Lamb Christmas Day

Christmas is such a fun time. We're lucky to have two this year. The kids slept in our room under our Christmas tree and although we didn't sleep very well at all (especially Alicia who had Jace hogging her side of the bed) I know the kids enjoyed it. They woke at 6 am like usual but were wired for being able to go downstairs and see what Nana and Papa had done for Christmas morning. After tiding them over with several Chipmunk cartoons, we finally went downstairs to discover our stockings filled and presents under our trees. We spend the next few hours together opening, assembling and playing with presents. Ben was thrilled to get a little talking bear, Claire got her own little bike (she's been "borrowing" bikes from Jace or other neighborhood kids), Ethan got this awesome remote control 4-wheeling guy, and Emily got a digital camera. Alicia and I also received a few gifts including clothes and we gave Nana and Papa a few gifts as well including a photo book and a DVD of movies made from pictures of the kids.

But the nicest part of the day was simply spending time together. The toys are sometimes just a convenient excuse for gathering everyone up and enjoying each other's personalities, interests, and happiness. It was a great morning that was followed by (surprise) food at breakfast and a fancy ham dinner.

What a great pretend holiday!

Faux Christmas Eve

Since Alicia's parents won't be around for Christmas and we haven't had a Christmas with them since Emily was a baby, we are celebrating two Christmases this year, one with them this week and the usual one with our family next week. As part of this celebration, Alicia's parents are trying to pack in as many Lamb Christmas traditions into this time as possible. I'm glad for this because Alicia has been longing for many of these traditions for years.

One of these is a traditions is loads of food. In these last few weeks Alicia and I have eaten more food than in the whole previous month combined. There have been dessert trays, cheese balls, canada dry, egg nog (we've gone through 8 or so cartons), turkey and ham dinners with all kinds of sides. So after a big dinner, we had a big desert of Black Forest Cake (and egg nog) and then watched a little cartoon with the kids and had a second desert of a christmas goodie tray (compare the picture this year to last year). Egg nog too. After we put the kids to bed we were all so groggy and full that we didn't want to think about food or even be in the same room with food.

One thing's for sure, with all this food we're eating we'll be well insulated for winter.

Candy, Kids and Sleepy Smiles

Somehow the danger of taking candy from a stranger melts away on Halloween evening. I for one couldn't be happier about that. I had the opportunity to see over a hundred children tonight who came to our door asking for candy. I saw all kinds of costumes and excitement in the faces of the children and all kinds of parents smiling with pride at the cuteness of their kids. Halloween around here doesn't seem to be about scares or the macabre - it's more of a parade of cuteness and candy. No wonder I love this holiday.

With Nana and Papa in tow, Alicia and the kids (all five) went on their own parade of cuteness this evening. Ben was a bumble bee, Claire was a clown, Jason was Thomas the tank engine (he had a last minute change of plans from being a caterpillar to Thomas), Ethan was a skeleton, and Emily was Princess Peach from the Mario Bros. game. 

The evening was unseasonably warm for this time of year - about 50 degrees after the sun dipped out of sight. So the cold didn't affect the kids' fun and they all stayed out for nearly an hour. Ben enjoyed the comfort of his stroller and a few bags of M&Ms and Claire filled her little plastic pumpkin halfway with candy and was the recipient of many cuteness compliments. Then the two of them came home with Nana and Papa and helped me pass out candy for the remainder of the evening.

Meanwhile Alicia had the older kids out for another hour. At almost every house, Jace would say "Trick or Treat" with the others and then excitedly dash back to the sidewalk exclaiming, "Mom, I said it!" When it was all done, Ethan and Jace had filled their plastic pumpkins to the top. They dumped their candy out on the living room floor and compared their loot with each other.

After having a sensible amount of candy, the kids were readied for bed and tucked in with smiles on their faces. It's likely that many other kids in the neighborhood had similar sleepy smiles tonight. So who cares about this holiday's shady past, it's presently a wonderful night.

Cornbelly's

The kids have been getting stickers on the fridge for doing nice things for each other and as a reward, we took them to a nearby fall amusement park called Cornbelly's. We got faces painted, played on wooden structures, saw pumpkin princesses, watched a pig race, rode on a cow train, and walked through a corn maze.

The sun set and the temperature dropped quickly so we had to leave but if that hadn't happened we might have stayed another few hours. The kids loved playing there. Ethan exclaimed as we left that it was the best day ever.

I love amusement parks. I want one. Maybe someday I'll get to make one.

Mountain Man

My view from the trunk

It's so nice to be close to the mountains. I'm not a rugged hiker or a manly hunter guy. I don't even consider myself to be a tree-hugging nature lover. But it's always refreshing to go on a drive to the mountains and step out of the car to breathe the crisp mountain air. This is especially true when you've travelled to the mountains in the trunk of a minivan as a result of constrained seating availability in the van. We drove up little cottonwood canyon this evening loaded with capri suns, sandwiches and chips then ate it amongst huge granite boulders and a setting sun at the mouth of canyon.

I remember missing the mountains when I went away to Texas for two years. I imagine that if we ever leave, I'll miss these beautiful piles or rocks that I visit every four months or so. Maybe someday we'll build a cabin in the mountains and then I can become one with nature.

Nana and Papa Arrive

For the first time in three years Alicia's parents are with us for a visit. They flew in tonight and arrived to a welcome sign made by the kids and a van that was filled to capacity with passengers (I stayed home because there were not enough seats for all of us). The kids are very excited to have them here and I look forward to the building of stronger relationships during this time. With Mom's passing and Dad's stroke, grandparents on my side are a little limited in presence (although the kids see Grandpa about every other week) so it will be good to give them a strong grandparent relationship. And Alicia often longs for more time with her parents. As we got Nana and Papa set up for bed in the basement I saw Alicia and her Mother say goodnight and hug and I could tell that it was long overdue - perhaps for both of them.

This will be a good visit.