Wednesday, December 24

Figgy and Russ Do Determinations

This was my first full year with a new job and so I planned my Figgy and Russ adventures accordingly with being in the office on Thursdays. I tried to make them simple, so I didn't have to bring a lot of stuff with me to work. I picked up a few new ideas, new props and made a schedule to make sure I made it easy on myself. This year I will have a couple repeat scenes with a bunch of new ones to enjoy. I even asked Del if it could make me some small chain saws with his 3D printer. He was able to do that for me and I thanked him. Everyone enjoyed the elf scenes from this year, and I even have a few new followers.

Here are the scenes from this year:

Instagram Post: Look who's back...back again, the elves are back, tell your friends! Figgy and Russ took a joyride in their car and decided to be obnoxious and do donuts. I hope they were at least safe while they were doing them. Time will tell; I guess. December has arrived so that means elf antics until Christmas Eve! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #joyride, #dfo

Instagram Post: Yep, you probably called it. Figgy and Russ went a little wild doing donuts yesterday and flipped their car over. They sustained some injuries and need to rest and heal today. I ensure you they will be find and back in action tomorrow. Always wear your seat belt and be aware of road conditions! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #holidayseason, #dfo, #caraccident, #restandrecovery

Instagram Post: Figgy and Russ have staged a frosty coup in our freezer with their arctic friends! They've built an igloo between the frozen blueberries and gluten free bread, declared the ice cream tub as their throne and are hosting nightly snowball fights with stray ice cubes from the ice bin! Every time we open the door, we hear giggling from the mischievous elves! What will they get into next? #elfontheshelf, #russ, #figgy, #igloo, #freezer, #dfo, #frozen, #ice

Instagram Post: Buzzing with excitement on their day off, Figgy and Russ zipped through a snowy clearing, their mittened hands ready for the next throw. Figgy, aiming his disc with confidence, launched his silvery disc at the basket nestled below the slight hill. He and Russ watch it nearly miss a tree and slid right in for a satisfying clink. Figgy cheered for his hole in one, but Russ hoped for a win at the next hole. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #getoutside, #discgolf, #getoutandplay, #birdy, #holeinone

Instagram Post: No holiday season isn't complete without a haiku!

Elves drop cocoa mugs
Short straws pierce bright oranges
Joy flows from the source

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #orangejuice, #straightfromthesource, #whimsical, #dfo, #vitaminc
Instagram Post: For it's one, two, three strikes you're out, at the ol' ball game!

This year was another historical run that was cut short by one game. It is frustrating being a fan of the only team that has never gone to the World Series. Figgy and Russ also felt it.

Fans are the heartbeat of sports, transforming every game into something bigger than just competition. Their cheers, chants, and unwavering loyalty create an atmosphere that electrifies stadiums and inspires athletes to push beyond their limits. 

What makes it truly special is the belief that fans carry - the hope that one day their team will rise to the grandest of stage, the World Series. That dream fuels generations, turning ordinary moments into lifelong memories through shared passion. It's not just about the watching; it's about believing, hoping and living each pitch, at bat, throw or catch as it it's the one that will make history!

