Christmas 2011

We had a very cozy Christmas season, starting quiet celebrations on the first day of winter with our annual candlelight dinner with the Careys, Rob got to hear awesome live music at friends' house, Christmas eve with the Carters, and Christmas afternoon and evening spent with the Harricks.  All was calm; all was bright.

Lucy knitted a scarf/shawl for a friend.  Jasper is taking credit for it.

Jasper's dream come true - a C3PO lego watch and a green turtleneck.  He even slept in the green turtleneck on Christmas night.  Thanks, Grandmomma.

Lucy also knit her Dad a hat (her first hat to knit).  She was quite proud as you can see.

And overalls from Grandma Gloria, in the nick of time, since we head to the farm later this week.

No funny business here...

Blessings abound for sure.  

Today

Into the bright sunshine we will go today - Jasper and friend, Grandma Gloria and me - downtown to see the Nutcracker. The sun will also be shining on Lucy who will spend the day outside at Quiet Heart Wilderness School, "rendezvous day," where they celebrate the last of the fall session. Lucy has grown up these last few months, now getting herself entirely geared up and preparing her own lunch and backpack for the day - scrounging around for long underwear and wool socks herself. Beautiful and sad.
This weekend we celebrate Christmas with our parents, with Lucy's girl choir concert at Meany Hall, with friends on a lantern walk around Greenlake, with cozy time at home listening to Christmas music. I myself love nothing more than the rare (here in the pacific northwest) sight of bright sunlight hitting bare branches - even better if you see this while the dance of the Sugarplum Fairies plays and a little boy is shuffling through a box looking for tape.

Chicken Love

So I am testing out posting to the blog by emailing the post.  I'm hoping to eventually be able to update the blog from my iPad.  Anyhow, our lives have been dominated by   raising chicks and building a mansion of a coop, the former my job, the latter, Rob's.  Jasper is in charge of chasing, er, loving and showering affection on the chicks.  Lucy has been occupied being allergic to them... heh, heh.  Wouldn't want this to be too easy, would we??  Turns out I love caring for critters, especially  ones I know make my little guy happy and will be contributing eggs as well as their beauty to the family.  Turns out Rob loves to work his bee-hind off building small outbuildings.  Who knew?

loving the game

After years of watching from the bleachers at Paramount Park, sometimes in tears because he couldn't get on the field, Jasper, last week, played his first t-ball game, and this week played three more. He is into it and pulling the rest of the family along with him.

Our lives have otherwise been sweetly occupied and interesting. A(nother) broken arm, concerts, visitors, music, Star Wars, legos, muddy trails, muddy floors, seeds sprouting, writing and painting, and planning, and all sorts of other goodies have cropped up to command our attention, along with lots of t-ball - enjoyed on the field or from the sidelines

Vacation!

Dang, I meant to be so good this year and update my blog every week or so... but here it is almost two months later... well, close enough! We are just off of a great adventure to Gypsum, Colorado, on a road trip from our home near Seattle, that's around 3000 miles if you're doing the math. I loved the time with my sister and her family, my Dad, Aunt and Uncle. Loved the skiing too. I'd forgotten just how much fun it is to ride the lift to the very top and ski a few miles down in beautiful snow on a sunny, clear day, with obscenely gorgeous scenery everywhere you look. Made all the better by skiing with a bunch of folks I love, some of whom I've skied with all my life (my sister, Aunt Nancy, and Dad) others just a time or two (Rob) and my own nephews and kids who I'd never hit the slopes with before. Max, my five yr old nephew, tears it up out there, I can hardly keep up with him. Lucy went from top to bottom of Beaver Creek twice, and Jasper is on the verge of mastery of the pizza. We were tuckered out when we finally got home last night, but happily reliving the lovely memories of it all. Our drive home was harrowing at times as you can see by the last picture, but we managed to sail through safely.

Just starting out here.

Good old Eastern Washington.

Crossing the Columbia River into Oregon, speed limit drops, on past trips we've learned this the hard way...

My sister Em and Teagan.
Jasper coming right along.
Rob, Me, Lucy, Jasper, Max, Teagan, Em and my Dad, John: a motley crew....

Rob was about the happiest he's ever been making his way down the mountain with Lucy. After only one day of practice, she was ready to hit it down the mountain a couple of times. She loved it - she's caught the bug bad...

Police officers.
World's most delicious little doodle-stein. There can not be anyone on the planet cuter than this little guy.
What didn't happen to us... thankfully...

Winter 2011, Week 2