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Friday, December 19, 2008

Farewell Iggy!



Today was our 3rd snow day in a row and we were going crazy! We ventured out to the mall to get a few Christmas gifts and let the kids play around inside. I was really surprised how busy it was. I guess the need for gifts outweighed the potential snow/ice. I have a few more gifts to get tomorrow and then we'll be hunkering down...assuming we get the 4-8" of snow and 40 mph sustained winds they are predicting!

Unfortunately due to the snow & ice, we decided not to go to the Davidson family Christmas party tonight. We were so disappointed as it's a great time of year to see the giant extended crazy Davidson family. We weren't the only ones who couldn't make it but we were sad nonethess. The idea of hiking up Lakemont Blvd with 2 frozen kids (one of whom is in a walking boot!) just didn't sound fun.

One of the best parts of the Davidson party is the passing of Iggy. Iggy is an iguana that my Grandpa Bill shot in Guam in the early 1940's. He had it stuffed and for decades, it hung over the door of his office at their house. When our grandparents died, whoever got Iggy as an inheritance, decided it was only fair to share Iggy with the entire family. So, every Christmas Iggy gets passed from one cousin to another (and there are alot of us!).

Last year my cousin Brent and his wife Jane and the boys, Jack & Graham, sent Iggy to live with us. Getting Iggy is an honor as well as a curse. I say this lovingly but Iggy is darn ugly! It's a fun family tradition and the rules state that he needs to be prominently displayed all year round. This year Iggy became a part of our dinig room decor on top of our china hutch.

Each year, the presentations for the Iggy announcement have gotten more & more elaborate. One year my cousin Tyler actually brought in a LIVE iguana as one of Iggy's relatives (he was about 3 feet long!) Jeremy and I worked hard on our "year in photos" presentation. The premise was that Iggy was on the campaign trail as a lead advisor to Barack Obama. Instead, the family had to settle for a conference call where I announced Iggy's new residence in a rather anti-climatic fashion...He'll be going to live with my cousin Peter and his new wife Elisa at the Edgewater in Madison Park. Quite the homecoming for Iggy since the 1st time I had Iggy, he lived with me at the Edgewater. Ragen has been going around tonight saying that he's not giving Iggy to anyone new so we'll see how this goes.

It's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Iggy. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out! :)
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Maggie playing with Iggy just after we learned he was coming to live with us last year

Iggy's last day in the Kiefer household

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