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #baseball, #gomariners, #refusetolose, #sodomojo, #nationalpasttime, #truetotheblue, #fans
Instagram Post: Huddled around a wooden table, cards and dice strewn over a miniature map, "roll for initiative!" Figgy, the half elf exclaims! Russ, who chose to play a dwarf wizard, rolls his dice and gets a nat 20! Figgy adjusts his pointy hat and narrated the unfolding adventure with dramatic flair. Their laughter rang out like holiday cheer with the thrill of epic quests lasting for hours on end. Dungeons and Dragons brings friends together in dramatic fashion. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #dungeonsanddragons, #rollforinitiative, #dice, #tabletopgames, #rpg
Instagram Post: Yay! Smalls the trivia shark made an appearance this holiday season! He showed up while Figgy, Russ and Jones were getting ready for a deep dive. Smalls got their attention that he was being chased by a bigger, meaner shark. Figgy had to chews wisely and got out the harpoon gun to warn the shark. With one shot, he hit and took him down. Figgy and Russ are not shell-fish elves and Smalls was forever grateful. Have a fin-tastic day! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #deepseadive, #rescuemission, #sharks, #oceanadventure, #smalls
Instagram Post: The elves have been chosen to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! The sorting hat has also spoken! Figgy will be with Gryffindor and Russ is Ravenclaw! They are both really excited for the opportunity and can't wait to learn spells and compete to catch the Snitch! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #harrypotter, #ravenclaw, #gryffindor, #sortinghat, #hogwarts, #wizard
Instagram Post: Let the Pokémon battle begin! Trainer's, Russ and Figgy compete for Figgy's badge in the battle arena.

Typhlosion unleashed a searing wave of Flamethrower, the inferno rushing towards Fennekin. The small fox Pokémon stood its ground, its ears twitching intensely. With a burst of focused mental energy, Fennekin erected a shimmering, orange protect barrier just in time, the wall of flame washing harmlessly over the protective shield. The battlefield filled with steam and a tens silence before the little fire-starter dropped the barrier, staring down their opponent ready to counterattack. 

It was quite the battle, but in the end, Figgy got to keep his badge and his title of Pokémon master. 

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #pokemon, #pokeballs, #battle, #pokemoncollector
Instagram Post: 

Ten days remain until Christmas day,
But the ground is still bare, too much rain - go away.
Figgy and Russ dream of a fun, snowy sleigh ride,
Outside, in the cool, crisp air, they glide.
They have nothing else on their list planned,
And soon take a break with a hot chocolate in hand.
The elves hope you and your family have a great rest of the year,
Have a happy holiday with merry and cheer!

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #winter, #snow, #sleighride, #hotchocolate, #raingoaway, #happyholidays
Instagram Post: Zipping through the void in a stolen TIE fighter, Figgy and Russ, two of Santa's most notoriously nosy elves, finally breached the Executor's cavernous hanger bay, a space filled with the menacing hum of Imperial power. Barley avoiding a patrol of Stormtroopers - snuck deep into the maze of hallways, their mission to find out what Darth Vader wanted for Christmas. 

Their luck, predictably, ran out just as they were trying to decipher a panel labeled, Bridge Access: Lord Vader's Quarters. The elevator doors hissed open to reveal not just members from the rebel alliance, and more Stormtroopers, but the towering, cape-swishing figure of Darth Vader himself, who paused, his iconic heavy breathing filling the silence, before coldly intoning, "You find my lack of holiday cheer...disturbing." 

Was the force strong with Figgy and Russ? We will find out tomorrow.

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #starwars, #TIEfighter, #theexecutor, #darthvader, #stormtrooper, #deathstar, #rebelalliance
Instagram Post: They may have escaped Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers, but I am not sure if they escaped the dark side...I mean, they are a little mischievous, but this is overkill.

Let's hope it wears off in a day or two.

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #chainsaws, #gingerbreadman, #thedarkside
Instagram Post: Figgy, Russ and Blitz are ready for the big Thursday Night Football game tonight. Both teams are 11-3 with the NFC West title on the line. Who will prevail in the rainy Pacific Northwest?

We will soon find out.

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #seahawks, #blitz, #football, #tnf, #nfl, #nfcwest, #gohawks, #tailgating
Instagram Post: Wow! What a week! The elves have been busy and after that insane Seahawks game last night they just decided to take the day off, chill and get some reading and relaxing done.

Figgy enjoys sci-fi, true crime and biographies while Russ ready more fiction, romance and old-fashioned newspapers. They like what they like.

Happy Friday everyone!

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #reading, #bookworms, #fiction, #nonfiction, #books, #randr, #friday
Instagram Post: Concluding this college football season - the Cougs play Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl! You know Figgy is super stoked along with Russ and Butch.

