Ben says hi

yesterday: skiing

first a picture that I forgot two days ago...all of us in our Christmas shirts. Ben's shrunk though, so I'll be inheriting it.




Then yesterday I went skiing. We chose to just stay on the easiest hill since most of us were learning, so Ben decided to try snowboarding.

Here's Travis teaching Jacob.



Ben looking like he knows what he's doing.




Ben in his normal position in the beginning (by the end he got much better)



Brothers




Us

Today: funny things

last night there was an animal alphabet spinning wheel and for N the animal was newt. Someone asked the question...is newt really the best N animal? So seven of us think. And think. Ben and Kate came up with some off the wall animal that I don't know what it is and Judd got nightingale. Ben finally looked it up on his phone and there are only about six animals that start with N and newt really is the most common. too bad it doesn't make a sound.

Then at breakfast Nathan ordered the vegetarian skillet with a side of sausage. While I completely understand why he did it, it did seem rather funny to order both of those things.

Christmas: Merry merry Christmas

Today was a busy but good day. We ended up spending time and opening presents with both sides of the family...something that has never happened before.

The day started out by packing up the car and hearing some runners with jingle bells go by. It was a nice way to start.

then we opened presents with Ben's family. I don't have any great pictures, but here is one cute on from afterwards.




Then this evening was spent with my side of the family. I got to give Nathan and Liz their quilt!



Here are the pictures I took at home last week. the first one is the front and the second one is the back.







I also got a donut maker today! I'm super excited to try it out. And Ben got me a 2-4 player card game that we played tonight. at first while he was explaining the rules I was a little bit leery, but it quickly started to make sense and was a lot of fun.

And throughout the times I remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas. This year I've thought a little bit more about the wisemen. They are often mentioned in the Christmas story, but never seem to get a lot of attention. Maybe because they didn't show up for three more years. But they were men of learning (I.e., smart) and they still chose to come and worship Jesus. So while I can identify with the shepards in some aspects, I can also identify with the wisemen and are glad for both sides of the spectrum.

Christmas Eve: Merry Christmas Eve!

Today was just a nice day around the house. I read, took a nap, and talked with people. After a delicious dinner we played Catan and I won! It's been a long time. my favorite quote was when Nathan offered to trade Dad "two or three wheat for a brick.".

i also found out that my high school was completely renovated and looks nothing like what I picture in my mind. It's a little sad, but at the same time I know that buildings need to be updated.

day: Nathan!!!

Nathan and Liz arrived today!! Woo-hoo!! Since we've moved we only get to see them about once a year, so I definitely treasure the time.

Thursday: packing

This morning I had a really interesting idea for a blog post. I've since then forgotten it. Tonight we packed. We have a crazy amount of stuff for such a short trip.