Last week I wrote about how mellow Christmas had become, and I have to say that this year was lovely. The presents were smaller, the words were gentler, and the overall volume was tuned down to just the right setting to really enjoy the season. I did have moments, I will admit, when I missed the whimsical "magic" that young kids bring to the occasion. Though these moments were fleeting, they really accentuated to me the fact that we are growing up as a family. Santa was conspicuously absent in most of our celebrations, and our little elf, Widget, didn't move around very much. We didn't chop down a tree, or put lights on the house, and the talk of presents was much abbreviated compared years gone by. That said, I wouldn't in a hundred years want to trade back the warmth and peace of this season for the frivolity that has so characterized the past. Sitting around a dimly lit tree, sipping hot cider with our cinnamon rolls, and allowing each person in turn to pass out their small-but-thoughtful gifts has allowed for an effulgence to set in that was realized this year more than maybe any other in my entire life. It was Christmas as it should be. Full of family. Full of joy. Just...full.

Have a good week!

We are winding down to the holidays and I have to say it has been a pretty relaxing year for us in this regard. Our kids are growing up and there is a lot less attention to presents this year, which I think is a good thing. Obviously we'll do a gift exchange on Christmas morning, but it doesn't seem to be the main focus any more. Some of this leads to a little less "magic" around the season, what with Santa and reindeer and all that being a thing of the past, but I like to think it is being replaced with new traditions that are more sustainable for us as a family. It has just been really nice to ease our way into the season as opposed to the normal hustle and bustle.

As for activities, we had a pretty eventful week. On Friday we hosted a large work party at our house, which was tons of fun. We feel like a lot of these people are part of our family, and it was nice to hang out and just relax for several hours as the night wound down. 

On Saturday, Evelyn and her band performed a few songs at the "Epic Music Festival" in Coeur d'Alene. They did a good job, and it is always fun to see how comfortable and confident she is up on stage. She also went out with different friends for most of the day on Sunday to play music downtown on the streets using acoustic instruments. They didn't make much money doing it, but she had a great time.

On Sunday, Addy played her saxophone at church for the annual Christmas Pageant, and Lindsey played the part of an angel, helping, in the process, to shepherd younger angels around the stage as needed. Also, the resort we ski at opened a new mountain this year and Addy, Jackson, and I had a great time exploring the new terrain. Rach is recovering from a minor knee injury so she wasn't able to go with us, but she should be up again in a week or two.

Alright- merry Christmas to everyone and have a good week!

Quick update- I don't feel like a whole lot has changed with us over the past couple of weeks. Winter is in full swing and we are skiing a lot as a family. Ev has a gig coming up next week with her band, and they have been practicing hard for that. This means that our house is regularly taken over by a bunch of teenagers with guitars and drums. I love it. Her and some friends are also planning a busking night downtown with acoustic instruments, so that's a little more laid back and should be fun. Addy is playing saxophone in a Christmas pageant thing. We finally got our house somewhat decorated for Christmas.

The biggest bit of news is that Rachel got in a car accident. Nothing drastic- just an icy corner and a little fender bender. Nobody was hurt. But our car has been in the shop for weeks, and it will be for a while yet before it is all fixed up. In the meantime I've been driving around these crazy roads in a rented Dodge Charger with California plates. Not a great look around here. I definitely don't expect any help if I end up stuck on the side of the road. Hopefully we get our car back in time for the New Year's trip we've been planning.

Well, enjoy some photos, and I'll have a little more to report on next time.

Have a good week!

Our poor van! Most of it is cosmetic, but still. This car has been through a lot.

I spent one entire day skiing with Lindsey. She is so much fun, and is always up for an adventure off the beaten path. I've mentioned it before, but it is hard for me to think of a better bonding activity than skiing. Lots of time to talk. Excitement. Fun. Elements of both risk and achievement. It's perfect.

This is when Addy was the only one who wanted to go up with Rach and me. Here we are holding up our respective lunches. Chili cheese fries for Addy, a nice warm cup of chili for Rach, and a sandwich bag with trail mix in it for me. Does this say something about personalities? I don't know.

These last two are from an overnight trip we did with family friends at the Wallace house. We skied all day, and in the evening the kids watched movies while adults went out to relax. It was a wonderful weekend.

I have to include these two pictures because I love this shelf and the items on it. The bottom one is for context- this is in the living room, in the back corner above the lamp. It's weird and it's quirky and it fits our family well.

This is a day that just Maren and I went up. Maren is probably the best conversationalist out of all our kids, and hanging out with her is definitely time well spent.

This last week was very full for us. Full of family. Full of food. Full of skiing. Full of driving. Full of good times and full of memories made. Just...full. It's been good.

Before we get into all the activity of Thanksgiving though, there are a few things to catch up with.

This picture represents SO. MUCH. WORK. This is at our celebration dinner after Rachel interpreted for the play "The Little Mermaid." By all accounts she did a phenomenal job. There isn't a whole lot more to say about that. Just- she is pretty cool.

This is from the play "The Lightening Thief," which most of the family went to see. All the kids said it was soooooo gooood. Meanwhile, Rachel was just rolling her eyes. Different audiences. 

