Christmas and New Year!

Our Holiday Season was jam packed with fun and excitement. On Thursday the 18th, Bekah and Scott along with the Reagster showed up before the Nor Easter could hit. The next day on the 19th my dad and step mom Rita flew in. We were lucky that their flight out of S.L.C was in the morning, because by the time they got here we already had 4 inches of snow with another 10 on its way. We all made it home safe and sound, where it was warm and cozy. It is also where we stayed until Monday the 22nd.


After digging ourselves out of all the snow and packing up the car Monday morning, we headed up to Vermont to go skiing at Jay Peak. It was so beautiful and the snow was amazing! It was also extremely cold!! We had to keep all of our skin covered so it wouldn't freeze and fall off. We rented this great condo. I was surprised at how nice it was. We all got settled in while Rita made her famous potato and cheese soup for dinner, along with grilled cheese sandwhiches, it was very yummy. We started to get ready for bed and realized that it was getting really cold in the house, come to find out the pilot light had been blown out by the high winds, we got the pilot light going again and we were toasty warm the rest of the night.

The next morning we got up nice and early so we could be first in line for the lift and to put the boys in ski school. Bekah and Scott came along for the fun, but Dad, Rita and the Reagster stayed behind in the warmth of the condo. Reagan had been sick earlier in the week and we all had gotten or were getting a touch of what he had. It would have been a great site to see my dad on skis. None the less this was Bekah's first time on skies and we had fun remembering what it was like for us our first time down the mountain. Bekah did great after a bit of coaching from Scott and in time she will be a pro. Isaac and Owen had fun in ski school, Isaac more than Owen I am afraid. Isaac was plowing down the mountain and beating me on his second time down. He loves to ski. Owen didn't like ski school so much because I wasn't there with him, but as soon as I started taking him down the "Bunny Hill" he was in heaven. It scared me a bit to see how much he loves the speed. He didn't want me to stop him, so I had to explain to him that if I didn't stop him, then he was going to crash into every ones skies at the bottom of the hill. I think he understood after that because he didn't get so upset when I jumped in front of him to stop. Jonathan and I had fun making our way down the mountain while the boys were in ski school. He was so sweet to go slower for me, because anyone that knows J knows that he LOVES to ski. We had some good laughs at a couple of my falls that I wasn't so graceful on. It was fun to just hang out for a couple of hours with out the boys. I could kick myself though because I forgot my camera at the condo. It was Owen's first time skiing as well as Bekah's!! Bekah forgot her camera too, so I guess I can't feel too bad. But I would love to have some photos of the day. After we had exhausted all of our energies and Scott's skies got stolen we called it a day and started our journey home. It seemed like it took forever. I was so sick from whatever Reagan had had. We stopped and I got some NyQuil to knock me out. I never fell a sleep, but it did help with the nausea.


Christmas Eve was pretty low key. We made "Ginger Bread Houses". They all turned out pretty cute. It was a fun lesson in team work. Maybe next year everyone will get their own. Later in the afternoon, we made a nice dinner and I got to use my new dishes to set the table. The menu was Ham, smashed potatoes, cranberry and almond stuffing, gravy, sweet corn, spinach salad and Strawberry-Kiwi punch with hot fudge brownie sundaes for desert. It was a good meal. Before the boys headed off to bed to dream of Santa and his reindeer, we read Luke Chapter 2. I love this tradition that we have, it helps to keep the true meaning of Christmas in place and not to get caught up in all of the commercial crap that is out there.



Christmas morning was fun. The boys woke up and climbed in our bed. We snuggled a bit and then we were off to take the traditional picture on the stairs. The boys were good and sat still for a couple of snaps, but that was about it, they were too excited to see what Santa had brought them. We spent the next hour or so opening gifts and giving hugs and kisses to say thank you. The rest of the day was awesome. I spent the whole day in my Pajamas watching movies and talking with family. It was a good day.

Our next event was the Boston Pops. The boys got to stay home with a babysitter and the adults got to have a night out. I love the Symphony and I love Christmas music so this event is one of my favorites of the year. It was also fun to go into the city and see all of the twinkle lights that were up. Keith Lockhart conducted and one of our friends was in the choir the music was fantastic and it was fun to be with family.

For one of the boys Christmas gifts we gave them a trip to Build-A-Bear workshop. The week after Christmas we drove to the Burlington Mall and spent the afternoon at Build-A-Bear. Isaac choose an Alaskan Husky later to be known as "Icy" and Owen chose a Turtle later to be known as "Fibby". Over the next hour and a half we stuffed, gave a heart, sewed up, fluffed (bathed), dressed and named the new best friends. Reagan got a puppy dog that he dressed in dental scrubs. It was so much fun to be able to watch them have so much fun. I love giving the boys experiences as appose to just gifts. They mean more to them and they remember the experience of being with us and having a fun day. We ended our trip at the food court so that we could regain our strength after such a long time in surgery. It is hard work creating a new best friend!! :)

For New Year's we had another HUGE snow storm, we got about 10 inches. Luckily Bekah and I made it to Costco for the celebration must haves before the sky opened up and dumped its contents on us and we had to stay in side off the roads. Don't let the fact that we were confined to our home make you think that we didn't have a great time. I will let the pictures speak for them selves. Yah, we are working on Jonathan's addition to sparkling cider. It has been a long road, but he seems to only fall off the wagon on New Year's Eve. We are grateful for all of your prayers on his behalf. I'll have to keep you posted on his recovery.

We were so sad to see all of our guests leave. We had a great time and it was fun to get to know Rita better. I think that it is safe to say that; "We love you Rita and are happy that you are apart of our family". We wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.