After the Storm

So you may recall me posting about the calm before the storm both figuratively and literally. Obviously, I was quite surprised that we got the snow storm quite literally and have also spent quite a bit of time blogging about the historic event. But what about the figurative storm? You know, the one that had Joe out of town and the kids and I insanely busy for the entire week and half prior to Christmas? Well it all worked out quite well actually. We were slowed down only slightly by the cold and snow, which turned out to be a good thing. I have already covered all 3 holiday parties, including our visit with Santa.

Joe arrived home on Friday the 19th and the whole family was awakened quite early (think 4:30am) the following morning as it became apparent that both kids had caught the cold I had been battling all week. Despite this fact, both kids were in rather good spirits when my Mom and her husband George arrived later than day and we had a very nice, relaxing weekend. With Joe at Pendleton at the beginning of the week and the kids feeling better, I decided to take my Mom and George down the hill to civilization where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ruby's (one of my favorite restaurants), a tour of the zoo and miniature train at the Living Desert and a quick drive through Candy Cane Lane (an entire neighborhood all decked out in lights and displays) before heading home. Here is a picture of the kids with Grandma Kelly and Grandpa George followed by a shot of them watching the Africa wild dog who hysterically kept running hot laps right in front of the viewing glass.

On Tuesday, Jadyn had her modeling debut as a friend had asked me if she could model the hair bows she is now selling. Unfortunately, Jadyn was not in the most photogenic mood but we did get a couple good shots of her. For those interested you can go to Details Photography and look at the Kiddos section of the gallery. Jadyn's pictures will be toward the bottom of that collection.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve and between Joe's absence and the kids being sick, we still had not decorated and baked sugar cookies so that was the priority of the morning before heading off to the big dinner at Joe's family. The kids really enjoy this tradition, even if it does get a little messy to the say the least. Here are a few pics of the kids enjoying themselves. I can't believe how long Jadyn's hair is getting!



Christmas Eve was a lot of fun but unfortunately with all the chaos that includes 18 adults and 9 children, it was very hard to get pictures. One thing that did become quite clear is that both Jake and Jadyn are quite enamored with their youngest cousin, Lilly who is now 9 months old:



And I had to least try to get a picture with all the grandkids:


Here is Jake and Jadyn opening gifts. Jake was so excited to get the trick tracks for his Hot Wheels that he had been asking for:



I love how non-fat I look in this picture with Jake:


Christmas morning had to be the best as both kids understand that Santa came to visit. They were so excited and quite pleased with all their loot, as was I. Joe surprised me with a double band ring from Nelle and Lizzy with the kids name inscribed on them AND a new LG Env2 phone so I can more easily text and receive email alerts (which will actually help with work a lot because I won't constantly have to worry if I have work being sent to me when I am away from home).

So even though another wonderful holiday season is coming to a close and things are slowing down for us, we have still have New Year's to celebrate as well as my impending blogiversary on December 30th. This means I still have several posts up my sleeve, which I want to crank out before putting this year's blog into print form; something I am very excited about. The storm may be over so to speak, but the fun and memories never end.