We had a Christmas so lovely I feel I was allowed to pick it from a catalog. After all the stress of a secular advent (shopping, planning, worrying, etc), it's sometimes hard to believe the day itself will measure up. But Christmas 2012 will be one to remember!
To start, here's Miles and Papa admiring the Blacksburg Christmas tree, located on Alumni Mall. We attended the Lighting for the third time running.
Though the weather in Blacksburg stayed absurdly warm for most of Advent, we had a few cold days. Here, Adele models her new poncho, a gift from Grandma:
On December 21, the longest night of the year, we pulled an all-nighter. Or rather, Jon pulled an all- nighter. I pulled a partial one, and the kids slept, well, most of their usual hours. The point is, we drove by night this time, and but for a few minor hitches, it made for superior travel!
Some hitches: Miles decided to be awake from 3am till 6, and the snow which began at the NY border doubled our remaining time, so that instead of arriving at 4:45 we pulled in at 7:15. It was dodgy for a while there, so I wasn't really able to sleep from around 4:30 on. Still, it went a whole lot better than I anticipated. No migraine for me, and Adele stayed asleep all night!
Upon our arrival, there were already several inches of glorious snow on the ground, and as further posts will show, it not only didn't thaw but continued to snow for the duration of our trip. I'm not sure I can adequately express how happy this made me. I call it my Christmas gift from God.
I let Jon sleep on Saturday, so I was pretty tired as I chased my Smalls around Dad's new house in Penfield. Fortunately, Dad helped me out and kept Miles occupied for a while with a craft: an ornament making kit he'd picked up at Wegmans. (Brief exclamation of joy at being back within reach of a Wegmans. CHEERS.)
They started out the size of one's palm...
...And after baking, shrunk to about 2 inches in diameter. We put the kids' names and the year on several for some adorable keepsakes.
The kids were both able to re-establish their friendships with Grandpa Jim. Here, Adele and Grandpa Jim bond over cat videos.
Later that same day... after a much needed Wegmans run... we got suited up for twilight snowplay!
Adele just sort of stood there, calm, but a bit uneasy. She is taking our word for it that snow is something to be excited about.
Behold, my excitement! Miles watches a snow angel being made for the first time. Only a couple days later, he made his own.
Adele preferred not to be standing in a snowbank. You can't win em all, I guess.
I pushed Miles across the lawn, to gauge if he was ready for the real downhill experience. He was!
Very pleased with the experience, and definitely not ready to go in.
As the last remaining days went by, we made some visits, received some visitors, attended church and generally enjoyed each other's company.
Coming up: Christmas Eve and the first day of Christmas.
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