Wow...the month of January has come and gone and I haven't done much of an update at all. Truth is, we have fallen into a pretty nice groove since the holidays. School and work are back in full swing. The kids are all in a 10 week ski class, so that takes up much of our Saturdays. We often go skiing in the morning, and then either play with friends or go to the Kroc center in the afternoon to climb/swim. Sunday mornings are pretty much taken up by church, and then, up until recently, football games in the afternoon. On Mondays, the kids go to school and Rach and I have our standing breakfast date, after which she heads off to work and I go to run errands.

It's a nice, easy way of living, but doesn't make for many headline breaking blog posts.

Have a good week!

Who gets 16 days off for Christmas Break????  The Hazard Kids! 

Too bad it is not possible for all parents to get this much time off.  We had an amazing Christmas break as a family, but Logan eventually had to return to work and continue adulting.  I, on the other hand, had no intentions of adulting and instead decided to run off with the kids for an 8 day adventure to sunny Las Vegas! Why not, right?

With a clean car (who does that before a trip?!?!) and a car full of excited kids we set off on the eighteen hour drive.  Wait? Eighteen hours? What did I get myself into? Well, I must say that the kids are EXCELLENT travelers and about 39 of the roughly 40 hours driving was smooth sailing,  

On the way to Vegas we stopped at my mom's house for a few days to visit and have Christmas with my mom and all of my siblings. We had plenty of time to play games, visit a great children's museum, play at Grandma's, have a Christmas celebration, enjoy some kid free sister shopping time, and of course, go to Leatherby's for ice cream! 

Leatherby's Grandma Gracie's Sundae is the only tradition that I am pretty sure Logan did not miss!

We always have a great time at Grandma's house! It was fun to see Shannon, Marissa, Brandon, Kendra, all the cousins, and my mom. Hooray for family time!

It was now time to continue our trip and head to Marissa and Wesley's house in Henderson Nevada.  Marissa and I made the drive "together" and again it was a success!  Warm weather here we come... or so we thought...

I am constantly amazed at how much fun and activity we are able to fit into relatively short amounts of time. I am also pleasantly surprised with how easy it is becoming to take our five crazies on these adventures.  We spent a lot of time outdoors in the sunshine, Marissa and I took all seven of the kids to The Mirage for a dolphin adventure, I took our kids to the strip for an entire afternoon of fun exploring, Marissa and I went shopping together again without kids, and on our way out of town we visited a mermaid show. These events are definitely better told through pictures, so here we go!

Sunshine and leaves!

Somehow we did not get many good pictures of all of the kids together. We tried, but it was pretty unsuccessful. This is a fun one because it has Oliver and Kaylee in it, too,

We visited a cactus garden and I gave my camera to the kids. I found a lot of interesting pictures... This one was a keeper.

After the trip we were discussing our favorite activities and the Dolphin exhibit at the Mirage was the top of everyone's list!  This was the first adventure we went on, and the weather was not on our side. it was mid forties with a windchill that felt like it was in the teens! I was SO surprised how well behaved the kids were and with the lack of complaining. We stayed for about three hours and had a wonderful time! When I was there I overheard someone in the gift shop saying that she had lived in Las Vegas for 37 years and she does not remember it ever being so cold! Luckily, the rest of the trip was beautiful weather. The Dolphin exhibit also featured another section of Lions and Tigers that was dedicated to Siegfried and Roy. The animals were very active and fun to watch. That is definitely a perk that comes with cooler weather.

Logan summed this up perfectly:
Jack:I'm just playin' it cool
Ev: This is neat!
Addy: Look good for the camera!
Lindsey: Am I smiling now?
Maren: Don't make eye contact...
I think he nailed each of their picture personalities

Proof that Marisa and I were there, too!

I may be a bit more scared of Addy than the lions...

We did not stay on the strip after the dolphin exhibit because we were there for so long and it was a bit cold.  I took the kids the next day and can I just say that I love having older kids who listen well and are fun to be with? We are out of the 'just take care of my needs' stage and I am living it up.

Our first stop was the Venetian. We walked around and enjoyed the sights.

