Downtime

Hi all. I'm way behind. . . .but I'm enjoying the fact that my to-do list is full of not-too-pressing details in the last couple of days. I actually forgot what I did during my downtime pre-December. So I've recently rediscovered reading. And staring out the window at the snow. And painting my fingers and toes. And pilates!

So for now, that's what I've been up to. . .the Christmas pics are safely stored on my computer, and I will get around to them eventually.

Hope you are having a lovely Christmas break!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas time!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Yep, Joe's birthday is almost a week come and gone already! But it is never too late for a birthday post!
He is patient, he is kind, he is hard-working, he just never stops. He loves his kids, his job, his town, his fishing, his friends & family. . .and best of all, he just gets me, and loves me even so.
I'm a lucky girl.
Happy Birthday, to my favorite person in the whole world! I love it that you come home to me.

The Nutcracker. . .sweet!

One of my all-time favorite Christmas traditions. . .the Nutcracker, with my mom, sister, and now, a sister-in-law, and lots of nieces and daughters :)

Beautiful girls!

This year we went to the matinee, so we wrapped up the party with dinner at the Olive Garden with 20 of our Dowers clan family! We were loud!

Party in CDA!

We do love a good Dowers gathering! We headed up on Saturday to hang out at the grange hall with tons of our cousins, aunts, uncles, and my grandparents!

The roads were decent this year thankfully. . .and (some of) the kids got a little rest on the way up:

Will is genuinely completely passed out. Ben was totally faking it. He never did sleep, and for a kid that naps 2-3 hours a day still, he managed to keep an even temper the whole afternoon!

See!

Someone always takes good care of the littlest cousins, with their playdough, colors, and crafts!

Mass lasagna! That dates back to my childhood. We always had lasagna, Christmas Eve, with my mom's whole fam.

The crowd! There are almost 90 of us now. . .but this was a good showing!

And, my grandpa! Sure love him :) What a great party they throw!

Merry Christmas Dowers families!

Always a Good Way to Start a Birthday

Fish #1 of the day:

Ed fighting his first steelhead ever from shore:

Safely in the net:

One final fish to cap off the day:

And Dad got to try his kayak out on the North Fork:

Overheard:

Jack: Will, come on over here so I can rub your lucky head!

Logos Christmas Program

Oh yes, the kids had their Christmas program the other night. . .it was really good! Sara had a whole 6 verses to recite with her class, and the olders were pretty much singing through the entire program. Ben got a huge kick out of the African drums. . .really, there was something for everybody!

Every year I think, they are as cute as ever, but every year they just get cuter and handsomer than the year before!

Some school friends!

Sara's first program ever!

She did so great. She mouthed the words really big as she said them. . .in case your video was on mute, you could still read her lips!

Kayte was way on the other side of the stage, so we just got glimpses of her here and there, but she sure looked great! :)

Joe and I have been attending the program since we were married, and then we used to actually be in them together much longer ago than that. What a tiny circle of life we get to live here. We love it!

St. Lucia's Day, December 13th.

Kayte planned a little St. Lucia's Day treat for us 6 months ago, after reading the American Girl book about Kirsten's Christmas. She kept close track of the December calendar so she wouldn't miss the big day, and she wouldn't tell any of us what it was. She did say that usually it happens at 4 am, and I said it would be ok if we did 7 am (that's Hawaii's 4 am anyway.) She accepted this, and even though I again forgot all about it, at 7 am sharp, Kayte, dressed in her white dress (as is tradition) snuck into the kitchen with Will, made breakfast for the whole family, and then one by one delivered it to us in our beds saying "St. Lucia welcomes you to breakfast." Traditionally she would be wearing a wreath with burning candles on the top of her head. I'm very thankful she has reached the age where even she knows that may not be practical, and skipped that part.
She reminds me so much of me when I was her age. I too read about St. Lucia's day in a recipe book when I was 13 years old. It had a bread wreath that was often made by the oldest daughter of the family and presented to them with six burning candles in it, the evening of December 13th. So, in honor of our mutual love for the day, I dug out that old recipe and made it as a surprise for Kayte that night. I love it that she totally gets me. Or that I totally get her :)

Will wanted to be in the pic, he helped!

The wreath I made for Kayte. Next year, we will make it together.

Lewiston Lights!

Yep, this Sunday we made the annual trek down to Lewiston to see the lights. It was raining for the first time ever, which is much preferred to below freezing temps. . .and the kids didn't even seem to notice the rain. Except for Ben, who latched on to Anthony's umbrella and wouldn't give it up. He had lots of fun :)

Ben does the best 'happy face'.

Sara can hold her own in that category as well.

Merry Christmas :)

Ok people, time to move on.

I totally don't have time to be doing this right now. My to-do list has gone from chaotic to certifiably insane. But frankly, I'm tired of looking at pictures of kids with puke buckets. So I sit down today to freshen up my screen with some good cheer. Monday night I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30 (what to-do list?), opened my eyes long enough to roll into my own bed at 8, and there I slept until 7:30 the next morning. Tuesday I woke fresh, with a new perspective and ready to tackle my chores for the day. Which included making 22 graham cracker gingerbread houses for the 1st grade class.
See! My little housing development:

Notice my little glass of reisling and well, my phone? Nothing like a little multi-tasking :)
I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a crafty one, but I do have a little fetish for glue guns. I mean, that is right up my alley! So precise and the glue hardens so fast. . .much easier than frosting!
Thankfully, most of my tasks are in the spirit of Santa's elves, and while it can be a little stressful, it is so much fun. . .I literally couldn't sleep last night from all the excitement of the week. And when I got to school today and delivered all the little houses, and 15 little first graders crowded around and ooh-ed and aah-ed, well. . . .that's just plain cool.
What a very merry season it is!