Let's hope the weather holds up today in Boise so we can bring another bowl trophy to the Palouse! Go Cougs!

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #gocougs, #collegefootball, #bowlgames, #alwaysfindoutwaybackhome, #wazzu, #idahopotatobowl

Instagram Post: It's the smell of freshly baked sugar cookies, wafting through the air. You hear the sound of elves clanking dishes and arguing about who gets to man the mixer and who gets to roll out the dough.

They heard you, your mom and your friend making cookies on Friday night and they thought they'd try their hand at baking too. They succeed but, made a giant mess in the meantime. It's the thought that counts, right? #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #cookies, #baking, #mess, #sugarcookies, #goodtimes, #holidaygoodies

Instagram Post: Today is the last day! The elves sure had fun with their obnoxious fun. Thank you to everyone who followed along for those three weeks. We appreciate you and your time. We have more in store for 2026!

Have a great holiday season, however you and your family celebrate, and a happy new year!

#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #dfo, #winter, #sweaters, #hotcocoaseason, #friends, #goodtimes

See you next December with some new scenes!

Next Adventure: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Saturday, December 20

Geocaching Events - Two Community Celebrations

I chose to be a chapter rep probably at the worse time. It was fun to plan gatherings, volunteer and meet up with geocachers but it was so hard to find time to host gatherings between my new job and working on the rental house. Life was busy - plain and simple. I was so ready for it to slow down a little bit. I missed my weekends.

I had corresponded with TheDips (Riley and Karen) about ideas of where to host an indoor Community Celebrations Event with the SW Chapter geocaching account. They told me the public library would be perfect and that I could have their reservation. I told them they didn't have to abandon their event for mine. They wanted to so I asked them what I needed to do to make it happen. I got onto the library's website and followed the instructions. I then, worked on my geocaching page and made sure I got it submitted as soon as possible. I had to have it in two weeks in advance for the volunteers to accept it. I chose to do a hot chocolate and candy canes event because I've never been to a geocaching event like that before.

Karen and Riley submitted their event for earlier that same day except at the park in Kettle View, just off of Yelm Highway. They let me know that they were going to do a Winter Solstice Cache Exchange if people wanted to bring their extra containers they weren't using and share them with the caching community if they wanted them.

I slept in a little bit, ate some breakfast, went for a walk in the park and made sure I had all of my stuff ready and put into the Escape before I left to go to Karen and Riley's event. I headed over because that parking lot fills up fast and I wanted a spot. The weather was cold, rainy and the wind was gusty. I am thankful that the park has a covered area to hide under. Ben decided not to go but would meet me at the library later for my event.

The event started at noon, and I got there about a half hour early. I had a parking spot, made sure I had all my warm clothes on and walked over to the covered area. Karen and Riley were getting the area ready for the event. I helped them cover the picnic table. They had a bunch of containers to get rid of. I signed the logbook and waited until more people arrived. They asked me what I've been up to. You know, work, rental house and generic life stuff. Then the conversation merged into geocaching and geocaching trips. 

More people arrived as it got closer to noon. It was nice to see people I haven't seen in a while. Lots of fun chats and stories. Karen and Riley started off the event by welcoming everyone and were sorry the weather was so terrible. They singled out Frisbee'r (Dan) and gave him a special holiday trackable. He was very moved by the gift. Then they raffled off containers and no one left empty handed. About 20 people came to their event and braved the yucky weather.

I stayed until about 1 and then went home to make sure I had everything for my event in the Escape. Just before 3, I stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things and then drove to downtown Olympia. A couple geocachers arrived early and once we got our room, which was after my scheduled start time, one of the library staff members had a hard time finding the keys to unlock the room, they helped me bring in everything from the Escape. Ben arrived shortly after and he helped me set up the room.

