New Mexico Part 2

Michael's parents graciously kept the boys while Michael, Sarah, and I headed to the mountains of New Mexico to ski. A university student from our church offered the use of his family's vacation home for a college retreat. Let's just say that the world was Sarah's oyster for those four days. She had her own Sarah H. fan club of more than 20 college students and no brothers to divert any of that attention.

Sarah went to ski school for three days. Or, as I like to call it, ski school daycare. Best thing ever! Drop off was shortly after the lifts opened and pick-up was shortly before the lifts closed, which left plenty of parent ski and relaxation time. And, she loved every minute of it. No tears, all smiles. She didn't graduate off the bunny slope, but by the last day she was allowed to ride the chair lift by herself.

I had not skiied in three years, so the first day was pretty rough. I didn't warm up or get my legs under me before I headed for the harder stuff. I basically went down half the mountian on my butt and put a big ole rip in my ski pants. At one point I took my skis off and chucked them as far as I could. Let this be a lesson; this is not a good strategy. By day two I was back to my usual ski self and day three was perfect. Michael learned an important lesson, too. Don't check facebook on the chair lift or you might have to ski down a precarious part of the mountain to find the iphone.

Each afternoon, when the lifts closed, the local mule deer would come out to feed on stale bread, chips, pretzels, and other highly nutrious foods.

Here is the lovely house were we stayed. It was an amazing three story home with lots of bedrooms and space to spread out.

It also had an indoor ice rink, so Sarah also got to skate for the first time. Let's just say she was better at skiing.

New Mexico Part 1

After Christmas we headed west to see Michael's parents, who now live in New Mexico. We had a great time seeing them, their new home, and the unique landscape of the desert. We took a couple of drives with breathtaking views and also caught up with some old friends who used to live nearby before moving to NM.

Playing with Papa Jim.

Nana kisses.

While at our friend's home, Andrew had one of those horrendous diapers that overflowed to his pants. The poor kid had to go out in the winter night with just his diaper, shoes, and coat.

Michael's parents kept the kids so that he and I could spend a day in Santa Fe. On our way to lunch we stopped at a French bakery and bought an apricot crepe for an appetizer and a San Michele to eat later for dessert. We ate lunch at a fabulous hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. My dish came with a pineapple pico de gallo that was crazy good.

Michael visited his older brother John, who now lives in a group home not far from his parents.

Happy Samuel. What a baby!

With Papa Jim.

Christmas '09

White Christmases are really overrated! At least the kind that cause blizzards. In years past I always felt a little disappointed that the ground wasn't softly blanketed in powdery Christmas snow, like in my Minnesota childhood. I was actually pretty excited that the weatherman was predicting a major snow - a prediction that sounded convincing enough for us to go to Home Depot to buy a snow shovel. The nostalgic feeling that I was having about a white Christmas flew out the window when I pulled out of the drive with my three babies in the car to drive downtown to church so that our family could light the candle on the Advent Wreath. Despite getting the minivan stuck twice on the road that evening, we made it safely. Sadly, we had to cancel our annual Christmas Eve open house because the conditions were just to treacherous. We really missed celebrating that evening with my parents and close friends. But, we still had a full house because Michael's sister DeAnn, her husband, and their four children were up from Texas to spend Christmas with us. The Hodges were also able to slide over since our houses are pretty close. On Christmas Day, my parents were able to dig out of their driveway (it took them several hours) and make the 6 mile drive to our home for Christmas lunch. The snow provided hours of afternoon fun for the big kids after lunch, so there was an upside.

Backtracking a little, the kids had so much fun Christmas morning. With every gift that was opened, Sarah and Andrew demanded that everyone close their eyes, "No peeking!" until the paper was off. Then they would yell, "Ta da!" or "Surprise!" and everyone would have to ooh and aah over the gift. For the second year in a row, Sarah asked Santa for a candy cane. And, seriously, if that had been the only thing he left, she would have been perfectly happy. He left her 4 candy canes, so it was really her lucky day! She liked her other things, but those candy canes were the prized possession. Andrew asked Santa for a banana, but ended up being more interested in his own candy cane. Sarah's other favorite things were the headlamp, butterfly wings, and soccer ball. Andrew was really excited about the train set and the play kitchen.

I bought this gingerbread house kit at Sam's Club a little over a week before Christmas. I told the kids that we couldn't open it until the cousins arrived. As soon as their van pulled into our drive, Sarah and Andrew had the kit in their hands ready to greet them at the door. Thankfully the cousins were really good sports and went to work helping my kids.

Finished product, plus Advent Wreath and frosted windowpanes.

Christmas Eve - crazy Oklahoma weather!

Obligatory Christmas Eve PJ picture.

Michael reading the "big" kids 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Michael reading the "littler" kids 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

What else could be in here?

Samuel taking it all in.

A little unwrapping action.

The new train set.

Totally pooped Christmas night. He was so excited to be sleeping in the sleeping bag.

The snow actually stuck around, so the kids got a lot of time to play in it.