So we went deer hunting...

Only instead of traditional weaponry, we opted for taking one out with our brand new van. Yes, the very same van whose virtues I was recently extolling in another post, with which I recently did some rabbit hunting. As you can imagine, the deer did a bit more damage... (Didn't I say something about hurting the ones we love?)

If you look closely, you can see bits of deer hide stuck amidst the wreckage. If you don't want to see bits of deer, don't look too closely.

So here's the story: We were cruising along lonely stretch of Nevada highway between Wells and Jackpot on our way to Boise for the last bit of Will's holiday break. Having opted to drive through the night with the hope that kids would sleep most of the way, we found ourselves at this point right around 2:30 am, and as Will rounded a turn he came upon a most unwelcome sight: two deer in the middle of the road. They tried to dash away, dash away, dash away-all, but the one on the left didn't quite make it off the road and he got nailed. And here's an interesting bit of deer trivia: in certain situations, after hitting a deer, you may end up with deer feces on your car. I wish I didn't know that from firsthand knowledge, or at all, really. But now you know it, too.

I was actually asleep in the way back up until the moment right after the impact, and awoke to see us careening off the road, then Will regained control and pulled over. After assessing the situation (middle of the night, 20 degrees outside, strange sounds and smells coming from the engine, smashed front end) I made the split-second decision that I always make in any moment of crisis: to call my dad (unless it's a moment of physical injury or illness, then the decision is to call my mom.) Fortunately we had cell-phone coverage in that part of Nevada, which is a miracle considering that it's one of many parts of Nevada that time seems to have forgotten. My dad got highway patrol dispatched to our location (mile marker 105, I will forever remember you) and we began the long process of figuring out whether our insurance would pay to have us towed 80 miles to Twin Falls, ID, the nearest town where we'd get decent service to our van, the poor baby. We did eventually get a tow from Twin Falls, which arrived at our location a cool 3.5 hours after we first hit the deer. So we had a little bit of time to relax in the car with a crying baby, sharing gingersnaps with the highway patrolman and discussing how bad things could have been if we had been in a much smaller vehicle. Good times.

We did have to leave the van in Twin Falls for a couple of weeks, but my parents were incredibly generous to lend us their Camry, and bring our van down to Vegas when it was finished. I have to say that the whole experience was made as painless as possible by the helpful service-people we encountered: the patient lady at highway dispatch; the patrolman; the tow-truck driver who cranked the heat up to 95 in his truck for our benefit even though he was wearing TWO coats; everyone at Snake River Auto Body, especially the tactful manager (when I asked him for his assessment of how it looked, he said "Well, it's wrecked.") And finally, the silver lining of the whole experience was that the bumper I cracked hitting the rabbit is now fixed.

So was it worth the trip to Boise? Absolutely, if for no other reason than for Charlie to go bowling with his cousin Cameron and put on these adorable little bowling shoes. Also for us to go to Dairy Queen half-off day. This tradition will NOT die, Richard. Half off of a Dilly Bar is, like, 60 cents!
Cameron and Charlie were getting some real male bonding time in at the bowling alley, giving each other high-fives after each turn. I don't think Charlie really understood what the game or the macho rituals were about, but he just likes doing whatever Cameron does.

Check out the dance moves on these kids!

These are the only pictures I managed to get of Charlie and Antonia in Christmas church attire because Antonia's little neck could only support this ginormous flower for a few short minutes. Actually, Antonia was more cooperative than Charlie, so she got some one-on-one time with the camera.

On Christmas Eve (this post is not chronological) all of Will's family had come to stay with us and we wanted to do something that would really put us in the Christmas spirit, so we went down to the Strip. That's what you do in Las Vegas at Christmas, people! It actually was quite festive, what with all the incredibly large Christmas decorations and such, and Christmas music playing with the Bellagio fountains, and slot machines tinkling like jingle bells. I think having gelato and crepes at the Jean Phillippe Patisserie and then coming home and having more crepes is a new Christmas Eve tradition whenever we're in Vegas for Christmas.

We were too lazy to get Antonia out of her stroller for this family picture at the Bellagio hotel. Sorry, Nia! Charlie's looking askance at all of the crazy people who decided to spend Christmas in a Strip hotel in Vegas.

I'm sure I had more to tell of our holidays, but I just can't seem to remember anything right now, so maybe another time. Until then, enjoy this video of the Squealer.