Suncadia

Do you have a place you visit that never fails to make you happy?  Suncadia fits the bill for us.  We're so lucky to have our dear friends the McDonald's invite us to their lovely home in Suncadia and enjoy all that the resort has to offer.  A few days after xmas, we headed up there for some fun in the snow and great company. 

This snowman greeted us upon arrival (built by their granddaughters, Olivia and Sydney on Christmas Day)

Let's go Guys!

The McDonald's beautiful home.  Check out those icicles!

Happiness!

"Oli, wait for me!"

You can tell how the fatherly hand is guiding/pushing her....love it.

He doesn't need any pushing these days.

Julia started this and Oli followed her.  He is a good big brother and seems to have fun and patience for his energetic sister that ADORES him.



28

 

Julia'ism #27:

Me (after Julia did something that SO reminded me of myself": Julia, you are my daughter.

Julia, emphatically: "NO!  I am your Julia!"

Julia'ism #3 (maybe this is a repeat)

Setting: when her nose is running.

Julia: "My nose is falling out!"

Julia'ism #28:

Setting: Julia was spinning around in circles and hit her nose on the wall.

Julia: (after the tears stopped and in the sweetest tiniest voice); "Daddy, can you please build soft walls?"

The Jolly Old Guy

How is it that I am totally playing catch up again on the blog front?  Many reasons for this but most of all is because our kids are full on and such a joy to be with that it is all I can do to pull myself away to get some banking done, let alone blogging. 

In early December, the Nimmerguts hosted their annual Santa party providing a very easy way to see Santa.  Julia wasn't nearly as scared as last year but still a bit tentative.  Tyler was mesmerized by the beard.  



Happy New Year!

There was a time that we would just be heading out to celebrate New Year's Eve but this year we are just about heading to bed.  However, we didn't let the event go unnoticed...we had sparkling cider and champagne at dinner and talked about the year's highlights and our resolutions. 

Just a few of the things we mentioned:

Oli said his highlight was joining swim team.
Julia said her highlight was swmming with all da family.
Brett said it was the best year of his life.
Wendy said the highlight was having completed our family with the addition of Tyler.
Brett said that we added 5 new family members: Tyler, Rango (the gecko), 2 frogs and Windependent.
Wendy was proud of doing the Kirkland Triathlon 4 months after having Tyler.
Oli said an un-highlight was not having any snow yet.
Oli said Christmas was nice.

And now just a couple of photos from today.

Oli and Brett had a couple of days in Vancouver snowboarding with our friends Nat/Mike and Ben/Karin.  Looks like it was an absolutely stunning day on the mountain!

Julia's new sassy face she pulls.  The outfit?  She has her own style and flaunts it with confidence.  This is what she wore to Costco today.

Braces, check!

Hard to believe Oli has already had braces and they have already come off.  Watch out girls!

Merry Christmas

The kids are in bed, the dishes are done, the fire is roaring and a glasss of champagne is waiting for me and Mr. Claus is rubbing my feet.  Mrs. Claus workshop is officially closed for 11 months. 

Our day was fantastic from start to finish.  The kids were spoiled with gifts but were as calm, patient and appreciative as we could hope. 

the anticipation...

Making the video calls around the world to our loved ones.

Santa brought Oli a new ipod Nano and it turned Oli into a teenager.

The Giving Has Begun

I love Christmas.  From the making and receiving of Christmas cards, to the shopping, the baking, the magic of it all.  I love it. 

This year we were given the opportunity to really highlight the meaning of Christmas.  Our friends Ben and Karin were here for a few days before Christmas and it was so special to be with them that upon their departure, I felt as if the 'event' I had been preparing for was over (and I was completely satisfied).  I had to really gear up today to realize that there is another entire 'event' tomorrow. 

Tomorrow will be magical watching the kids experience the magic but really all I want for Christmas is quality time with the friends and family that mean so much to us.

Oli wanted one and only one thing this year from Christmas -- a leopard gecko (at his mom's house, he wanted deodorant....wish we had gotten off that easy).  Well, the story goes, we said no and then we realized that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.  Plus we have a family connection to geckos'...my sister's fiance breeds them.  So, we were counting on him being pretty surprised that we went ahead and got him a new pet. 

To have a little fun with Oli, we told him it was just the cage, not the actual gecko. This video is Brett revealing the fact that the gecko was already in there. There were no gecko's harmed in the making of this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5OrxM41AfA&feature=youtu.be 

Merry Christmas to you all!

Annual Holiday Brunch at the Gossett's

We enjoyed the Gossett's Annual Holiday Brunch...must be the 5th annual, at least.  It is turning into a mini-Christmas for the kids. Super fun!

The gifts and the food were great, the friends were even better.  We enjoyed our time with the Gossett's (including Natalie's parents from Hawaii), the Elliott's, the Russell's and Ashlie. 

Natalie and her parents making the made-to-order pancakes.  Yummy!

Garrett and Tyler.  Garrett is 3 months older than Tyler...sure to be good friends growing up!

Peyton, Julia and Allison enjoying the wonders of carpeted stairs.

Corbin having a thoughtful moment.

Allison Russell sure is a cutie!

Peyton and Julia seemed to both like to tell each other what to do and how to play.

Kirsten and Baby Garrett - all smiles!

Julia LOVED helping Tyler open his gifts...as long as he kept his hands off of her new Dora phone (thanks, Ashlie!)