Christmas. Eve.

Daddy, when can I open presents?

And where is that Santa Claus?

On Christmas Eve we were out at the "country house" out in "the 40's" of Flagstaff, the cinder billies as the locals say -- Alan, Birgit and Naomi's place an hour outta dodge. We spent the early hours cooking dinner while celebrating the happy hours. After dinner but before the company arrived we made merriment and fools of ourselves, and once they came we did more of the same. Great evening, thanks everyone!

When the accordian came out things got a little crazy,
but eventually we settled down a bit.

Lots of good times but we were kickin it too.

Kian was kickin it!

Naomi was kickin it!

Even Opa was kickin it!

\

Of course Daddy was kickin it.

Everyone was kickin it but these two. Thank goodness or we would have starved.

The kids performed a dance-vocal routine while the adults doled out the tough love.

Not bad, coulda been better but not bad, they said.

Here's a sneak peak at Christmas day:

December Sleddin

Kiki and his sled of choice: the modified tub-oggan.

About the first thing that I did when I arrived in Flagstaff was to get the kid a sled. I always worry when I'm not around that Kian might not be having enough fun, might not be getting out enough, heaven forbid. Our first time out on sleds we hit the NAU hill that I noticed on my way into town. Snow was spotty, it was a south facing slope, but there was a nice crew of other parents around chasing their kids and tugging them back up the hill.

Pre-shove off.

Every run ended in a slide and bail.

Packin' it in for the day.

Ode to Oma

Walk with Grandma

I like to walk with Grandma, she takes small steps like mine. She never says "let's hurry-up! she always takes her time. I like to walk with Grandma, her eyes see things like mine. Shiny stones, a fluffy cloud, stars at night that shine. People rush their whole day through, they rarely stop to see. I'm glad that God made Grandmas unrushed and young like me!
Author: unknown

Walking with Oma.

Summer time is always Oma-time!

One year Kian wanted to watch Oma's plane leave us as she flew home at the end of the summer. We parked at the end of the runway and watched the planes fly over. Our house was always so sad after she left us at the end of every summer. That's just how we feel.

Silent Tear.

Each night we shed a silent tear,
As we speak to you in prayer.
To let you know we love you,
And just how much we care.
Take our million teardrops,
Wrap them up in love,
Then ask the wind to carry them,
To you in heaven above.

We love you, Oma... you are forever in our hearts!

A Santa in Every Mall

In his '011 Christmas sweater.

Just prior to Annie and Kian's departure in early December for Arizona, we got together with Santa Claus and the Lutz clan for our annual photo session. Sure glad Santa was able to get to that mall on such short notice. Anyway, had a great time and it didn't hurt that we opened the session with a whopping meal at a mexican joint: cheese slathered yuminess.

Daycare Pics

Here are a couple pics taken by Kian's daycare teacher, Fiel.

Dino Mean on Halloween

Five of 6 cameras went out on us on Halloween, spooky, but the 6th camera was just a phone. There were some Kodak moments out there for sure. During the first such moment, when I pulled out Annie's Nikon and readied myself for the shot, not one electrical impulse fired. Batts dead. Bummer... that moment is gone forever and those pixels will never grace this blog in the form of a picture image, but I could try to paint the scene right here in words? Well, it was a dark cold night... really, it was, probably in the low 40's.

We were planning to head up to JBRJ's for the usual Snoqualmie Halloween trick or treat fest but a late start and word of bad traffic had us changing the plans. Instead, I hooked the chariot up to a bike, bundled up the kiddo underneath his dinosaur costume, and we hit the road towards Greenlake all lit up with flashy lights. We weren't sneaking up on anyone. Before we left I threw on my big black afro wig, a wolf mask, hairy hands and feet and so I was a wolfman pulling a small reptile. The streets were quiet all the way to Greenlake, we only came across a couple tricker-treaters. We stopped at just one house en route because we couldn't pass this one up, it was awesome, and Kian needed to get his shtick together before we hit some good neighborhoods.


Greenlake was dead. We rolled along a few blocks and I was second-guessing my plan and bummed for the little guy because he was missing out on his rightful privilege of a night of Halloweening. I turned off the main drag and just one block away we hit the jackpot: a big neighborhood with a thriving Halloween spirit and kids all over the place. We parked the rig and hit the first dozen houses on foot before double-backing and moving the bike to a new spot. In an hour he almost filled a small bucket since most of the people told him to take 2 or 3 pieces. A couple times he asked if he could take a piece for his daddy, pretty cute.

This morning I took what would have been a months worth of sugar-highs to the office with me and by the end of the day it was all gone. I feel a little bad, but Halloween isn't just about the candy. In about 3-5 years it may be just about the candy, but right now its still out-of-sight-out-of-mind, a convenient thing for us when a little sugar goes a bad, bad way.

The picture I'm thinking of would have been priceless. Here's a couple from the Flip that I managed to capture once I got the battery charged but after the authentic moments were lost forever.