Light Wars

No one can tell me how it got started but they say it started either a year before I was born or a few years after, either way its been a tradition on Christmas night for about 20 years!

My grandparents have lived in the same house with the same neighbors, The Fulton's across the street for about 40 years?? or so.
My grandparents and the Fulton's had children the same age and they all had fun playing together as kids.
Both houses have big picture windows that face each other, so you can see right into the other person's house.
well, sometime about 20 years ago. Im assuming it started because my mom and her siblings and the Fulton kids were all back from college, and back for the holidays. They started a light war.

First it started as one family flickering their lights and then they would shut all the lights off and make a formation...say a human pyramid, then they would turn the lights back on for the Fulton's to see, then the Fulton's would return the favor.

Somewhere along the lines things changed to what it is today and what I always remember it being.
Light Wars.
at some point on Christmas night after dinner we will all (or some of us will) be sitting the front room and BAM! there will be lights flashing in our eyes!!
That means the light war is on!!
People start yelling and searching for their flashlights like mad people(santa usually brings flashlights in our stockings) then turn off all the lights and start flashing!!
It changes every year sometimes we start it and sometimes they do!

and one time they weren't home so we made a poster and sat on their porch and took a picture with our flashlights in hand, printed the pics and left it at their house!

It is a competition, whoever has the biggest lights wins!
One year we wrapped my uncle up in Christmas lights and sent him outside.

One year they blinded us with a huge work lamp
One year I picked up the floor lamp and flashed it off and on.
This year we thought about having burning torches but then they caught us off gaurd and we just used our flash lights
and a couple of years while this was going on random cars drove by and stopped in the street because they were confused!

Either way it ends with both families meeting in the middle of the street for hugs and maybe a Christmas carol or 2:)
I bet we are the only families in the world with this tradition!


and I love it:)

Christmas #3

we arrived in columbus on christmas eve around 10pm and then stayed up until midnight because Chasen and Lily wanted to play together for a while and Chasen wouldnt go to sleep!
My grandma had taken down the stockings and lily was concerned...

santa came and rang his bells around 7am to wake us up to open our gifts!
Lily asked Santa for a snowman. Santa didn't bring snow but he brought the stuff to make a snowman!!
chasen opening his stocking with great granny

and eating peanuts with great grandpa Then we had a Christmas morning hair cut!

finished product!! lookin good:)

we ate lunch and then started in on all the piles. granny & grandpa spoil us!





jackson got a knife...scary

Lily and all her loot!!

granny and Auntie Lisa
chasen coming outside for his big gift from mom and dad!!!

Alyssa and I Later that afternoon we went to visit great great grandma
chasen was a hit at the nursing home in his santa suit!


5 generations on christmas!

Then we had Tom and Jerry's! Eggnog, rum and brandy!

Christmas #2

we woke up on the 24th at my mom's had breakfast, and packed up to head to my dad's!
We got there around 11:30 had a light lunch, relaxed
and the kids got to open one gift.
Chasen opened his bath toys and then had to take a bath

then we went to church at 2pm
They had a nice service which was like a play with lots of music and chasen loved it! He even went up for the children's service with aunt Ara, which was something we dont do at our church. And they talked about Jesus' birthday and I was nervous that Chasen would bust out in happy birthday or let go of Ara's hand and run over to the guy with the guitar and start hitting it....but he didnt!
After church we went back to my dads for dinner and lots of gift opening!
great grandpa swede!
these two are trouble, don't bee fooled by their cute smirks
and these 2....same story!
and this one, he was very very tired.
We did a secret santa and Chasen got to help unload the gifts and of course he stacked as high as he could!

scootie helping grandma open the first secret santa gift
which just so happened to be a $20 and "secret santa" attached a no trade clause to it so no one could take it from her!
we hung out until about 8pm and then all loaded up in the suburban and headed to Columbus to Grannys house and fell asleep before santa came:)

Christmas #1

We left our house on Thursday around 11:30 after rounding up the goats, packing in a rush and taking the recycling to town we were on the way to my mom's house.
The roads were good and we made it there by 5.
We ate enchiladas and a blue cheese, apple, bacon, corn bread appetizer that was actually good!! and Chasen got a foot massage at the table!
chasen also provided us with some dinner music
I put my ornaments from my childhood on the tree, each year when we wrote a letter to santa we got an ornament when he picked it up! Its always fun to go back and look through them.
I got alyssa tea cups for Christmas because that's what she wanted and I got her one with an octopus on it because when we were kids she was scared to death of Ursula on the little mermaid and I would make her watch it with me all the time, like sit on her and make her watch the ursula parts!! Yah I was a true mean older sister:) she still loves me though and I think the tea cup will make her laugh for years to come!

Ean got a soda stream!! He asked me for one and I said absolutely not!! He drinks way to much caffeine. But, I gave the idea to my mom and sis and they got it for him with caffeine free soda!
he loved it:)
Jackson got some awesome PJ's ;)

chasen got some cool stuff too!! a lil red puzzle, woody


but he really wanted Jaxies magazine organizers lol
after that we lounged around watched 3 movies...well Alyssa Jackson and Ean stayed up till midnight watching the 3rd video, I went to bed!
and in the mid morning we headed to my dads.....

Our First Christmas with Santa

(my happy boys! I love this picture)

Here is Chasen setting out cookies for santa, which he wanted to eat himself.

Thursday morning we did our family christmas. It started out a little cranky...
if you look close you can see that he is crying

someone was very tired because he stayed up till 11 and threw about a 45 min fit before he would open any gifts
Then it took forever to open the gifts
because he would take off the tinest little piece at a time :)

we loved every second of it minus the fit!
Kevin got a gift from santa too and he loved it!

Then we had breakfast complete with cookie cutter french toast!

Chasen loved it!

Then we went outside to see our newest christmas baby, no the storke did not visit us, but we had a baby goat!!


what would christmas on the caskey farm be with out a baby goat?!

Then some guy who lives around us stopped by and asked us if we were interested in selling any of our billie goats?
Of course we said yes!!! less mouths to feed, plus we have way to many billies around here.
So we put chasen in the car with a movie and ean and I spent a half hour rounding up 5 goats.
I wish I had video of this because Ean and I both fell in the snow several times and Ean actually tackeled a couple of the goats!
The guy came, bought the goats, which paid for christmas!! And then we were on our way to Nebraska!!! For Christmas with my mom first.....