Hi All!
We were so busy with the holidays, we forgot to blog about the holidays. We had all the regular stuff: Emmett’s birthday party, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, and New Year’s. And although while we were in it, it felt not too rushed, not too crazy, it went by so fast and we had so much to do that when it was over, and we were onto the next thing, we forgot all about it. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe we’re so present in the moment and when the moment passes, we are present in the next moment. Maybe it is a good thing to not be looking too far ahead or too far behind. Maybe that means everything is exactly as it should be.
But still, the holidays did happen, so here’s the recap: Emmett’s birthday was a Back to the Future birthday. He and his friends took the couch apart and built a time machine fort, then took over into the Past. Once there, Dad helped them with some science experiments to help them get back to the future. The jury’s still out whether anyone returned to the future, but a great time was had by all.
We went skiing for the very first time. Tessa crushed it. The instructor didn’t believe it was her first time on the mountain, she was that good. Riley’s feet hurt the entire time, but he was a great skier too. Emmett said, “It was hard to stay up, so when I fell, I just stayed there.” He’s chosen to snowboard for the rest of this season. And Little Man? Well, the instructor’s report regarding Asher’s overall experience was: “Generally, I like to see less tears.” So no more skiing for him this year either… But we’re all off to Breckenridge to snowboard and ski tomorrow (the first snowboarding lesson for the boys, the second ski lesson for T), so stay tuned to see how that goes.
Hanukkah was a hit, as are all holidays involving the lighting of candles. We all received coupons good for either a snowboard or skis. The boys all got boards (Riley’s and Emmett’s boards have Toy Story characters on them) and T-Bone got skis (with little hearts all over them). But just before Hanukkah, we went to watch Emmett dance in the Nutcracker. His dance academy put it on at a local high school, and the entire family, and even some friends, attended. He was a sheep in the pastoral section, just after intermission, and he was amazing. Such a huge grin. Obviously loving it. Best. Sheep. Ever.
On Solstice, Dad built a bon fire in our backyard and we all wrote one thing down on a piece of paper that we wanted to leave in 2017, then we put those pieces of paper into the fire and watched them burn. It was perfect weather. Not too cold. Not too warm. Then we went inside and ate some yummy pizza and had some dessert.
Christmas was good too, as we got great gifts from Santa and then went to Pop-pops to open more wonderful gifts from our family. We are now the proud owners of new science kits, sewing kits, arts supplies, lego books, and marble games. But our big present from Santa was a game console. (Full disclosure: Santa brought a Play Station. But, turns out, Sony’s site was down all Christmas day but they didn’t acknowledge it, so Dad fought with the PS4 for close to 4 hours. When it got to be too much, Dad shoved every piece of the PS4 back into its box, duct taped it closed, affixed the return label, and put it out on the front step for the UPS man. A few days later we got our new Xbox, which we love.) Emmett’s year-long dream of playing Lego Dimensions has been fulfilled, as has Riley’s heretofore unknown dream of OWNING everyone in every racing game he plays.
New Year’s Eve was fantastic. We lit fireworks, had a silly string war (remnants of which can still be seen in the yard and on the drive), and stayed up all the way until 9pm. Our personal best on New Year’s. But after all that, we’ve already moved onto what’s next. New classes (Emmett’s contemporary dance, in addition to his ballet), Riley’s jiujitsu, and Tessa’s weekly art class–to say nothing of Asher’s preschool, which he loves and missed during winter vacation.
Tessa’s birthday is in less than a week and she’s already received her birthday present. (She got an early present of a new 7-speed bike, which helps her a TON on family bike rides when going uphill. Mom started biking with us too, pulling Isaac in the baby trailer. We are quite a little band when biking all together and crossing streets.) Tessa’s having a tie-dye party on Saturday, having friends over to tie-dye shirts and eating a peace sign and heart filled tie-dye cake. We are all excited for this.
Then comes Valentine’s Day, Dad’s birthday, Pop-pop’s birthday and spring break… There’s always more!
So sorry for the long delay in blog posts, but rest assured that when we do return to writing, it will be with lots to talk about.
Be well,
The Pigs
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