Last year's Christmas card and one from this year. The kids are growing! (See how I get that cheesy goodness in there without even flinching?)
We got back from a family reunion today. How does a few days withing walking distance of skiing sound with all (or most of) your loved ones sound? Heavenly? Yep.
I didn't ski or snowboard this year. Charlie was acting like we pumped him full of amphetamines most of the time, so I decided to stay around and keep him from destroying things and tackling babies. I mostly succeeded.
Just before Christmas, I had decided to put together a photo book to cover the past two years of our familial voyage. I had about 12 hours of work into the project (I know, right?) and Charlie turned off my computer. I hadn't saved a thing. So I went to Plan B for gifts for our parents. It wasn't the end of the world, but reviewing the past couple of years, as always, gave me a broader perspective than usual (tunnel vision). I don't think that journaling or blogging is anything earth changing, but it's really great to be able to look back and get glimpses into those days that have gone by.
Some things that I've been telling family when we were together these past few days:
Lucy's first adjective: Heavy
Gabe's first adjective: Happy
Charlie's first adjective: Cool!
Charlie also can say, "Awesome!" When he says "milk," it sounds like, "nog."
Gabe really, really, really wanted a remote control helicopter for Christmas. He got a fancy four channel helicopter to share with his dad.
Lucy is actually playing the violin. Keep in mind that our (my) standards are pretty low. There are no solos or autograph requests as of yet, but we are getting it done. ("We" are getting it done, not "Lucy" is getting it done, because she is learning the Suzuki method, which means that every moment she is practicing, I am helping her.) It's another swing for me at consistency and practice. When I was young, I convinced my parents to enroll me in piano lessons. I loved the idea, but lacked the persistence to practice, so I stopped. We did that at least two times, maybe three: enrolled and quit, enrolled and quit.
The story above about Charlie turning off the computer is typical of our family these days. There are times when I try to catch up on things like blogging. Honestly, it's hard sometimes to keep trying when time is lost like that work on the photo book. Of course I've been saving my new projects as I go.
Gabe and Lucy both spent quite a few hours on skis this past few weeks. I saw a video that Brian took of Gabe. (He's a solid little skiier!) But it's been about a year since I saw Lucy ski. She just this week started using poles and moved up into the intermediate class. Charlie took three runs on Brian's back (in a backpack) yesterday on Millie at Brighton. He wasn't screaming, there were no tears, and he even smiled, so we count that as a success.
I'm going to try to embrace my limited time and call this good enough, or Charlie will probably make my exit for me. Happy New Year!
