Christmas in Rochester

Advent

The Columbus kin began to arrive two days before Christmas: Amy came in Tuesday, late, Mom and Dad arrived for dinner Wednesday and the Westerville kin came later that evening. 

Which meant several days prior to this when we were trying like crazy to get the house ready, during which the boys were off from school, and Sam was recovering but still sick enough to prevent babysitters.

The key to productivity is dividing and conquering, so I took Joshie to the PM while Susan and Sam were home. They later joined us and we visited the butterfly garden there:

Another aspect of preparation was the baking of spritz cookies, rum balls (still have some left!), "maple" fudge, almond butter blossoms and chocolate-ginger cookies, and making snack food to munch on. 

On Wednesday I whisked Joshie off to the zoo.  It was in the 50s, and I let him wear his candy-cane p.j.s. Here we are in the sea-lion building:

Christmas!

Finally they arrived! Here we are, opening gifts. (Note that Sam, too, is in his PJs.)

Happy Kevin:

To get Josh out of the house and to burn off some of those Christmas cookies, we made an outing to the Mount Hope Cemetery. Here are Stu, Sue and Kevin in front of Susan B. Anthony:

Mom was insanely helpful, which was especially appreciated on Christmas Day, when Susan was in bed, sick. Here's Mom making the Christmas dinner salad:

Stu introduced us to a great new game called Smash Up. Here he's playing a game with Sam:

Here's Dad enjoying his new oscilloscope hardware:

And Sue, in her natural state:

Enjoying some urbane adult conversation:

Josh insisted on sitting next to Emily:

Aunt Amy calming an upset Joshie:

Post-Christmas Day:

We consoled ourselves after everyone left with a trip to the science museum. They were featuring a dinosaur exhibit that Josh was wild about:

Sam and I went to a demo in which they used two huge Tesla coils, switched on and off at audio frequencies, to make music:

The last demo consisted of putting some volunteers in the Faraday cage in between the coils:

Brave kids.  :-)

All in all a very good and memorable Christmas. The Columbus guests were very helpful and understanding of our being unexpectedly sick.  (And unfortunately, Mom is even now getting over the same bug.) It was by far not the ideal, but everyone kept a good attitude and redeemed the situation.

Sam is Nine

Sam is now nine. Has been for two days, now.

This may be the best one yet. Had a party Friday night at the nearby Periton Aquatic Center, which meant an hour in the pool (think: water slide, inflated iceberg, lazy river, geysers, hot tub) and an hour in an observation room on the second floor. And there's no reason, it being on neutral territory, not to invite a bunch of friends, so Sam did--fourteen in total. Not as long or as eventful as Splash Lagoon, but with more friends; trade offs. Aunt Amy was on hand to follow Josh around (priceless!), as one parent had to stand near the iceberg to make sure no one perished (a lifeguard was also on duty). 

The whole thing went remarkably smoothly, much better than anticipated, and I admit I was dreading it. The only really harrowing part was the period when I was supervising the boys getting into dry clothes in the locker room prior to heading up to the observation room for cake and presents. In that short time, one boy (holding back tears) informed me he'd lost all his clothes and towel (they were in another locker room entirely) and left his shoes back out by the pool, another lost his towel and had to borrow mine, a third lost his underwear, which turned up soaking wet in the shower, and I discovered we'd forgotten the diaper bag and so had no new pull-up for Josh to wear. 

Good times.

The following day we opened gifts from family, and more than any other birthday I think the presents hit the mark without being over the top. 

Sorry to be so clinical, but this is what we think about.

Below are the photos. Enjoy!

Our big gift to Sam this year: two hermit crabs he's named Spike and Ladybug. They aren't terribly mobile or interactive, but maybe in time they'll come out of their shells.  (Hahaha!) 

Aunt Amy, Joshie and Sam's friend from church Zachie, who spent much of the time blissfully soaking in the hot tub. :-)

This is the "iceberg". They climb up the other side and then slide down into the water. 

