Hi!
Here are some pics from Christmas. The favorite toy of the day seems to be the giant tiger that Poppy Nick and Elizabeth gave the kiddos. And of course some shots of them in their helmets that go with the new bike and trike!
I know it has been an absolute age since I posted but the holiday season and a crazy work schedule got in the way of things like blogging! Way too much travel in December for Mama and the kids were not terribly excited by that- it is so hard to be away from them and my 3 night trip to NYC was not fun for them or for Papa, especially as it came on the heels of 2 other short trips. It all adds up and I know they are as short as they can possibly be but it is hard, on them, on Papa, on me. Oh well, I am just thankful there is work for my company and if I have to travel then so be it.
Things on the home front are great, the kids had their first Christmas yesterday and it went very well. As many of you know we have been having crazy weather in Seattle for the last week- snow, snow and more snow. Because the Seattle infrastructure is completely unable to deal with even a flurry, let alone several feet of snow, the city basically shut down. We were able to get around due to Mama's big truck and Papa's ability to put chains on. :)
The kids love all the snow and have been having a blast. A quick rundown of our holiday schedule -
Sunday, Dec 21- we ventured out mid-blizzard to go to Hannukah at Grandma Marta and Grandpa Craig's house on Mercer Island. Original plan had been to celebrate at their place in Bellingham but extreme snow kept us from being willing to drive there and back in one day so.... It was very fun, the kids had a blast and we all had fun making cookies, eating latkes and opening presents.
Weds, Dec 24- after another foot or so of snow we left very early in the morning for the drive to Bellingham. Because of the amount of stuff, the dog etc we could not take my truck and had to roll in Aaron's minivan. This was pretty scary because the clearance is so low on a minivan but with chains and front wheel drive we did pretty well. It did take absolutely forever though- a drive that normally takes an hour and a half took 4 hours but we made it up safely! Spent the rest of the day doing "elf business" and then went to the traditional Xmas Eve dinner at Aunt Robin's. Having heard that her road was plowed we came charging up it- only to get stuck half way up because our car is too low!! Carried the kids the rest of the way and then Aaron, Craig and Tom spent more than 1/2 hour digging and dealing with the car, finally freeing it and making it up to the house!
It was fun though, Brooks was in from Hawaii/Pennsylvania and of course Max and his family so the kids all played with each other quite a bit and fun was had by all.
Then back to Jane's house for sleep. The kids (and Mama) are super bummed that Jane is not here this year- it is her year to be with Terry's family in CT and we miss them greatly but are so happy we got to use their house because it makes it easier to have our own space. :)
Then it was Christmas morning!! The kids slept really well and woke around 7:30. Santa had come of course and they were pretty excited. We did a few presents here and then off to Max's for the full family celebration. Chaos- the poor kids were having a bit of a hard time handling all the action and the dozens of presents coming their way and it stressed Sasha out a fair amount. He decided to bail and go into their playroom for some quiet play, which was totally fine but some of the other 'helpful' people there thought it was odd he would prefer that to presents.... It was just too much, he will be into the presents in his own time, when they arent being piled on him.
They were great though and pulled through. Went back to Jane's for a nap (not happening, way too excited for that) and to change and get ready for the big dinner at Poppy Nick's house. That was also fun and the kids fell asleep on the way back to Jane's.
Today we are supposed to be off to our place in Whistler for a few days but unfortunately Aaron woke up in the middle of the night really sick. not sure if it is something he ate or if he has the flu but he is pretty darn sick. We are torn because Demian (one of my very best friends from college) and his girlfriend are flying in from Mexico to see the kids in Whistler and we certainly do not want to miss that at all but with Aaron so sick it seems like it will be very ridiculously hard to get there. We are mulling over our options but I am super torn- I am dying to see Demian and he is flying 3000 miles to meet the kids so.... But sick Aaron is no fun at all!
So, that is the long and short of our holiday thus far. I have a few days off so hopefully I will be able to post more. Hope everyone is having a safe and fun holiday!!
SKB
