SECOND FRIDAY IN December and it is still warm, there is no snow on the ground and it is cloudy enough that people around the lake have their Christmas lights on. A couple of things did happen today. The founding fathers did cancel the Ice House Fling as we have no ice and no snow on the hill. This of course means we will not have the ice shanty town on the ice in time for Christmas. Even the skating rink needs some cold weather other wise when Christmas break comes the kids will be shooting hoops outdoors and playing broom ball on the grass. I was notified by phone by Gus that the founding fathers have requested that the Lodge along with other business in town to only display the outdoor temperature in Celsius. This way it will at least look like we are cold in any pictures. By the way it is forty out right now which means it is 5c

I did along with the wife and many other parents and grandparents attend the Lake Iwanttobethere grade school Christmas show. Here at the Lake we still call it a Christmas show and not a holiday pageant. With four grand kids in school I have them scattered through out the show. Back in the day they would start with the kindergartens and work their way up through the grades but then people would leave as soon as their kid performed. Now they have them, the grades scattered and you no longer get a program till the show is done. This way you stay confused which is a normal state of mind for a lot of the older grandparents.

Several laundry carts were outside the main auditorium doors when you come in. Our two paper bags of shredded paper now confetti were dumped into the laundry cart which was decorated with red tinsel but still had the bold PROPERTY OF LAKE IWANTTOBETHERE SCHOOL DISTRICT stenciled on the side. The school janitor, I forget his name was not looking too happy as he dumped the confetti into the cart. My mother in law was in front of us and she had brought in three bags, I think she knew the janitor as he told her the note said two and no more. We had no trouble parking today so I could not use the dropping the wife and mother in law off at the door so I can find parking trick. Nope there was a spot real close and I parked and we all walked in together, carrying our bags of paper confetti.

We even found seats in the second row, dead center. I was getting a feeling that something was up as I noticed the place was pretty packed but yet sparse in the front. Even with some seats open parents were standing in the back and along the walls. I hunkered down in my seat and made myself kind of comfortable. I started to fidget some till the wife leaned into me and said "If you can sit in a deer stand you can sit on a wood seat" I was about to say something when my mother in law put her finger to her lips and gave me a hush…

The show started and it was not bad, sitting in the front has it advantages as I could actually hear what the kids were singing. My two grandsons made me smile as they are in the fourth and third grades and as one class came off the risers the other class went on. The two brothers passed each other and slugged each other in the shoulders. Teachers rolled their eyes at the two of them but nothing was broke, no one fell off the risers so no harm no foul. Granddaughter number two had a two line solo and she sang it well. Granddaughter number one was on the drums and she was playing a 4-4 or a 3-4 time, either way it takes a lot of practice to be able to go back and forth like she did. The confetti was saved for the last song, White Christmas and on cue pails of the stuff were thrown from the stage to land on, you guessed it… Everyone in the first few rows here at Lake Iwanttobethere