Scenes from Christmas

This was a first for us...Christmas as a family of four. We have never been "alone" on Christmas, yet we never felt alone this Christmas. The kids woke up about 7:30 AM and explored the bounty under the tree. While we snuck in a few extra minutes in bed, I overheard their excited talk. One of my favorites from Keely: "Quinn, I am so glad we were good this year!" :)

We took turns opening gifts from under the tree. The kids each received new shoes from Mom and Dad, and quite a few toys and fun things from Santa, Grandma & Grandpa, and aunts and uncles. After presents we enjoyed a lovely breakfast of eggs, bacon and English muffins. Quinn got to work right away on what was his favorite present, a Bionicle dinosaur and figure that sits on top. James got a couple of books, cologne, gift cards to Macy's and iTunes, and a Keurig coffee maker. I received a book, The Office Season 5 on Blu-Ray, a Hokie shirt, perfume, and a robe (much needed since my old one was not only ugly but 13 years old!).

We also discovered the wonder of Skype. We talked with Lois and Ryan for 1.5 hours, finally getting to "meet" baby Adelia. She is so cute and precious and now I am even more excited to travel to see her in person next month! Then we talked with Nana & Papa and all the extended family who were enjoying Christmas at their house. It was nice to see everyone and be a part of their celebration even though we were 2000+ miles away! It is hard to be away from family but the inventions of modern technology are making that a bit easier.

So without further adieu, I prepared this slideshow of pictures from Christmas morning (well, Picasa prepared it since I was too lazy to upload these photos again and they're already on Picasa). Enjoy :)

Merry Christmas to All...

Since most of our family and friends did not receive our card yet, here's what it will look like when it arrives. And we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

33

I had a birthday this past Saturday...33 years old now. As I've been telling family and friends who call to wish me happy birthday, I feel every bit of those 33 years! I love being in my 30s, it's great. I do not long for my 20s or anything younger. But for the first time in my 30s, I am starting to feel like my body just can't do the things it used to do. Aches and pains abound from simple activities and they don't heal as quickly as they used to. Heating pads, ibuprofen and Icy Hot have been part of my daily routine and they may become regulars. I feel the need to stretch more often at the gym -- I used to work out without any stretching. Yes I know that stretching is good for your muscles, yada yada...but I just didn't need to. Now I can't do 30 minutes on a stair master without a nice 5 minute stretch afterwards. Well, enough complaining. I am happy to be alive and well to celebrate another birthday.

I was so happy that my birthday was on a Saturday this year. It was also the first regular weekend we have had since before Thanksgiving. So it was nice to sleep in...interrupted only by my sweet children wishing me a happy birthday. Quinn even made me a homemade card without prompting :) We did the typical Saturday stuff (gym, Sam's) with some Christmas shopping mixed in there. We went out to a lovely dinner at one of my (our) favorite restaurants, Bohemian Brewery. Then we walked around the mall and did a little more Christmas shopping, mostly though to walk off the big yummy meal! I got a great birthday present from James and the kids -- an iPod shuffle that I have had my eye on for months. It is super tiny so I can clip it on my shirt or pants at the gym and it can hold 500 songs. Can't wait to try it out!

So I had a great birthday, and look forward to my 34th year. :)

Smart Cookies

Last week when I picked the kids up from school one night, Quinn grabbed me right away bringing me over to the gym lobby to show me his newest achievement. Each week the students have a "Math Counts" competition where they have to answer a certain number of questions as fast as they can. If they get them all right in under 2, 3, or 4 minutes their name is put on the board in the lobby. Quinn and a few other children in his class achieved the 4 minute mark for the first time this year! He was quick to tell me that he's aiming for 2 and 3 minute marks soon, but honestly those are all 3th to 6th graders so it may be a ways off. He loves math and zooms through that part of his homework, so it was not a surprise. But it was fun to see him so excited about his good work :)

And while I am on the subject of smarts, we have had two other achievements this week as well. James passed the PE exam (Professional Engineer) and I passed the CQA exam (Certified Quality Auditor). Not totally surprising, especially James and the PE -- I just knew he would do fine on it having taken it myself 6 years ago. Oh, and not to leave Keely out...she has been working on her math skills also and is now counting without any effort to 100 by ones, fives and tens :)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

I promise I will get back to Thanksgiving shortly. But in the meantime, the Christmas season is upon us. December has been a whirlwind so far and it's going to continue for another week. After that, the month seems to settle down and I hope to be able to relax and enjoy the season a tad more. Amongst the "busy"ness....the house is decorated. The tree is up and decorated, even complete with a new star on top. There is snow on the ground. The temperatures are bitterly cold. The first batches of cookies have been made and eaten...sugar by James and chocolate chip by Callie. Yes, my counter cruiser is at it again. And we have once again proven that chocolate is not deadly for dogs. There is still much to be done before the big day...shopping, Christmas cards, baking, and I'm sure more that I am not thinking of right now. But December is upon us and this little girl would not let us wait much longer to get the festivities started. She has even invented new uses for Christmas decorations :)