Christmas

We flew to NH on Christmas Day, so we treated Christmas Eve as our first Christmas.

cinnamon rolls for breakfast

Then we spent hours opening presents, playing, skyping with grandparents, and putting lego sets together.  But I didn't take pictures.

Matthew in his new sweater that Nana made

Christmas Eve service at church

 Christmas day we left our house before 8am, drove to Cleveland, flew to Baltimore, flew to Boston, and drove to New Hampshire, arriving in time for dinner.  Baby L did not sleep on the plane, so the second flight was a bit rough, but not a bad trip in all.

6 people, 7 suitcases, and a car seat

the cousins in height order with Gramme-made jammies

 The next day (the 26th) we did stockings, opened presents, and had another lovely day.  Again, no pictures.  Then, on Friday, the Chamberlins, Poppa, Micah, and I went skiing.  Despite some crowds, we had a great time.  Micah and I both had a blast skiing on a "real mountain".

this comic strip was in the paper that day!  ha!

me, Lucy, Eric, and Micah

A couple of times just me and the kids were on a lift together.  I may have had chocolate stashed in my pockets for those occasions. 

Our group at the top...or complete strangers of similar heights....with goggles and face masks, you'll never know.

On the flight home, Baby L slept on the first flight, and the 2nd flight had several empty seats around us, making it much more pleasant.  Our trip could have ended in a nightmare - the van battery was dead when we got back to the garage.  But maintenance came to our rescue quite quickly and gave us a jump.  Whew!

Pre-Christmas

Baby L is still with us and is doing great.  She has sweet relationships with the kids and feels very comfortable with both Scott and me.

playing cars with Matthew

she will often run to the door when Micah gets home from school

matching outfits and slippers

Some December shenanigans:

This creepy elf got passed around town bearing a stocking with goodies.  We refilled the stocking and gave our neighbors a heart attack by placing "Elvie" right outside their kitchen window.

This year at our Bible Study Christmas party, Ally wrote and directed a nativity play for the kids to perform.  Ally's writing was impressive and clever, and all the kids were incredibly entertaining.

Hannah, the angel, giving Mary the news

Carter played Joseph, riding his donkey, looking for a place to stay.

Somehow the kids took all the adult seats, so the moms sat at the kids' table

Scott has been travelling for work, but he makes time for extra snuggles and one-on-one dates with the kids.

Scott and I had a dinner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a church group.  I took this picture for my dad.

this happened one night...Hannah is the sleigh under the red coat...

gingerbread houses! (and trains)

Micah's

Matthew and Hannah's Christmas concert

don't they both look so joyful?

Thanksgiving

I got a pretty sweet deal for Thanksgiving this year.  I got to stay home, but I didn't have to cook Thanksgiving dinner!  We are located basically in the middle between the Gurleys and the Kollers, so they all came to us.  But we all agree that Julie is a much better chef than I am, and she graciously agreed to be in charge of cooking.  

I decided to be extra fancy and use my grandmother's china.

Which bird do you think looks better?  This one ↑

or this one?  :) 

It's not Thanksgiving until Uncle Jack falls asleep on the floor.

We went to a local metro park to get some exercise.  This trail has all sorts of exercises that the kids enjoyed doing.

Uncle Scott tried to see how many kids he could carry (Baby L is in a carrier on his back.)

cousins wrestling with Uncle Scott

decorating the gingerbread turkey

a bunch of us went to see the new Grinch movie

Kentucky

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we drove to Lousiville, Kentucky for the Cross Country Youth National Championships.  There were over 200 9-10 year old boys in Micah's race!  It wasn't Micah's best race of the year, but it was still a fun experience.  

The biggest reason we decided to do the event was that Ally also qualified for it.  (She did great!)  So, we made it into a fun little weekend get-away with the Hays.  Since it was only a couple of hours from Nana and Papa, they joined us for the event and a fun lunch afterward.  Baby L did amazing with the long car rides, sleeping in a hotel, and generally being dragged around with us.

Here's a link of Micah in the middle of the race.

And here's a longer video of the start of the race.  You can see Micah around the 40 second mark.

looking at pictures while we wait for Micah's race

 Before the race: Micah, Ally, and 2 other teammates that competed in the event

After the race

playing in the hotel pool

out for a walk in downtown Louisville