Goodbye 2018

We spent New Years Eve home, playing games and eating fondu. We've done fondu a few times, but Jackson and Addison didn't really remember it. We had a good time. When you add in chocolate for dessert, it was the best!

I wasn't really sad to see 2018 end. On that note, we toasted to the coming 2019 and went to bed dreaming of the possibilities.

Cousin crew

On our way home from the snow, we got to stop and spend some Christmas time with my family also. My sister and her family were in town, so of course all the cousins were super excited to play together. 

How I got out without any pictures of the girls, I'm not sure... Grandma and Grandpa braved the grandkids (all five of them) one evening so we could all go out to dinner. It was the first time Dave and I really got to hang out with Trav and his fiancé, Amelia. We also celebrated Tara and Ed's anniversary. We had a great dinner and went to a comedy show. 

It was a great way to end our vacation, as we headed back home the next day.

White Christmas

Christmas Eve service was in a small town church in the snow. It was gorgeous, and the service was well attended. It was the perfect setting to celebrate and refocus on the birth of Christ.

There is nothing like waking up to a white Christmas. Our wake up call came pretty early, but Jackson and Addison kind of went back to bed....for a short minute. Then, it was everyone in our bed!  We all quietly traipsed upstairs to the stockings and the coffee! Grandma and Grandpa woke up and joined us. Breakfast was our annual Christmas bread, eggs, sausage and the fixings. While breakfast warmed up, everyone got to explore their stocking. I always enjoy watching the surprise on Jackson's and Addison's face.

After we all enjoyed Christmas bread and got a refill of coffee we headed downstairs to the Christmas tree.

Nerf seems to make Jackson's list every year, and this year was no exception. 

It's hard to tell, but you can see the dart hitting the door in the next picture!

The greatest debate in our house has been over phones, and when do we want to get them for Jackson and Addison. There are so many factors that go into a decision like this, but since both kids have started going places without us (I know, gasp!), we decided it was time. Apparently, this elevated our status as the "best parents ever." Parenting win for now....until they get taken away (insert evil mom laugh!). 

Dave is always hard to shop for...but this year I discovered "Man Crates." Insert a semi-evil wife laugh! You can get them wrapped in duct tape, but they come with a small crowbar to open the crate. He will have fun making his own lures for fishing. 

Addie's other fun for the day was a hooverboard. She was able to instantly zip around on this thing like she was walking on her feet. Amazing! Dave and Jackson tried it and it definitely took little more effort and coordination. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying one another, dodging nerf darts and laughing while they tried to balance on the hooverboard. Oh, and leftovers of the Christmas bread snuck in as often as possible. 

Winter fun

I think everyone was glad when Christmas vacation started. We packed our bags and headed to the snow. Thank goodness for Amazon because I had to order the kiddos snow suits fast. Since they get pulled out abut once a year, it didn't even dawn on me that they may not fit anymore.

Jackson and Addison were ready to go the minute we arrived! In fact, Addie went out and started tumbling in the snow.

 I was happy to watch from the balcony and take it all in. My in-laws house is on a hill that has a great spot for sledding at the end of the driveway. Dave took the kiddos down the hill many, many times. (Though there was some tree clearance going on a few times...better make sure you duck!)

We even got Grandpa to come out and watch. The kids didn't get him to go down the hill, but he had a good time laughing and throwing a few snowballs at the kiddos! 

I have to find it, but I have this same picture of Addison when she was 3 or 4. 

You can tell kids are getting tired. With the altitude and cold, it definitely didn't take much. Don't get me wrong, they enjoyed it for sure. But there is no mistaking when they are done. My kids will never be great at poker....their faces say too much!

As an added bonus, we planned to go skiing two different days. We all went the first day. I hung out in the Lodge (since I had foot surgery in September, I was still a bit cautious about skiing....more about strength). Everyone was stoked! Skis got rented and off Jackson and Addison went with Dave.

I still had to sneak in some pictures of me....proof that mom was there! It's always a goal to make sure and get mom in the pictures. I read a story once about a mom who didn't have any pictures of herself with her family because she was always taking the pictures. That was a few years ago. I'm definitely being intentional about pictures now....though sometimes it takes a few retakes to get a decent one!

There's something about the trees in the mountains. I love them. It doesn't seem to matter if they are dusted with snow or moving gently in a breeze. The peace that emanates from them is all encompassing. There's a certain freedom in the mountains, at least for us, that is like the oxygen we breathe. 

The second ski day (and remember,  Jackson and Addison are fearless on the mountain. They LOVE to ski) was COLD!! Dave took the kiddos to the mountain and met my brother there. I decided to stay home this time. The Lodge they were headed to was decent for lunch while skiing, but not exactly where I wanted to spend an entire day. When they got to the hill, it was windy, which made it extra cold. They lasted an hour and did two runs before both kiddos were absolutely miserable. Dave was a little frustrated, but he handled it well. They got hot chocolate and warmed up. I think Dave went on a few more runs with my brother while the kiddos drank their hot chocolate and then they made it back to the cabin for lunch. Not how he planned for the day, but Mother Nature makes her own plans, and miserable skiers are just not worth it. 

I can't wait for this year. Hopefully there will be good snow, and I can strap on my boots and hit the slopes too.