7 months in the hopper

Merry Christmas

Hope Christmas has been good to all of the PPO3 visitors. We started ours with a road trip to Ohio. My first Christmas present was given to me by a stranger. Somewhere in West Virginia on our way to Ohio as I was cruising along when a jeep got right in front of me….going the speed limit. I was quite perturbed until I realized that there was a cop ahead and this jeep was purposefully slowing me down. Thanks mister jeep guy.
Plus, on the way back, a stranger in front of us paid our toll.

It was good to be in Ohio with the Poff clan.

The mystery Christmas gift that Janelle and Mandy have been keeping a secret was a trip to NYC in May. Turns out the clues they gave were not entirely true. I’ve only been to the big apple once and only for an afternoon so I haven’t covered much ground. If you have any suggestions about what we go/see/do while we are there leave a comment below.

boys and their toys

I have written before about the value of making Christmas fun instead of functional.

This year my brother and I got laser tag with a twist.....when you get shot, it shocks you.

We also got indoor r/c helicopters.

Here's caden with his giraffe yet to be named

If he is anything like me...he'll always need the rim to be lowered to dunk it.

Charleston Wedding

The Pate clan headed south to my cousin’s wedding in SC.

Not Your Traditional Christmas Concert

Tomorrow night, Janelle and I will be catching the “Behold the Lamb of God” concert at our church. We caught it last year and couldn’t miss it this year. I have been counting down the days for a couple weeks now. Bonus is that one of my favorite indie artists Andy Gullahorn (one of the funniest guys I have ever met and a great lyricist) is part of the tour line-up.
Penned mostly by Andrew Peterson, the tour is a collaboration by several Nashville artists (mostly in the Square Peg Alliance). To learn more about the album click here.
There are a few more stops on the tour this year. Click here for more info. Highly recommend.

thinking caps sold seperately

Found this tool that tests what reading level is required to understand this blog. So be warned, better bring your "A game" when visiting PPO3.
Just for fun I ran all of our blogging buddies through this tool and they all only required an measly elementary school reading level. Are you guys even trying? Especially you Porricelli, you are working on your doctorate. The shame.....
If you want to see for yourself, click here

November recap

• Janelle and Mandy are planning a surprise Christmas gift for my brother and I.
• Matt is on his way to forming his global empire. Note to self....buy stock as soon as it becomes public
• My long dormant skateboarding skills come to life and another episode of spoon wrestling at Thanksgiving
• We bought our first home!!

The New/Old House

Janelle and I closed on our new (actually 80 years old) house and first home last week.

Things are a bit busy around here (as I am sure there are at your house). Between moving into a new house, getting in the swing of Christmas, (for me personally) finishing up a grad school class, the Pate clan is alittle hectic.

Here are some pics:

Front yard & Dining room (not our table)

Storage building in back yard & Janelle's favorite part of house (dishwasher)