Here's a picture Ryleigh took with her new camera. After being cooped up in the house for three days, I felt like we needed to get outside, so after Laurie and Bethann got back from their after Christmas shopping trip, we took Grandma Patty and Grandpa Larry on a hike to Guillemont cove. Rosie came with too. She walked almost 2 miles today and now she's wiped out. We stoppped for coffee and hot chocolate. Now we're waiting for the pizza dough to rise so we can build our own. 
We're officially kicking off Christmas weekend. Santa just came by on the firetruck and gave the family candy canes. Laurie's family (Dad, Patty, Michelle, Tomm, Bethann, Eric) is showing up a little later tonight and we'll have guests through Monday. I'm looking forward to relaxing a little bit and will unplug my work computer for a couple of days. I will be working a little bit over the week between Christmas and New Years, but it won't be full time. The kids are excited and I think Mom is too. So Merry Christmas everyone! I'll try to post some pictures of Christmas morning.
Surprise, surprise! The girl who can't take her nose out of a book is near-sighted. Although we suspected it, the results of her school vision testing told us Ryleigh needed to see the eye doctor and get some glasses. Much to Ryleigh's delight, she can see again--and doesn't have to sit in the front of the class anymore. Kids don't seem to have the same issues with glasses that we had as children. Ryleigh thinks they're cute. So do I. One boy told her she looked goofy in them, to which she replied, "and now I can see how goofy YOU look." Go Girl!
Here's Ryleigh in her role as one of the "boy cousins" in this year's Nutcracker. The Nutcracker and it's many weekend and late night rehearsals has taken it's place amongst (hell, effectively replaced) the many other events we have during this time of the year - like Laurie's Birthday and our Anniversary. This is Ryleigh's 7th year of dance (she's 9) and her third year in the Nutcracker. Last year she played a mouse and a bon-bon, and the year before that she was "The Naughty Bon-Bon" who refused to get back under mother Ginger's skirt.
We got a good amount of snow last week. Here are the girls sitting on the first layer of our snowman. The kids had a couple of late starts, but not a full day. I worked from home most the week, but we only got out for the session you see here. I'm hopeful for more snow, since we didn't get any last year. I never did get up snowboarding, so my new snowboard is now two years old.
