Happy New Year and Year End Review

As the last few hours of 2014 draw to a close, I skimmed through some of the year’s photos and what a year it has been. Lynne and I would like to thank all of you for your friendship, support and kindness this year.

It will come as no surprise to you, the regular readers of this blog, that highlight this year, as every year, is watching our three great children, grow, learn, and develop in ways that will always amaze.

2014 did bring sadness in the passing of our great dog, Daisy, we still miss her. Molly our new dog is starting to grow on us, as she chews her way through the house. Finishing my MBA and taking a weeklong break with Lynne to do some diving were two major highlights for the year. Our regular grandparent visitors, birthday parties, our annual trip to Michigan and Christmas were also favorite times of the year.

I had lots of photos from the year, a selection of my favorites are below. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.

Fondue

We had a slightly different but exciting dinner last night. We dust off our fondue set and the kids had a great time. The cheese mixture should be warm, smooth and liquid and after much experimentation with temperatures we got it just perfect. The pictures below show a temperature too low since the cheese emerged from the pot like spaghetti but it provided for lots of entertainment.

The night reminded Lynne and me of a fondue dinner long before the children were born, in the Alps of France after a long day of skiing when a hot fondue meal and a couple glasses of wine with some great friends, Carina and Björn, was a great night.

Relaxing.........

We have really spent the last two days relaxing at home. We all needed a few days without any major goals. We have had music going (seems like in every room), the open fire, playing with lots of new Christmas games, eating lots of leftovers (and cake) and a little of getting on each others nerves.

Today we ventured a little further. Connor and I went on a bike ride, a full five miles which I thought was impressive for his age (5) and given the cold December wind that was blowing. We then took a little trip to Vons, our local bead, jewel, books and much more store (otherwise known as Isabel heaven). Lynne has been much more productive, she hit the girls room with a vengeance this afternoon, clearing it from top to bottom of the clutter that has built up over time. It looked really nice again when she was finished.

Christmas Day 2014

It was late last night when we got all cleaned up and I had no energy to go through photos and write a short post. It was a long day, which started with the exhilaration of Santa’s visit, through the excitement of lots of new stuff, preparation for dinner and guests for most of the day. We sat eight adults and seven children for an excellent dinner. We all had a great time, thank you to all for making it a memorable days for us all.  Shown below is the obligatory cross section of the days photos. 

Hope you're all having a great St Stephen's Day or Boxing Day depending on your location.

Christmas Eve 2014

Well they are all finally in bed. Did I say they were hyper? Well, words could simply not describe how excited each of them was this afternoon and this evening as we checked through our small Christmas Eve traditions.

Mum and Dad working in the kitchen on Christmas dinner preparations, Mum baking, the movie Polar Express, new jim-jams, cookies, milk (and carrots for the reindeers), topped with the book, “A Night Before Christmas”.

We now have a few hours of quiet, except for several bouts of feet racing across our landing, before we too hit our beds. We wish Santa Claus and all others traveling tonight a very safe journey.