On Thursday afternoon, Annika had a girls day with Grandma Evie, and Caleb, Grandpa Mike, and I had a beautiful day of skiing at Alta. Caleb did so, so good! He generally skis kind of between my knees. (I don't know how conducive it is to learning to ski well, but it's super fun for us!) Caleb really started taking off on his own a bit, would hold onto the rope tow himself a bit, and would not get scared if I started going fast or making turns. Last year Caleb just did the flattest rope tow, but this year we did a steeper rope town and went on the chair-lift! And Alta's easy chair is no bunny hill--it's a high-speed triple chair with a long run coming down. If it's not apparent from this post--I am so proud of Caleb and so glad to have a ski buddy! And I love, love how rope tows and the easy chair are free at Alta (and all of our yard sale/thrift store equipment works great)! Below are some pictures (thanks Grandpa Mike!) of the outing.
Then Thursday evening the Keddingtons had a family get together with cousins at their place in Centerville. It was great to see family (and the Boise State bowl game was on--and Caleb was rocking his Boise State sweatshirt!). Apparently the Keddingtons have a neighbor who plays Santa Claus for parties, etc. He was returning from a party and saw all the cars in front of the Keddingtons--so he dropped by and surprised all of the kids. He was great, and Caleb and Annika loved it--especially Annika! From the moment he walked in, she wouldn't stop talking to him: "I'm so excited to see you!" "Is it cold where you live?" "You're a candy man--you bring us candy!" When he suggested that we sing Jingle Bells, Annika just started singing and led the whole group in singing, before Santa could start the song. It was so, so fun! Pictures below:
Then Friday morning we went back down to my Aunt Marie's in Centerville for a scavenger hunt for the presents that "Elmer the Elf" had left for Annika and Caleb. Annika and Caleb absolutely love Marie--she is so fun with them! Afterward we went to Inn-n-Out in Centerville--and I'm too embarrassed to write what the kiddos ate.
Then on Christmas Eve (Saturday) we all drove down to Ephraim for Christmas. Charity's grandparents were so nice to let me and Miley stay at their house--and Charity and her family were so welcoming in inviting me to have Christmas with them. After a great dinner and a fun retelling of the Nativity story (which included singing "Away in a Manger" no less than six times--five of which were initiated by Annika), Charity and I put the kiddos down at her apartment and did the whole stockings thing (such a fun thing to do as a parent!).
Christmas day was great! Copious amounts of junk food, lots of Legos and other new toys! Caleb and Annika are very much adored by their grandparents and their Aunt Katie. For Christmas program at church Caleb got up with the rest of kids to sing--he is so dang cute! Charity's mom has began reading chapter books with Caleb (which is so cool!), and they gave me a copy of Treasure Island to read with Caleb. We read the first three chapters--pirate voices and all--and I'm so excited to finish it when they're up here with me next week!
Sunday night the kiddos slept over at Charity's grandparents with me--which was super fun! On Monday morning Great Grandad made waffles and was amazed at how many Caleb could eat. We spent the rest of day playing legos and transformers (7/8th of the time) and Christmas songs on the guitar (1/8th)--before I headed up to Park City. It was so nice of Charity and family (Paul, Ann, Shirley Ann, Don, Katie) to make it such a special Christmas for me and the kiddos and for allowing be to be a part of it (really--that's saying a lot about how good of people they are).
The great thing though, is that this is only Part 1! Caleb and Annika are going to be back in Park City with me for a whole week after Saturday! In addition to reading Treasure Island, we've got plans to visit Aunt Marie's, play with Weston (kid Caleb's age who lives next door), go swimming, and of course...play with Legos!
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