Alone

John did it!  He only missed one flight, but he got the kids to Hawaii on his own.  Apparently, the kids were great travelers and they were greeted by cousin Richard and Gregg after 24 hours of travel.

Meanwhile, I don't think I've been alone in my house for more than a night in over 10 years.  It was a bit unsettling....... While there was a part of me that was really excited to have some time for myself, it also felt really weird to be without my team.  Granted, I had a lot to do with wrapping up school, but it was so strange to only make decisions for myself.  In the morning, I just had to make coffee and get myself out the door.  After work I didn't have to worry about who was where after school.  I could actually guiltlessly get out for a ski and then grade papers instead of making dinner.  Or I could just 

eat cereal for dinner.  But it was wonderful to get out for an early morning ski and then get the following photos of my family in Hawaii:

I am so glad that John and the kids were able to get to Hawaii early and get the most out of their time there.  Bobbie and Dick were so generous about letting them stay at her house and Damon and Gregg were fun adventure buddies.

Lion King

What a weekend!  We really packed it in.  Bumpa and Grandpa wanted to catch Cal in one of her plays, so month ago they decided to see her in the Lion King.  It just happened to be the weekend before the kids and John took off for Hawaii, the first day of ski club for Cal, and her birthday celebration at school.  But we made it happen and it was so great to have Bumpa and Grandma here to help us get it all done.

Cal requested an early birthday celebration dinner at Fuji-- Hibachi style:

On Saturday, the grandparents visited the kids for lunch at the ski club.  It was really fun to have them there.

Cal's first performance was on Saturday.  She was very excited about the costumes:

Tommy congratulating the thespian

Hazey and Bumpa got to spend some quality time playing Battleship while Grandma and I shuttled Cally to practice early. 

On Sunday, we had a beautiful day for a walk and sledding at Mills River Park:

Bumpa in his knicker outfit

hugs from Grandma

 

John and I had to pick up a rental car on Sunday afternoon and then Cal was ready for her final performance:

It was so great to see Cal in her final performance.  She loved having her grandparents and godparents there to see her.  

And then the kids went to bed only to be woken up at 2am to drive to Montreal for their 6am flight to Hawaii.

There were only a few stressful moments over the weekend.  Like when John informed me that he didn't know where his passport was at 8:30am on Sunday (they were flying out of Canada and his enhanced license doesn't work by plane!).  We drove to Burlington way too many times to count in that weekend and we were horrible hosts in terms of cooking and preparing meals.  We basically went out to dinner three nights in a row.  That isn't our style, but sometimes style goes out the door when you are juggling too many things.  

But we did it, thanks in part to my parents being around to help out.  Kuddos to their patience and generosity! 

December Condensed

It makes it really hard to do much else when the sun is out and the skies keep sending down snow!

But we did manage to bust out some ginger bread houses, thanks to my great friend Maris who always spoils my kids with Christmas craft bags.

Our "Very Merry" Robin Hood

The second play that Cal has been preparing to perform for the "Very Merry Theater" Troupe production.  This was the only non-musical performance.  She played a Harper for the first half of the play:

And she was even supposed to get married:

But, she was disappointed with the arrangement of the first guy:

Fortunately, she found her true love:

It's so fun to see her perform.  She loves it!