Christmas 2010

A few (or forty) photos of Christmas... first up, Christmas Eve. We invited a load of friends and family to indulge in an Italian dish called Bagna Cauda, putting everyone to work chopping veggies and drinking wine. Add a little garlic and butter, and voila... a feast.
 

The kids tracked Santa all night through the official NORAD Santa Tracker and reluctantly went to bed when he was still on the east coast of the U.S. They awoke to many wonderful gifts... from Santa, from family, from friends, and from each other.

These little plastic bits are called ZOOB and are REALLY full for building. Jack has been playing with them nonstop since Christmas.

Even Kaia had a stocking and was excited to get her treats.

Liv wearing a new dress from mom and dad, and a new headband from France

Santa brought Katie a little vet clinic -- she immediately ran downstairs to get her old Halloween costume to get to work.

Grandma Judy shows Olivia how to play the guitar brought by Santa

Katie tries her hand at her guitar

Christmas night meant a smaller, but even more indulgent, dinner with friends Pat and Andrea. Our house provided crab legs, French wine, roasted veggies, and rice, while Patrick and Andrea brought a delicious appetizer (the name of which I don't remember, but it included garlic, mushrooms, nuts, and blue cheese on toasted pieces of delicious bread) as well as mussels served in the Valencian style (with lemons and white wine). Ah....

The tablecloth and wine came from France...

Jay and Judy left on the 26th, and on the 27th, my parents came to town! One of the memories that will stand out from their visit was the fun of watching the kids ask my parents for stories, stories, and more stories... about dogs they used to have, about when my brother and I were "naughty" (never! It was always Steven's fault, anyway), about the things they used to do when they were kids, and more stories about dogs. My parents were more than happy to comply. We also played with a lot of new Christmas toys (Lego, erector set, dolls, etc.), went sledding, took Kate and Liv ice skating for the first time, ate many delicious meals, put together two puzzles, shopped, and had friends over. John and I even got in a date afternoon and evening and went to see True Grit and out for dinner. The only bad part is that, except for the ice skating outing, we didn't take many pictures -- we were too busy having fun, I think!
 

Kate snuggling with Mom

Jack and my dad built a ski lift from Jack's new erector set. Pretty impressive...

What happened to December?

Happy New Year! How did a whole month go by without a blog entry or two? Alas... it was a busy month -- the usual holiday fun, plus finals and grading at the university, plus a stomach bug that passed among the kids and never went away, plus visits from both sets of our parents... and suddenly it's a new year. But to catch up -- here is a bit of December's fun. First off -- the kids' Christmas concerts...

Jack looking remarkably comfortable in his tie, doncha think?

Jack's class in on the far right side -- he is in the second row and sadly this is the best photo we got.

Kate and Liv's class -- they are in pajamas behind the girl in the purple shirt with the gold bow... looking (as usual) not thrilled to be performing!)

Next up -- some photos of the kids at their gymnastics classes. We actually remembered to take a few pictures this time around! All three loved it. Kate is in pink with orange shorts; Liv is in black top and purple leggings.

Next came some cookie decorating with friends Karen and Daisy. I don't know who had more fun -- the kids or the adults.There was time left to paint Kate and Liv's fingernails, too... pretty much ensuring a perfect afternoon. Jack was swimming with his friend Ailene for most of of the morning, but he showed up at the end to taste some cookies and even give his Stevie Wonder impression (in the last photo). Liv is in the stripey dress; Kate is wearing the black and red dress with a headband. That's Liv with Daisy's boyfriend, Craig.

We even managed to make and deliver some cookies of our own to neighbors and friends.

On Dec. 22, Jay and Judy came up for a Christmas visit. Our first order of business was to hit the slopes. It was the first time for Kate (pink) and Liv (purple) and only the third or fourth time for Jack. By the end of the day, they were all doing so well. It was great fun to get out and be on the slopes in the sun and the stunning mountains.

On the way to the mountains

Jay, pulling Katie through the parking lot

Jack, excited to get going

Judy and Liv

Kate

John and Lisa, about to take a run 

Lisa and Kate

John and Liv, with Lisa and Kate in the background

John and Liv -- both very happy

Jack

Jack

A series of shots of Jay and Kate, racing down the hill

Jay and Kate

Jay and Kate, with Jack behind them on the left

Jack and Kate

John and Liv

Pulling kids back to the lodge

Jack -- tired and happy at the lodge.

Next up -- Christmas, and a visit with my parents... hopefully I'll get those photos loaded and blogged sooner rather than later, too! In the meantime, I want to wish everyone a wonderful new year filled with great adventures for all.