Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All Wrapped Up In One!

Wow, I've taken quite a hiatus from this blog and as usual, it feels overwhelming trying to catch up. I thought of doing it in several shorter posts but I don't feel like it, so I will try to fit everything into one summary. Here goes, starting with a family photo after church on Christmas Eve. Don't we all look nice? :)
Christmas came and went as quickly as it usually does. It's like a wedding, all of the buildup and then it's over in a flash. The kids got lots of presents and had a great day. The rest of the family was spoiled as well I think, and it was a nice relaxing day. The tree was all decked out with presents for all. Quinn's favorite gift this year is hands down the Lego set he received on Christmas day, and followed up by add on sets bought with his Christmas money. He is so diligent with these sets, each having as many as 600 pieces, and he works so hard with almost no help from adults. On Christmas night, he worked until bedtime and then went right back to work the next morning until he was finished. He's even proud to not totally follow the instructions, changing things to make it his own creation. His compilation is made up of "Coast Guard" sets, complete with boats, docks, etc.
And I couldn't not mention this gift, sent from what I call the North Carolina Donovans (Tom, Judith, Cassidy and Aedan). This was a hit in both houses from what I hear, and we've had several battles since.
Keely's favorite is hard to say. She was happy to receive the Easy Bake oven and cupcake maker she asked for but I think her favorite gift was an outfit from Target that she had her eye on. It went on right away and didn't leave her body (except for night) for 3 days at least! Girls are so much different than boys for sure :)
The days that followed were filled with family activities with Nana, Papa, Annie and Great Grandma. There was a trip to the movies (Bedtime Stories, a great choice for the entire family from 5 to 79), swimming in the pool at Great Grandma's hotel, sledding, ice skating, shopping, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. I was sore from the skiing for at least 3 days, what a great workout! And I am proud that Keely tried it, even though I don't think she will want to do it again. Quinn however declared that he wants to buy his own skis, boots and poles.

On Tuesday, the family left and I can say we were all the better for it. It never fails, we always have some tense moments when visitors are here that long. But what also never fails is that we forget those moments and our memories are filled with the fun ones by the time the next Christmas rolls around!

We filled the following days with mostly normal Saturday type activities, often forgetting which day it was because there was no work or school. New Year's Eve was really a great family night for us. We started out with a trip to the U to see the mens' basketball team play Gonzaga and they won by a point! It was so fun to see Quinn getting into cheering for the Utes and with nostalgia I thought that if we still lived in Blacksburg, he would be cheering for the Hokies like that. But alas, he cheers for them when they are on TV and maybe we will get back to Cassell for a game sometime. As for Keely, I don't think that she even knew we were at a sporting event :) We arrived home about 9 PM and then settled in for a movie (Love Actually) which ended right before midnight. I can't believe it but they both made it to see the ball drop and usher in the New Year. So this marks the first one that we all rang in together (they are usually asleep) and it was a perfect end to 2008. Now we rush into another year, and I can't see what it has in store for us!