The holidays are finally upon us...

And what better way to enjoy than watch a crackling fire and listen to murlocs chant carols.

Murlocs???

Honey, fetch my McGowan's Mace, wouldja?

Ahh... the good-old days...

We're debating about getting a new gaming system platform for black friday...
This brings back the memories...



Sadly, it sold out in the first few minutes!

More picks and video from comicon...

Your shipping manifest is right here, Mr Fett... I need your signature here, here, and here...

One boxed heroine, coming right up...

Edited: We interrupt this program to bring you a special bulletin on fanaticism...

Wednesday night, we spent grocery shopping and packing our bags and the van for a potential camp-out in our aunt's backyard.  Also, some of us still had to make costume adjustments.

Since the main events we wanted to participate in on Thursday were the panels with Mark Hamill and William Shatner started at 11 am, we decided to leave a bit early.  We gassed up, got some yogurt parfaits on the way, and snacked on fruit and drove for about 3 hours to our hotel.  Luckily, we were able to park there and walk to the Vivint Smart Home Arena with just enough time to spare to grab seats that one of our uncles saved for us, before Mark was introduced!  The announcer said something to the effect of "Guess who just walked in the building?"  I quipped, "US!"

He did NOT give away any spoilers...

Mark did say however that he has given away false spoilers in the past, and he said that his original trooper helmet from Episode 4 has deteriorated terribly bad that its not as good as the models today are.  So don't try stealing it from his house.

One thing that I really enjoyed was that he called us his friends.  So, now I'm on a first-name basis with Mark!

Shatner, during his interview, on the other hand, kept trying and failing miserably (to our delight) to catch pieces of confetti they exploded in the air for both events that was floating down from the ceiling.  And he kept telling everyone, jokingly, to "Get a life!"

That afternoon, we checked into our hotel room. Those Tempur-pedic mattresses were really wonderful all 3 nights!  We went to a bunch of panels, mostly on Star Wars and table-top gaming.  Zelda got to be first in line for Jessica Day George's autograph in her book Dragon Slippers.  Which she's been reading to me ever since!

Friday, we went to a bunch more panels, mostly on costuming, but also a fun one on Fullmetal Alchemist.  Learned a bit about thermoplastics, Zelda got a free sample.  I bought my Kingdom Hearts Keyblade in metal.  Earlier, I totally forgot about the free tram nearby the hotel.  Next year I'm going to remember!  Less walking to the con, more walking around the con!  We went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and I also got a mini-fridge to store our amazing leftovers in.

The dynamic duo rockin' out!

Saturday, we spent wearing our costumes and buying souvenirs.  Unfortunately we had a small costume disaster on the way but it turned out okay, even though the Zelda panel we wanted to attend was completely full-packed.  Instead, we checked out Kidcon, too.  Zelda got her metallic pretty elf ears from the same booth that she got her tiara from last year. And I got a new UltraSabers prop saber for another outfit in the works.

Sunday, we went to church with our Aunt and Uncle and played a few games with their kids.  The peaches are just as good as they were last year!  MMMmmm, sweet peach lemonade!

Monday, we had a small chicken barbecue lunch, and then left mid-afternoon for the drive home.

All in all, even without autographs and photo sessions this year, it was still a pretty amazing Labor day weekend!  The only bad part was I brought home an unexpected souvineer: a heat rash - we think - from wearing my costume and overheating/dehydrating and having my backpack/camelback scrape my chest and side.  Oh, the things we do for our fandoms...

The Close-up picture says it all...

Ap-Parent-ly, that's why she's been feeling sick to her tummy for over a week now! 

The Decade Osprey has died... time for an upgrade!

So those who know us know that we have had a ford escort hatchback for quite some time.
It has since throttled its last chortle, we believe, and have since replaced it with a "cargo hauler".

She may not look like much, but she's fast enough for you old man - she's got it where it counts.  She'll make point five past lightspeed, and I'm making a lot of special modifications myself. I've outrun Imperial entanglements. Not the local bulk cruisers mind you, I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now.

I really wanted an SUV, especially a Dodge Durango.  But the good news, is that the minivan has since grown on me.  It has plenty of space for 7, including my co-pilot, and if I take out the captains chairs and the rear bench, there is lots of room to haul stuff, and even throw down an inflatable mattress for in-vehicle camping expeditions.  When this ships a-rocking, don't come a-knocking!

In other news, we're already making plans for another 3-day holiday weekend, one that doesn't have one of us ralphing.  And our next geek-out trip to SLC,

Russ puns... they're universal.

Only wish I'd written a few of these...

Just got our tickets... We're going to SLC CC 2016!

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