2014_01_05 Sunday

We have had such a nice visit to the Barony!

January 2
We spent some time lounging around but actually managed to do some things today. The big errand was to get Jonathan some clothes that fit. Somehow that boy has sprung right out of his pants, especially. And, with nearly 3 inches of snow on the ground, he needed some snowpants to sled down the hill. It was a bummer to have a lot of nastiness between siblings today, although a trip to Fridays seemed to help a little...a little. So much bickering and snarkiness and general rudeness.
Elise was shocked to have a tiny plate and an itty spoon and an escargo fork for dinner. She ate soooo much on her own; it was terrific.

January 1
Wow, it's a new year!! Elise slept until about 10am (wahoo!). We lounged around in jammies for much of the morning. I helped Oma arrange her office. Then we took a walk outside to climb the trees and get any wiggles out.

December 31
Dave flew home today, albeit circuitously. We went to First Night in town. Boy, was it COLD. The kids did the ice luge, we banged on the gongs, stopped by the fire pit that wasn't very warm at the time, checked out the ice sculptures/molds (some were really impressive), and sat on the ice horse chair (it's the year of the horse). Jonathan stuck a penny on an ice wishing well (that was pretty neat). After that, it was just too cold to be out, so we headed back home.
After finding the sparklers that I specifically packed, Opa set them up outside. The kids liked watching them.
Both Opa and Jonathan wore red unterhosen, so they'll have good luck in 2014. I made it to about 11:50pm before falling asleep. alas.

December 28
We all took Oma out for her birthday. Of course, they knew the owners of the restaurant. The kids split a grown-up pasta dish that ended up pretty spicy (not sure why Elise didn't like that?!). But, we had a very nice time out.

December 26
It's Boxing Day, and we woke up to about an inch of snow. Jonathan was quick to get moving so he could investigate the snow, clear off my car, and try to sled. Jury is still out on sledding. He took his magnifying glass/microscope with him to check out the flakes. After working for a little while, I went outside to sled with the babes and Dave. He figured out how to tandem and steer. what fun. And, it wasn't as cold as I thought. Opa built us the first fire of our visit. How nice to play Uno by!

December 25
Christmas morning! The kids were thrilled by Santa's visit. For the first time, Jonathan was able to read the letter that Santa left. What fun it was to watch them open presents. The only thing that would have made it better would have been for Shannon, et al to be here too.

December 20-21
We left for parts north. The drive was just a bit too long (although the drive itself was very pleasant), so we stayed the night with PopPop. We went over a ferry, which was very cool. And, the visit was great.