Holiday Happiness

Our self-timed family Christmas pic. I only got two shots at this as everyone was "freezing."

The annual shot of the boys by the tree.

The Fam.

Big Grandma and the BEBZ.

A sweet boy and his daddy.

Decking the halls..er...the fireplace hearth

Little minds excited about the coming of Christmas. Sweetness abounds.

Big Grandma and her "Budderball"

Ian gets crafty.

Framed vintage mid-1970's America Cancer Society Stamps. I have two frames of these. Absolutely l-o-v-e them. Blast from my past. I think they're my favorite Christmas stamps EVAH. And last year's craft project: JOY.

Other household signs of holiday cheer...

and craftiness.

Gifts from dear friends (above)

And a few rounds of Guesstures for the boys. Pretty darn good at giving clues, these here boys are!A sweet boy wanting to make a quaint little paper Christmas village.

Chef Boo at his finest, creating holiday sweet treats!

On the Night Before Christmas...

This is what we did:

The Torchlight Parade and 70th Anniversary celebration of the resort. If you look closely you can see the torches make the number "70"(Note: Look by the 4 skiers closest in the picture).

And look...



LOOK who we ran into!!!

Santa, despite his crazy hectic schedule, was sweet enough to take time for a photo op with us.

There was time for a steaming cup of hot cocoa for a Lil "BOO-dolph" (err, I mean RU-dolph) prior to the parade and alongside the roaring bonfire.

The gangs all here! (Apparently, some dudette wanting her hiney posted on my blog too!)

And here's a sweet pic of "Big Grandma "and my sis. Don't they look joyful despite the -20 below weather?

And a little video of the merrymaking:

Oh The Weather Outside is FRIGHTFUL...

...but the snow is SO delightful! Bitterly cold winds (Wind chill about -20) today has put a bit of a damper on our holiday fun. We did manage to get in a few runs and warmed up with some hot cocoa and spiced wine (for some of the adult kiddos) and then came in for some hot tub soaking and sauna. (I just stayed in the room by the cozy fire and plopped myself down next to my laptop to catch up on a little bloggin). Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder. BRrr....

We are gearing back up now to head on down to the base of the mountain for the annual Torchlight Parade, visit from Santa, bonfire and fireworks show. Hope to get a few good pics before my fingers fall off from the cold!

Above are a few pics taken from my iPhone. Some of them seem pretty dark-perhaps there's a learning curve for me with the camera component of it? ;)

Altitude Weariness

Update: Both of the boys had a touch of altitude sickness. It hit Ian first and then Ethan.Happy to report they are both starting to feel better. Whew!

We Have Arrived...

...at Big Grandma's condo in Winter Park. Happy to report, the weather and traffic cooperated nicely for us. (I only hope my sis and family's flight gets in to Denver ok tonight. There's a winter storm advisory out until Thursday am). We couldn't check in to our room right away, so we took care of a few things like "gearing up" and a trip to the local Safeway for some good eats. A few items later and we walked out with a receipt for $184.31! Ouch! (That was with the SW discount card). Crazy expensive compared to home. I took some pics with my new iPhone and will try to post some here later. (We'll just see how savvy or not so savvy I am with the new-to-me-technology-LOL)

He's Finally Done it...

...the boy has grown feet as large as his mother's. I bought Ian a new pair of Adidas tennis shoes on October 7 and he's already outgrown them! He's been wanting to skateboard more and therefore decided on flatter soled shoes than traditional tennis shoes. His choice (after scouring the local Shoe Carnival? These little (ahem...BIG) numbers. Reminiscent of the Jets vs. Sharks era, Grease and the Outsiders. Totally substantiates the ole saying, "Everything old is new again," huh?

The Dude's Got Mad Duck Tape Skillz

...I think he just "one-upped" my DF, Julie, and her multitude of uses for duct tape (but I'm not 100% convinced that my boy has outdone her dad in his creative uses for the stuff! LOL)

Ian's Tony Hawk wallet has been MIA the past few weeks-so rather than scouring the house to find it, he took some initiative and some creative sparks went flying. He decided to make a duct tape wallet, complete with pockets (and a secret pocket) and a trifold to boot. Nothing like a little bit of eleven-year-old ingenuity to add interest to my day.

Getting Christmas Crafty

Here's a few little lovelies I've been working on over the past few evenings. They have been quite fun to make and to tinker with. Plan to make several for teachers, family and friends. The hardest part? Deciding which one goes home with whom! You can't tell from the pic (I'll try to shoot some pics in macro mode-for better detail) but they are little necklace pendants made from Scrabble tiles (My fav game of all times. Oodles of family tradition and memories wrapped up into that game. Some of the very best memories I have of my Gramser). I am making one for my mom and leaving the "QU" visible on the back b/c my Grandma's house rules always involved that whomever laid down a "U" on the board, must be sure to place it such that the person who had the "Q" could play it. If not and we had leftover tiles at the game, especially the Q, then the game was considered a complete loss-LOL!

And here's my lil helper...err...my little muse, I mean!

Batches and Batches...