This is Sam with a newish friend from school, Zoe, who has a great sense of humor and a strong sense of self. For the first time EVER Sam went off to talk to her on the phone the other day. And he's had one "hang" with her, which is what fourth graders call playdates. So far, no drama, which is an improvement over other girls he's interacted with.

Cake--and view of the lazy river in the background.

Opening presents.

Saturday I took Sam to his piano lesson and afterward went to the cafe next door for hot cocoa and billiards. 

"Hermit crabs are EPIC!"

Sam received two flying saucers. He's getting pretty good at this one. 

Closing up camp

Over Columbus-Day weekend we took a trip up to camp to close it up for the fall. Just like last year, the weather was splendid--cold but sunny, so that we could do the outdoor activities which are the mainstay of a successful camp trip. Below are some photos from that trip, prefaced by two photos from Susan and Josh.

First, here's a cute moment between Susan and Josh. Josh was insisting that Susan was sad, maybe so he could comfort her:

Susan wrote about this:

Tim took this during a long conversation during which I tried to convince Josh to give me a kiss and he refused, on the grounds that Mommy was sad... he kept cupping my face in his little hands and telling me to make a sad face.

And here's a couple of shots from our anniversary trip to Columbus--Uncle Stu playing with Josh:

Now, up to camp. The sky had that blue color you only get in the fall, and the water was wonderfully still.  The morning temperatures were in the mid 40s, climbing near the low 60s during the day.

Here's Josh, who was feeling huggy and kissy for some reason:

The first night, Josh helped out by sweeping the deck:

We took a walk down the Stone Valley trail in Colton. Just beautiful!

Big news in Colton: they've painted the huge pipe!

Sam, caught mid-jump:

You have to click on, and enlarge, these, to truly appreciate them:

One of the tasks for closing up camp is sweeping the roof. I couldn't resist this one:

A Hershey's Kiss will be given the first person to name that conformal map!

Sam helps, at least on the flatter part of the roof:

Though it was a short trip (up Sat afternoon, back Monday afternoon) we managed meals at Sergi's and the Higley Hide-away Diner Cafe, as well as a very pleasant trip to the state-park playground (or as Josh called it, the "Steak Park"--if only!). And while I did the water, Susan took the boys on a marathon walk out to McEwan's (sp?) point.

Oh, and a movie night for the boys, watching Wreck-it Ralph. 

Sam had fussed that he didn't want to go up to camp, cause it was boring there. Afterward he gushed about how much fun it was, and observed how easy it is to forget that.

2^2^2nd anniversary in Columbus!

Last month for our 16th anniversary we went to Columbus. We stayed in a quaint B&B near downtown. And by "we" I mean Susan and me; Josh went off with Stu and Sue, and Sam stayed with Amy, accompanied by Nana and Grandad. 

Just to be clear, that's almost 24 hours of civilized living, thanks completely to kind family! 

Susan and I went to dinner Friday night at a beautiful upscale place in beautiful upscale German Village. Saturday we went to the Franklin Park (plant) Conservatory, and had lunch at another nice place on Grandview Avenue. 

Very civilized.  :-)

Josh and Sam went to the Zoo, but apart from one another, which I think must have been a great treat for them. Josh never once asked about Mommy and Daddy.  :-)  AA baked cookies with Sam, and went with him and Nana to the Columbus Museum of Art. 

I think the boys had as good a time as we did. Below are some photos...

Outside Lindey's, in German Village, Friday night

Again, at Lindey's

German Village is all cobblestoney and gorgeous in an old-world way

Even though it was mid September, this house had decorated for Hallowe'en already

Josh, post-bath Friday night. Once out he told Stu and Sue that he was "sweet and clean".

Sam's closet nest at AA's

The art museum had an area for kids to dress up

Sam in the reptile house

What a good weekend! Thanks, family!