The Holidays 2008

So the holiday season has been wonderful for us. From Christmas through New Years, it has been both relaxing and exciting. John has had long 4 day weekends because of where the holidays fell, so we have all gotten to spend more time together as a result. It has been a blessing. We should probably start on Christmas Eve with the telling of our tale. The kids wanted to open a gift like we always used to the night before Christmas. Since we didn't do large family gifts like we had the last couple of years, we agreed. We had given the boys some money to buy for one another. $20 a piece, with a breakdown of $10 per brother or they could combine their monies to get something more substantial for one brother. Alex and David combined money for Zach, but otherwise they did it independently. David ended up with two books, one from each brother, Zach got a digital camera and Alex got a Star Wars figure he wanted and a goo gun. As you can see, Alex loved the figure very much.

Christmas morning came early as Alex was super excited, having opted for more gifts to open rather than one large gift and a few extras. So, needless to say, his excitement was contagious whether we wanted to get up and be happy or not. We came downstairs to the tree having been stacked with presents beneath it the night before. Alex got to play Santa and hand out the gifts. Yes, everyone looks tired but him, but hey, we aren't so young anymore. =p
For the record, Alex and David picked out this tree, Alex being quite the negotiator in our absence. He got a $65 tree for $30. The man who sold the trees said Alex needs to either be a lawyer or salesman or something because he had the guy on his knees and eating out of his hand before he even knew he was there. More power to Alex!

Some of the bigger gifts included a Hebrew Bible for David, something completely in Hebrew which will help him in the class he is taking at the church. He loves the class more than any of us thought possible so he was thrilled with the book. Zach got a pair pf skis, some more professional than he had (that you'll see later). Alex's big gift was his race track and Steph got 4 scarves and lots of body lotions and bath stuffs. John got a new iPod Touch because his iPod was stolen in the parking lot of a church two weeks before when we attended the baptism of a friend's son. Even Scoobi made out this Christmas. She got a new bed and some doggie treats.


The day after Christmas, we had gotten dumped on with snow. Well, we had been getting dumped on all week! but this was fresh and Zach got to take up his new skis and try them out with John. John said Zach's skill level increased dramatically with the new skis, that he could see him on a race team and winning easily. Here's a few pics from their adventure.


The snow melted almost as quickly as it came, so while the guys got to go again on Sunday, no more ski trips have come yet. Hopefully more snow will visit us in the valley this winter. We have hope considering how early it has already come. Regardless, time moves on and a new year is upon us. New Year's Eve, last night, John took me to a masquerade party. I didn't know what to expect, but ended up having a blast. We danced (yes, literally danced) from the time we arrived at about 10:30 until about 2:45, at which point John said, "I think I can make it home if we leave now." At which point, I replied, "Time to go!" We dressed as a Pirate and his wench. John had the costume already from Burning Man this year, and we were able to put mine together in one afternoon from a local store. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't all wild and sloppy drunks. Most people were sober and just there to mingle and dance. It was a lot of fun and I'm grateful to the boys for letting us have this time out.

So there we go. That was our holiday season for the year 2008. Hope you all had as much fun, peace and love as we shared among us. May 2009 be all the better, hold more promise and even more love than the last and we'll keep you all in our hearts and prayers despite the distance. Love you all!