Alright, now we can move on to talking about Thanksgiving. We left our home last Tuesday night and drove as far as Idaho Falls. The next morning we finished the drive to Shannon's house where she hosted us as well as her brother's family and her mom. We did the traditional dinner thing, and there was a lot of talking and hanging out. Good times.

Besides Rachel's family, we also got a chance to see a bunch of my family who happened to be in the area for the holiday. It's good to reconnect.

This is us with Rachel's mom. She made a painting on slate for us to hang in the Wallace house, which I will feature a little more below this set of photos.

Here we are with my Grandma and Grandpa

Shannon's ferrets were a big hit!

Thanksgiving dinner

Of course with our family it is never just food and conversation, though those things were highlights for sure. Another highlight though, was the skiing we got to do. It's not even December yet and we are going on day seven already of the season!

Addy and I went to Woodward Park City one evening. It's a huge playground for skiiers, and I don't know that I will ever go to the SLC area in winter again without trying to visit this wonderful park.

We all had a great time at Snowbasin and Alta (on separate days).

I got to ski with each individual person on this trip: Jack and I scared ourselves with the steep runs off the High Traverse. I raced down the groomed runs with Evelyn, Maren, and Lindsey. And Addy and I found the coolest ravine to ski together, laughing as we jumped from side to side. It's going to be a good year.

On the last day of the trip, Wendy surprised our family with this slate painting. Apparently she had been working on it the whole time we were skiing, and I think the small details she included capture perfectly each personality in our family. 

Thank you again, Wendy. This weekend we'll put it up in a prominent location to display proudly in our Wallace house. It fits perfectly with the mood we are creating there. 

Well, that's about it.

Have a good week!

I can't explain to myself the degree of excitement that was going through me on Friday night. We had driven up to the Wallace house and had a good evening with the kids before putting them to bed and going out on a little date. Later that night, laying in bed, I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. It was ridiculous, and though I was fully aware of this fact, I couldn't help it. In a few short hours I would be in line for first chair on the first day of ski season.

Advertised conditions were as follows: "Potential obstacles and thin areas may be encountered. You may want to wait for more snow if all you have is new gear." No worries. It didn't matter. The entire family was stoked to be on snow again, the sun was shining, and the atmosphere was festive. From now until sometime in the spring, we'll probably ski at least once a week. Sometimes this will mean big trips to big resorts, and others will be short half-days closer to home. We'll spend long hours in cars and hotel rooms. We'll laugh, and cry and have our individual victories. There will be some injuries, hopefully minor, and there will definitely be a lot of stories. And it all started on Saturday morning. Let the season begin!

We timed it: Just about 15 minutes from our house to the lift line. It's nice to be able to take it easy in the morning and still get first chair :)  

The first of many good trips. 

Not sure they were supposed to be up there, but at least we got a photo before telling them to come down.

Scenic lunch break

Besides skiing, we did a few other things as well.

This dynamic trio partied like it was the 90s at the Smashing Pumpkins concert in Spokane! Oh, the memories I have of that band. I swear that when I hear the song "1979" I can catch the faint smell of worn vinyl seating, burning oil in an old pickup truck, and the sweet feeling of teenage independence. 

As a family we went and saw the play "Guys on Ice." It was a fun musical that had us laughing out loud at this small-town theater.

Speaking of ice- we went skating at the outdoor rink they set up at the park. 

Winter is here and I love it. 

Have a good week!

Last week we were able to have Shannon and Nathan (Rachel's sister/nephew) come up and stay with us for a few days. It has been a while since they were up here, and it was so good doing things with them. I make no secret about the fact that I love our lifestyle and where we live, and it is fun to show that off a little bit. In a few short weeks we'll head down to their house for Thanksgiving and they can do the same for us. 

Good times :)

Since it was so close to Halloween, Nathan got to be part of  The Great Candy Trade this year.

Rachel and Shannon got out for a nice lunch up at Arbor Crest. We really like it up there.

Walking around the gardens after lunch was beautiful, as always. A bit nippy though. Winter isn't that far away.

First snow of the year!

Rachel, Shannon, and I went to the theatrical production of Rocky Horror. And yes, this is us with the cast, not the audience. Sometimes it can be hard to tell with this one. They actually made the show tons of fun and I personally enjoyed myself more since maybe the first time I saw it many years ago. I'll also give a shout-out here to Stage Left- a small Spokane theater that deserves more recognition than they get. Their past several shows, actually, have just knocked it out of the park. Bravo.

I guess it's that time of year that people start putting up Christmas Decorations. I am definitely one of those who say we should wait until December for this. I just have a hard time handling that much cheer for that long. It's like drinking a large Slurpee- pretty good at first, but hard to finish because it's soooo sweet that it just makes you want to throw up at the end.

On Sunday we went up to the Wallace house. This is a photo that Evelyn took while she was out on a walk with the other girls.

And here is one that we took on our walk. What a beautiful changing of the seasons.

Evelyn and her leaf. She is actually smiling really big in this photo, but to show that would ruin the gritty image that she has spent so much time cultivating. Hence, the leaf. 

Of course we had to stop for Gooeys before driving Shannon back to the airport. 

Have a good week!