After the Venetian we visited Circus Circus and saw an acrobat show. I don't have any pictures, so you can use your imagination.  When we finished we met up with Marissa and the kids to tour the Bellagio gardens and finish off the night with the Bellagio Fountain show.  It did not disappoint!

A semi successful picture of all of the kids together.  Maren stole the show!

To begin the long ride home on a good note I surprised the kids with one last destination stop to see a mermaid show. Most of them were enchanted with the exception of Jack. He was adamant that the Mermaid was not real and it was his intent to make sure no one was fooled. I think he came around and enjoyed the idea of it towards the end. Either way, it was a fun stop and a great end to a fabulous vacation! Thank you Marissa and Wesley for having us in your home and being awesome hosts!

This was the mermaid tank. I have decided that it is nearly impossible to get a good picture of a mermaid. You will just have to go and see her for yourself.

I can't think of a better way to end this purple text post (thanks for the added Pizzazz Adalie!) than with this awesome candid video of Evelyn. She got her dance on on the way back to the Bellagio after the fountain show. Love her!

As mentioned in the last post, Rachel and kids have been gone for the past week in Las Vegas. I'm sure they will have lots to tell about when they come home. In the meantime, I have been playing (and working) closer to home. Besides seeing a lot of movies and playing the guitar I have gone skiing twice, made several trips to the climbing gym, and took a trip to Canada with three other friends for some ice climbing. Good times!

Gibraltar Wall- Four pitches of vertical or nearly vertical ice. Beautiful. We did two routes- one going up the middle and one on the far right of this picture. Both WI4+

So...About 15 feet off the ground, my left crampon binding broke. Rather than go down, I finished all four pitches of the climb with one foot. It was basically like doing a thousand pull-ups in a row. Pretty tiring. After that first climb, some other climbers had the part we needed to do a repair, and I was able to climb a little better on round two.

Um...that's a selfie I took at the ski resort. To prove I was there...I guess? I don't know. Anyway, it was a good day.

Stay tuned for next week when we'll do a New Year's update on everyone. Until then...

Have a good week!

Merry Christmas everyone.

This salutation comes a bit late, but it's been a good one.

Just some thoughts: The Christmas season has always been characterized for me by a remarkable pairing of obnoxious holiday cheer (busy songs, loud colors, etc.) with nostalgic peacefulness (cozy fireplaces with snow outside, classy table-settings with savory food, etc.). It has been fun, as our family gets older, to be able to focus more on the latter and less on the former. It is fun to see kids putting more thought into their presents as they get older. It is fun to be able to focus on relaxing family time instead of on the holiday hustle and bustle. The internet has been a huge time-saver when it comes to shopping. It is fun to just settle into a vacation, like sitting in a familiar old chair, rather than attacking it like a foe on the battlefield.

There isn't much more to say. Christmas morning was rather understated- nothing wild- just the way it should be. For the next week or so, Rachel and the kids will be in Las Vegas with Rachel's sister. I will be home...but not at home. I have to work a few of the days, but in the meantime I will be climbing, playing the guitar, and skiing. I head out today with some friends to BC where we'll ice climb over the weekend. It should be good.

Enjoy some pictures, and have a happy new year.

Rach and I went to see the tour of Broadway's "Waitress." Definitely a fun night out.

Evelyn and Rach went on an Eagle cruise on the lake. Every year, hundreds of Bald Eagles come to nest on these shores. It is pretty spectacular. You can almost always count on seeing many fish grabs. Evelyn has been "into" birds for a long time now, so this was a special treat for her.

Rachel rang the bell individually with each of the 4 oldest kids. This has become a tradition.

New PJs on Christmas eve. Thank you Dianna and Dave!

I had to put this somewhere, because I thought it was cute. On my amp: "You ROCK, Litterly. -Jack" (Sic)

We haven't had much snow lately, making for some excellent family walks. 

This family walk wasn't so excellent. On Christmas day, Lindsey fell and hit her chin on a rock, requiring a couple of stitches. Not the funnest way to spend Christmas afternoon, but she was a champ. And Santa even came to the hospital for a special visit.

