Christmas Vacation 2009

It was great!!! Really the rest of the story can just be told in pictures, but of course, I'll add commentary as well.

Last week of school consisted of the kids' Christmas programs...

Tiare picked out her own hip, cool outfit.



Exercising perhaps my last ounce of motherly influence to force Atticus to wear what I tell him, I picked out Atticus' outfit...


My kind, sweet boy indulged my choice this year, but I can tell you he sure wished that I was the cool mom who let their kid wear the ATV t-shirt! Stay tuned for next year to see what he wears!!

We spent the whole week before Christmas up at the cabin. The first few days were just our family, and it was so much fun.







I bought puzzles at the dollar store, so we did one per day!


Here's the view from the bathroom window...

I just love that view!

Here's the view of the deck...



Here's Chris and the kids watching some football game--Chris watching a football game or any sporting event is a particular experience indeed--you will see a side of Chris Cutri that you never knew possible!!


Compare the previous photo with the following one of Chris watching a normal tv program...

Clooney loves the cabin too!!



We skied almost every day...




Our good friends the Powell's came to stay with us at the cabin. Not only are they great people, but they are also perfectly matched with us in terms of interest. Take note of Exhibit A:



Chris and Munn are two peas in a pod!!! Cristy and I are pretty well matched too as we sat on the couch Cristy reading her book and me feeling perfectly comfortable to sit with my laptop watching episodes of Lost (I did watch all of Season 1 in 3 days!).

The kids love each other so much too!





Here they are doing a great craft that Cristy organized for them--it was little votive candle holder they made.





The votive candles looked great on our festive table during our Appetizer Dinner!!





Our friend Erica stopped by to join us for our appetizer dinner--that is her in the background.

These appetizers were designed to meet the requests of everyone 11 and under--pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, saucy meatballs!! Ok, I'm over 11 and I loved them!!

We also had a great time sledding--our road is the best sledding ever!!











Clooney thinks chasing kids on sleds is the best activity ever!





We got home on Christmas Eve.



By 12:44 p.m. Christmas Eve day, Tiare and Atticus had themselves all encamped in front of the fireplace and Christmas tree waiting for Santa.





I thought that they would stay there for 20 minutes or so and then leave, but no they really pretty much stayed there for the rest of the night until they fell asleep!!



Here's the set-up for Santa and Rudolph that Tiare arranged. The note itself was classic!! Tiare had warned Santa that if he was allergic to nuts he shouldn't eat the cookies, but rather just stick to the M & M's! She is so considerate and thorough!!



The next morning was a present fest!!!



Best story of the day was that I thought that I had lost the big present that I bought the kids. I couldn't find it hidden in any of my usual spots on Christmas Eve when I went to find it to wrap it. I was so distraught that Chris just sent me to bed to watch LOST. I couldn't believe that I had "lost" the kids' big Christmas present. Well, to my great surprise, the kids ripped open a present (the one in the photo above) and there was the present that I couldn't find. I was so clever that I hadn't hidden it at all--I wrapped it up and put it under the tree and forgot all about it!!







Here's Tiare laughing at the hat Chris got from her...



Don't worry he is taking the hat back.













It really was a fantastic Christmas vacation! I don't know if making the post the night before reality starts again tomorrow morning was a good idea or not. I guess it was a good time to do it because it reminded me what a wonderful time we had. Chris says that what makes vacations so special is the rest of the time you are just living your regular life. We are so blessed--really I believe that. I love my family and friends so much!!