We had people sign the logbook and told them that the hot chocolate and candy canes were up for grabs if they wanted some. Surprisingly, a bunch of people participated in the hot chocolate. We sat around, chatted and enjoyed each other's company. I had Ben walk around the room and get pictures of people hanging out. We had about two dozen people show up - even two cachers from Eastern Washington, Brad and Steve. They were driving all over the state picking up random CCE caches. This was my second ever event I've hosted, and I feel like it was successful!


I thanked everyone for coming out and once our time ran out, we packed up everything and left it better than we found it. We let the library staff know that we were done and thanked them for letting us use the room for our event. 

From there, I drove out to Tumwater to meet up with our friends for our Christmas party.  We had a great time eating food, playing our Christmas themed games and laughing a lot. Until next year!

Next Adventure: Figgy and Russ Do Determinations

Saturday, December 6

Picking Out Our Christmas Tree

I always hope that the first weekend of December is nice so we could go get our Christmas tree rain free. Sadly, that isn't the case every year like I want it to be. I asked Dad if we could borrow the truck so we could get our Christmas trees and he said we could since he wasn't using it for anything that day. I also tried getting a hold of Mom, but she wasn't answering her phone. I found out later she was over at a quilting lady's house helping her go through excess fabric. She missed out on getting a Christmas tree with us.

I called Grandma and told her that we were going to go get our Christmas trees on the first Saturday of December. I told her that I wasn't sure what time yet and that we would call her on our way out to Rainier. She planned to be ready to go with us. Every year I buy a Christmas tree for her for Christmas. They've gotten super expensive over the years. I have not gotten to the point of buying a fake Christmas tree yet.

I cleared out a spot for it in the same corner of the house we've been putting it for years. The weekend before, we grabbed our Christmas decorations out of the storage unit and started to prepare. We just now had to hope that the weather held up for us.

I called Grandma to let her know we were on our way. We grabbed the truck, picked up Grandma and headed over to Lynn and Greg's house to pick out a couple trees. It was busy and we almost didn't find a parking spot, but someone had left and we snagged it. We grabbed our gloves and walked up to the covered area to say hi to Lynn and Greg. This time Gus was around as well. We had a short chat, grabbed some saws and made our way around the tree farm to find us a couple trees.

Everything was wet but at least it wasn't raining on us. I think we found ourselves a lucky break in the rain. We didn't know how long it would last so we looked quicker than we usually do when it's cold and dry. We found a couple that we liked - they had to hit our criteria. It had to have a good, sturdy top, full on all sides, somewhat symmetrical and trimmed well enough to fit in the corner without it looking all weird. 

After about 20 minutes of wandering around, we think, we've found the trees we were going to throw in the back of the truck and bring home with us. We cut ours down first and then helped Grandma cut the one she wanted. We carried them over to the covered area so we could pay and use Greg's chainsaw to trim the bottoms of them. I got myself some hot cocoa and a candy cane, paid Lynn what we owed and stayed for a little bit catching up since the last time we saw them.  Lynn and Greg are always fun to visit with. Grandma sat in front of the fire trying to keep warm.






It was time to go. I helped Ben throw the trees into the back of the truck making sure we knew which tree was which, thanked Lynn and Greg and hopped into the truck. We dropped off Grandma and her tree first. Ben brough it up on the porch and we got it into her tree stand inside the house. We positioned it how she wanted it to be in the living room and told us she would decorate it later. She thanked us for taking her and mounting the tree.

We drove back to my parent's house and tied the tree to the top of the Escape and took it back home. We left it in the garage to dry out a little bit and planned on putting it in the tree stand and decorating it in the next few days since the rental has kept us busy every weekend.

We were able to decorate it after work on the Monday while Monday Night Football played in the background. It was fun finding places to put all of our ornaments we've collected over the years including our newest 2025 ornament. 


It looked very festive once we were done decorating our tree. Next year, if we are in the new place, it will be interesting trying to find room for everything. 

Next Adventure: Geocaching Events - Two Community Celebrations