Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas Joy


 Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year!  We were lucky to host Nana and Grandpa this year.  They arrived just after we all got home from school on Tuesday the 23rd and stayed through the 26th.

Nana swooped in with books and hugs

Grandpa was ready to draw and goof around
The weather wasn't so great, so we spend some quality time hunkering by the fire and enjoying the warmth and company in our home.



The kids were so fired up for Santa to come and they loved so many of their gifts.

Nana's hand knit sweater
Scratch art
a lego farm!


a mug with Hazen's original art

We couldn't stay in all day, so we left Nana and Grandpa at home to take a nap between meals and got out for a fun walk with Zephy.



It was such a treat to have Art and Peg up here for Christmas.  It was the first time they had ventured up here to celebrate Christmas with us.  The kids love their new sweaters and we all appreciated their company.




Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Ski Freedom



We are getting there!  The kids are skiing independently and even riding lifts on their own!  It's been a long six years, but we are getting to the sweet spot.  Both kids LOVE to ski and are up for it almost any time.



Hazen had Owen, the class hippo, visiting again, so we decided to take him skiing, too.  It was great!  I don't think he fell once the whole time he had Owen in his jacket.


Hazen is getting wherever he needs to go and is learning how to do more french fries instead of pizza turns.

 

Cally is doing lots of parallel turns and is doing an after school ski program at Cochran's once a week.


The most exciting news is that they are riding lifts on their own!?!?!?!?  This is so exciting because it means I can take them skiing on my own when John has to work (which is a lot this winter).  


Whatever works, right?  They like to ski and we all have fun together.... even when the conditions go downhill (like they did right before Christmas)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Six!


Birthday's were a big deal when I was a kid.  But, I didn't have a birthday near any other major holidays, so it was sort of a good excuse to make a big deal about a child.  I'm committed to making birthdays a big deal for my kids.  Especially if one of my kids has a birthday three days before a major holiday.

 

This year, we decided to keep it small.  Cally invited five of her friends over (as well as her brother and a sibling on one of her friends).  They ranged from some of her oldest friends (Isaac, Piper, and Thompson) to a few of her Poker Hill friends from last year who go to Jericho Elementary School (Celine and Blake)


I offered to do the gingerbread house making thing again.  I did it when she was three and now she was turning six.  I figured it would be a lot of work upfront, but I wouldn't need to do much of anything once the kids arrived.


I was right about both of those assumptions.  I baked and assembled seven ginger bread houses (yes, the dog ate one of them the night before?!?!?).  It took an estimated five hours to make the dough, cut the dough, cook it, and assemble the houses.




But I'm not complaining because it was totally worth it!  Everyone had fun.  Even the three year olds who had to make their houses out of graham crackers.


Cally had a ball with her friends.


And since I was making gingerbread houses and then cupcakes the following day, I signed John up for baking the special birthday cake.  He made a fabulous buttermilk chocolate cake with vanilla icing infused with fresh strawberries!  And this is from a guy who almost NEVER bakes. 

 

John says I have working mother guilt and that is why I go overboard on Cally's birthday.  That's probably very true.  But it's also very true that my own mother set the bar pretty high with her honoring of her children on the anniversary of the day they entered the world.


Baking Olaf cupcakes, gingerbread houses and organizing all of that makes me happy. 


Because this girl makes me so happy!  She's one amazing six year old.  Full of curiosity, spunk, enthusiasm, humor, and thoughtfulness.  I love her to the moon and back.


While I'm not likely to repeat this cooking extravaganza every year, I'd do whatever it takes to make this girl feel as special as she really is on her birthday!  And look how far we've come!



Thanks to everyone who made Cally's birthday so special.  Especially, Uncle Scotty who came to hang out with a bunch of crazy kids for the afternoon.


Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Polar Express


There are so many different ways to indulge children at this time of year.  There is the Nutcracker at the Flynn, a play about toys coming to life at UVM, the Polar Express and more.  None of these events are free, so I asked the kids which special treat they would like this year.  Cal got to go on the Polar Express last year at the last minute, so I thought she'd rather go to the Nutcracker and figured John and Hazen could go do the Polar Express.  


However, Cal wanted nothing to do with doing something without Hazen.  She insisted that whatever they do, they do it together.  And you guessed it, Hazen really wanted to do the Polar Express.


Getting tickets to the Burlington Polar Express is next to impossible.  You either have to volunteer as an elf a year in advance or enter a lottery which involves sitting online at exactly 4pm on an afternoon in October only to find that the website crashed and only the luckiest actually get the golden tickets.


We had heard there was a Polar Express in White River Junction-- an hour and a half drive away.  They aren't giving these tickets away, but you can buy tickets less that a few weeks in advance.  


So we went for it.  John thought I was insane and said there would be no way he'd spend a day driving a car to go on a train.


It was a haul..... but it was so, so sweet to see how happy the kids were to be on the adventure:










It really was a magical experience.  The kids drank hot cocoa, ate cookies, hugged Santa, and got a bell.  Sure, there are a lot of other more productive ways I could have spent my day, but seeing the joy and wonder in the kids was more than worth it.  And John even admitted he was sad he didn't get to come.