awesome. Allison couldn't actually pick out Sherlock but was luckily enough to get me the mini-figure I really wanted from that Lego series. I was really happy and figured that might be all the Sherlock I was getting for Christmas, which is more than I ever thought I would get. Then when I was opening presents I got a book. From the size in the wrapping paper I though it might be a comic, but it wasn't. After ripping through the green paper with white snow flakes on it the present reveled to be a Sherlock Holmes novel! I haven't read very many of them yet. Just the first two. Allison had gotten me The Hound of the Baskervilles. How exciting! This is one of Doyle's most famous Sherlock works. I haven't read it yet, but it's next on my reading list after I finish my current book I'm reading.

It was a pretty awesome Christmas. Than to finish it off we went and saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie the day after Christmas. That was a lot of fun. I really liked it. Who would have though 2011 would be the Christmas of Sherlock Holmes? I sure didn't, but what a great turn of events,

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, here are some holiday pictures from Indiana:

a new carol

The presents are unwrapped. The stockings are opened. The Christmas goose is finished, that if you eat goose for Christmas, I personally don’t. During this time of year we think of the many different Christmas stories that are out there. A classic that I’ve always enjoyed a little is the Christmas Carol. If you’re lucky you didn’t go see Jim Carry’s new version of that movie. I know I didn’t want to sully my memory of it. My Scrooge will always be Uncle Scrooge McDuck from Disney. That’s my Christmas Carol, has been since I was a kid. Yet, I feel a little bit like my life has taken a Christmas Carol turn this year. As many people know I work as processor for an armored car company. I get to count money all day long, and it’s not even my money. Every day I go in and count this money, so would Christmas Eve be any different? Of course not. That would be stupid. You need to work on Christmas Eve and count money. As I finished with all the different banks I had to count at around nine that night I thought to myself, what is going on? I felt like Mickey Mouse or Bob Cratchit. I was counting money on Christmas Eve when all I really wanted to do was be with my wife. On the plus side I didn’t have to work on Christmas Day. Thank goodness. One other thing that made me feel like Mickey was the fact that they gave me a Christmas Ham. I did opt to take it at thanksgiving so my family would have ham all of December to eat, but still the same principles applied to the Christmas Carol and my job. I’m pretty lucky to have this job though. They treat me way better than Scrooge ever treated Cratchit. Yet I can’t help but feel a little weird counting money on Christmas Eve

it's christmas time again

It's Christmas time again. We've seen snow fall from the sky already out here in Idaho. Thanksgiving is over, even if it's just a few days out. With the end of Thanksgiving it is time to put up the Christmas Tree. Luckily this is the first Christmas I have with my wife. We decide that it was time to buy a tree yesterday. We got a small four ft. tree from walmart and then decorated it last night.


Here we are getting ready to put the ornaments on:

I was lucky this year. I got to put the star on top of the tree. I've never got to do that before.

Unfortunately the first try was not the best. Poor little tree didn't like the weight of the star.

Luckily we finally got it all together and Allison was able to light the tree! Now that is just awesome.

Look it's the McLean's in front of their very first Christmas Tree! How awesome is that.

Christmas has come to the McLean home a little early in my opinion, but it's still the best thing ever. Merry Christmas to everyone.

point blank

Family is a key element to my life. I love my family in the good times and in the bad times. Now is a time to remember, which is the worst skill I have. I have the worst memory of anyone I’ve ever met, which is sad because I’ve met some pretty big time stoners. Reflection is not my strong key, but at times even I must do it.

Calvin was my first nephew. I don’t remember much around his yearly years as I was still just a kid too. I remember more from the last few years than anything else. The second Christmas back from my mission the entire McLean Clan spent it in Utah at my sister’s enormous house. One night all the cousins were running around the house like chickens with their heads cut off. Calvin had his soft-air pistol out. I’m not sure if he actually was shooting some of his cousin or not, but some of the girl cousins complained of being hit. They were crying like they had been shot with a real gun. Now if anyone has ever been shot with a soft-air pistol you know the tiny yellow pellets don’t really hurt much. I use to get shot on my mission all the time by other missionaries. Me, being the evil uncle that I am decide to take matters into my own hands. I was able to wrestle the gun from him with little trouble. All of a sudden I was the terror. I don’t think Calvin feared me much, none of the nieces and nephews fear me. I don’t know why? Calvin started to egg me on, daring me to shot him, probably thinking that I would never do it. That kid did not know the crazy that his uncle was. I pulled the gun up and fired one right into his chest at almost point blank range. Next thing I know he was running to his mother crying about how Uncle Mikey shot him. His mother, my sister, told him tough. It was a Christmas miracle. I got off with shooting my nephew with no punishment and spent Christmas with my family.

Calvin will always hold a special place in my mind and heart. He was my first nephew. My love goes out to all those who miss him as I do, especially his family.