...of Suz's Snack Crack. Managed to check this off of my to do list today. Made several batches of mix. Of course there were a few little (and big!) hands that stole a few morsels of carmelized goodness for themselves.

Making A Small Difference For A Kiddo With A Big Heart

I was catching up on some blogs I frequent and came across the story of this little guy who is terminal. Lisa Bearnson, of Creating Keepsakes, is asking each of us to make a small contribution in the last few days of this little guy's life. I hope you can join me and do the same. Click on this link for more info.

And, don't let another minute go by without telling someone how much you love them and are happy that you have them in your life!

Hugs,

Suz

Sweet Gift...

...from a sweet friend.

My DF Cheryl B. stopped by the other day and brought me this thoughtful and yummy gift. She knew I was feeling sad (b/c of the deaths I posted about earlier) and was hoping they might lift my spirits a little bit. They definitely helped. Thank you Cheryl!

Love ya,

Suz

You Will Be Missed...TERRIBLY!

Summer Perry-one of God's angels-12.12.09

More sad news...

...just went on Facebook only to find out a classmate of mine from HS, Kim Marie Ranney (pictured above) committed suicide last night. It appears she purposefully asphyxiated herself in the garage with the car running. Her last Facebook post said "no love letters to my friends."

She had been hospitalized and in psychiatric care in the recent past-but evidently the disease beat her brain and her body.

My heart is truly heavy tonight-so much sadness in 24 hours time with the passing of Ian's gifted teacher yesterday and now this news.

Reminding me once again to tell all of those I know how very much I love them and are blessed to have them in my life.

Love, blessings and prayers to all.

Suz

Sounds From Yesteryear

POSTING WITH A VERY HEAVY HEART...

I just recently found out this news. Ms. Perry was Ian's gifted teacher. She will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends, colleagues and students and every other person who's life she touched in her charismatic, upbeat way.

Self-Timed Photoshoot

of me and my Ace!

It Does a Body Good...

Thought this would be a good digi l/o to post what with the bitter cold weather we've been having of late!

Awe...Bringin' the luv back

I came across these pics while browsing thru iPhoto just now:

Who still loves his little bro' -but just has a much more subtle way of showing it now!

...Oh and that laptop? Still have it! Good ole Dell Inspiron purchased back in 2000 for my office. Truth be told, we rarely use now as it sounds like a hamster is spinning on his exercise wheel within it (But, on second thought-it probably make for a good white noise machine as a repurposed item, no?)

SCRAM THIS

That's what it has come down to...a "SCRAM THIS!" (aka Christmas party) party for Ian at his public gifted class. They aren't allowed to call it a "CHRISTmas" party so...their little genius minds came up with an anagram of CHRISTmas to refer to it as! Not quite as good as being able to call it what it really is but pretty close IMHO.

They actually have Christmas trees here in the public schools. I'm pleasantly surprised Christmas trees are still allowed in the schools these days (and that Mr. BIG G-MAN hasn't put a halt to that yet). That said, I am soooo grateful we live where we do. I couldn't stand living in some states (say CA) where you'd probably be thrown in jail for having one in the school (insert severe sarcasm here).

They are not "Holiday Trees" people! They are CHRISTmas trees! Call them what they are.

POSITIVELY...

...strep! Got the definitive word from my doc today. Happy to have my $1.94 bottle of Cephalexin and I am looking forward to feeling better soon.

Hoping to post some pics later (after catching up on 5 days of negligent housekeeping!)

Down for the count

...but hopefully on the upswing. I've been battling some bug the past few days. One of those knock-you-on-your-butt-and-remember-not-to-take-your-health-for-granted-kind of bugs. I think I am overcoming it...I THINK I am...Hope to post again soon-but I have a few days of cleaning and bill paying to catch up on.

Build-A-Bear Birthday Fun

So, Boo had a few friends over yesterday, to celebrate his birthday belatedly. A little hot chocolate, a few Lil Smokies pigs in a blanket, a bit of sewing and a whole lotta fun!

Dialogue with a Sleepwalker/Talker

So Mick gets home last night and apparently he aroused our eldest from sleep.

The conversation went like this:

Ian: "Who ARE you?"

Daddy: "I'm your daddy!"

Ian: "I'm sorry. I'm just SO tired."

Daddy: "That's ok. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Ian: "Ok. When Daddy gets home, tell him "I love you". "

Daddy: "Ok. I Will. Good night buddy."

"CHANGE" for the worst

Received this pic via email recently. I have to say, I think I'm ready to paint one up myself and place it on the edge of our property where everyone can see it. Happy to see and hear that people are starting to see the real "wolf behind sheep's clothing."

Happy Mail

This little number made it's way to my doorstep yesterday...and the Design Cards arrived today. Let's just say I quickly put the laundry away so I could play with the new machine while watching The Biggest Loser tonight.

Tiquing and Fleaing with my SIL and MIL

...I came across these lil treasures. How sweet and precious are the Rudolph(-ette)deer? And a steal at $10 for the pair! These lil gems definitely help put me in the Christmas spirit.