Family ice skating day! I love the movement in the last picture. We had fun.

We went and walked around downtown. We started at the library where the kids explored the bookshelves for a long time. The ultimate destination, however, was a small park where our church was doing a "neigh-tivity"- basically a petting zoo with camels and sheep and stuff. There were lots of people there and we had a good time.

You'll have to forgive the obvious edit, but we didn't really stand out otherwise.

 My office went to a hockey game. I have never been to a hockey game before and I didn't know what to expect. I got more into the game than I thought I would and found myself cheering out of my seat during the exciting overtime finish. Also, it was the teddy bear toss night, and the coolest part was after the home team scored their first goal and people (including us) started throwing stuffed animals onto the ice- over 7,000 of them! It looked like stuffy rain! It was crazy! They will all be given to hospitals and charities.

We got our Christmas tree. It now stands proudly in our living room and is making our house smell wonderful.

As soon as all the kids were off to school on Monday, Rachel and I hit the slopes on our own. We also got almost all of our Christmas shopping done on the ride to and from the resort. Great day!

Have a good week!

The holiday season continues around here with lots of fun and traditions on the horizon. This week the big project was getting our Christmas lights up on the house, and we were none too soon as it started to snow just as I was plugging in the last strand. It was perfect- like the weather gods had been waiting patiently for me to get off the roof before pulling the levers that changed Fall into Winter.

Winter also means the ski resorts start to open, and we took our first family outing on Sunday after church. The kids haven't forgotten a thing, and we all had a good time.

Lindsey wins for whipeout of the day. That is why she is wearing my gloves. Hers are full of snow! 

*****

Also, we are pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 gingerbread competition. Team A won by a landslide! Both teams did great though. Good times.

Have a good week!

Note: Even if you don't read this blog, please vote on the gingerbread houses. The stakes are enormous! Pictures are at the BOTTOM of this post. Choose your favorite and leave a comment on here, on Facebook, or just tell us in person. 

Thank you!

*****

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving we had a couple notable happenings including a "friendsgiving" at our house, school pictures, parent/teacher conferences, and some exciting developments at work that will come out at a later time. We also did some hiking, went to some movies, had fun on dates, watched a lot of football, and lived the good life up here in North Idaho. I didn't write about these things as they happened because I didn't really feel like it.

Here's school pictures:

(They are all a little bit grainy because they are proofs They did not offer the option for digital downloads and we really only use them for the blog and I could do a better job with my cell phone anyway. Just putting them up here for documentary purposes. It just seems like the expected thing to do.)

*****

Now that we got that stuff out of the way I can write about Thanksgiving. My parents and grandparents came up for the holiday and we had a great time hanging out with them. We had a wonderful time and made some great memories!  Here are some pictures to show off the highlights:

Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know why I look like a mentally challenged deer in the headlights, but it's the only photo we had. I guess I'll take one for the team here.

Hot chocolate at the Coeur d'Alene parade and holiday lighting ceremony at the resort. 

Hiking around in the newly formed Post Falls Community Forest

Bowling. Can I just say that Rachel is pretty awesome!

Milkshakes

Adult night out. We went to dinner and then watched the Ellen Travolta Christmas show at the resort. It was kinda like listening to a staged reading of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

*****

Gingerbread Houses!

Many people know that we always do an annual gingerbread house competition at our house. The winner is decided by votes. If you are reading this, then that means you, as well as the people who you are with at the time, as well as all of your friends who you are going to show this to. Right? Okay. So, choose your favorite, and let us know which one you like best by leaving a comment here, or on Facebook, or by just telling us in person or on the phone, or via IM, or in an email, or even in a letter that you put in a real mailbox.



Actually, don't do the letter thing. We only check our mail about once a month. But anything else is great- the more votes the better!



This year we have two structures to choose from:



Team A

A lighthouse by the sea. Please take special notice of the furniture inside, the ocean animals, and the "pretzel-work" around the lamp.

Team B

 A more traditional Christmas Cottage with Santa landing on the roof. The "guy" on the front is actually supposed to be a bird.

So...which one will it be? Let us know, and have a good week!