Two-Hour Delay

Fourteen inches of snow fell yesterday, so Lucy's school decided to delay opening for two hours. I told her the good news when she came to climb in bed with us at 7:00am. All four of us spent most of the next hour playing and talking and snuggling in bed until Austin had to leave. Then we got up, I took a long and lovely hot shower and so did Lucy, I made the kids a great breakfast, we sat around watching Arthur and Sid the Science Kid, read a few stories, then bundled up and went outside to play in the snow (and clean off the car) in time for school.

I think there should be a two-hour delay every day.

Montreal Thaw

Montreal was officially very cold last weekend but for some reason it didn't feel that way. Maybe it's because those Canadians all move underground for the winter -- the network of tunnels and subterranean shopping malls through the city is incredible! Or maybe it's just because they don't acknowledge the cold. Our hotel had an OUTDOOR swimming pool, open in the 30-below temps. So naturally we had to try it. My ears got a little frostbitten but it was fun. While Austin was in his law meetings, the kids and I went to the Insectarium and the Botanical Gardens. Nothing like stepping out of the biting cold into a tropical paradise!

The kids had a wonderful time -- Gavin's favorite part was splashing through the puddles created by the waterfalls.

On another note . . . Lucy's class drew pictures of their parents and this is what Lucy came up with. I guess I'm just glad she knows her parents love each other!

Deep Freeze

Yes, that thermometer does read 32 degrees below zero. It's so cold there's steam coming off the parts of the river that haven't frozen up yet. It looks like the river is on fire, which is probably not too far off the mark -- the water is about 60 degrees warmer than the surrounding air! The Hyundai reluctantly started and I got Lucy off to school, but the Corolla is dead. I'm on my way to help Austin try to jump it. Once we get the car going we're going to Montreal for the weekend -- where it's EVEN COLDER. . .

And the #1 team is . . .

OK, so maybe I am a bit of a homer, but after last night's game the championship seemed pretty clear to me.

ESPN's Rick Reilly decided even before the game. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3815656

I should be clear here, though, that the opinions expressed are solely those of the writer (Emily) and may not reflect those of her husband or family. But I think I have Rose and James on my side -- and they should know, since they witnessed Utah's drubbing of Alabama firsthand.

Super Gavin

"Mom, I'm not cute anymore. I'm cool and awesome."

Everybody got that?

Christmas Days

Gavin put on his new pajamas from Gram on Christmas Eve, and has taken them off, briefly, only twice since then: once Christmas Day to go to dinner at some friends', and again Sunday for church. Though the rest of us have actually put on clothes for the past few days, it's not because we had lots of things to do and places to go. That's my favorite part about Christmas, just hanging out, watching videos, reading books, and no to-do lists. Pajamas all day, every day, if you feel like it!

Gripped in Gavin's hand above are the tags from said pajamas -- both his and his sister's. Gavin has decided these are "sports tickets." He's been taking good care of them so he can use them to get into a basketball game sometime soon. The rest of his gifts kind of paled in comparison with new pajamas and pretend sports tickets -- but he was satisfied with Santa's offering of Batman and Superman figures, the Kung-fu Panda movie, a Transformer truck from his cousin Collin, and new outfits for his bear Max from Mom and Grandma.

Santa brought Lucy matching pajamas for Lucy and her doll Kirsten, and an ice-cream maker, but her favorite gift by far has been a collection of I Love Lucy episodes on DVD. The TV Lucy and our Lucy have the same sense of humor. It doesn't seem to matter that these shows were made 50 years ago in black and white, she'll watch them over and over and laugh and laugh.

We've been out playing in the snow every day . . .

And working on art projects . . .

And watching for wildlife out the windows . . .

And just enjoying being together, warm and cozy at home.

And yes, I did have a lovely birthday. Thanks for the phone calls. Austin got me an iPod for my birthday. It's been fun listening to my favorite songs on it, when I can wrestle it away from Lucy.

Traditions

Family traditions are my favorite thing about Christmas! Last week we celebrated St. Lucia Day by taking ginger cookies to Lucy's first grade class and to our neighbors and friends. Gavin's job is to be St. Lucia's starboy, which he's okay with because he gets to wear a "wizard hat."


Last night was our Bethlehem Dinner, in which we feast on foods Jesus might have eaten 2,000 years ago in Israel. It's a bit more challenging to find the ingredients in Central Vermont -- we miss our little Turkish market and the fresh seafood at H-Mart! But Michelle Bedell came up big with a delicious recipe for Baklava and we managed pretty well. After dinner, the kids dressed up and re-enacted the Nativity story for us . . . Lucy wanted to be the angel, which left only 6-month-old Addison to be Mary, but all the kids did great, even our little Mary. Lucy was a glorious and enthusiastic angel, and Gavin made a wonderful wise guy.

We are looking forward to more exciting events and traditions in the next two days! Gavin is rather concerned about Santa coming down our chimney, since it leads to the wood furnace in the basement, and he's a little leery of Austin's explanations about Santa's fireproof suit. But the proof's in the figgy pudding, and I'm sure he'll be quite satisfied when he discovers that Santa made it just fine on Christmas morning. (Though I don' t think Santa's going to manage to fill Gavin's Christmas request for a parachute and a wind-up lobster toy -- I don't think they make those in the old North Pole workshop. Hopefully a surprise substitute gift will do. If you happen to come across a wind-up lobster toy, Santa would appreciate the help.)

We wish you a Merry Christmas and look forward to reading your blog to hear about your traditions and celebrations!