The day started quietly. |
During the night, snow fell on our second refrigerator. |
I made bagels, which we ate while one lone teenager slept in. |
I bought farm-cut bacon, which was scrumptious. |
Our stockings were stuffed with fun surprises. |
| ||
Matt enjoyed a speed cube. |
This delighted expression made my day. |
I had made Nate a Star Wars quilt. |
Dave guessed what this was before he opened it. |
Melanie gave me some original artwork. I was deeply touched. |
Dave commented that the tines looked a little angry. |
I love to give gifts that make people laugh. |
Papa Ben did some shopping for the holiday. |
Everyone was happy with his gifts. |
This might be one size too large, but that just means that she can wear it an extra year. |
Will is looking to the future. |
Julia has worn this tutu all day long. |
I asked Will what he thought about our quiet Christmas. |
Papa Ben received a dangerous money clip for Christmas. |
His African employees sent him a funny Christmas message, too. |
We had a lot of fun this morning. |
There was quite a bit of laughter and silliness. |
I'm still pleased about everyone's stockings. |
Before nine, we were out the door. |
We had more than twice as much snow as we had two days ago. |
The more mass on the sled, the faster the trip down. |
We worked to build good trails. |
Jacob slid down the hill fifty times, no exaggeration. |
Going down meant going back up again. |
The ramp from Wednesday still worked well. |
Sometimes laughter turned into screaming. |
Deep snow blew over the front of the sled and sometimes into our coats. |
Dave mastered steering after nearly hitting me a few times. |
I thought this was a very touching moment. |
Unfortunately, it did not end well. |
This is how families bond, or so the rationalization went. |
It was a great help to have Papa Ben at the top of the hill. |
Melanie figured out how to increase her mass by inviting a sibling to ride along. |
Jacob's mantra: Up down, up down. |
Even Will had a great time. |
How fast can they go? |
The little kids learned if they rode in the back, the front person got all the snow. |
Once the trails were packed down, sledding into the stream became a problem again. |
That didn't stop anyone. |
Nate got snowed. |
Several times, in fact. |
I'm warning you right now to get ready for the next picture. |
We've all laughed quite a bit about this shot. |
And this one, too. |
Melanie braved the snow for Nate. |
Like the Energizer Bunny, Jacob just kept going and going. |
So did Matt. |
Look how much fun these two are having. |
Notice that Carolyn is saying, "No!" |
They ran into Julia. More bonding time, it seems. |
Up, down, ad infinitum. |
On occasion down comes sooner for some than for others. |
When coats get full of snow, it's time to go home. |
They took the long route and had a little fun |
One last trip for Mom. |
One last trip for me. |
And one last trip for the kid that doesn't mind at all getting snowed. |