holiday recap:: part deux

so where did i leave off?  oh, that's right.  we had just celebrated a wonderful christmas with our families. the second week of vacation we went up to kernville where bobby's dad and stepmom have a place.

we were really hoping for snow and had all of the kids' snow gear and skis at the ready.  but it didn't work out. no rain and warmer than usual weather meant there would be no snow this time.

we did find a few patches of leftover snow that sofia made the best of.  she was able to make a couple of snowballs to throw at me.

our days of skiing and snowball fights turned into quad riding, reading and game playing.  bobby took the kids to a track in town that was perfect for riding the quads.  the kids had a blast and got pretty confident on their bikes.

even sofia took a few turns around the area.  she looked adorable, and well protected, on her little bike.

back at the house i was completely engrossed in the first book of the hunger game series.

 let's call it an obsession, no a need, no i was consumed with anxiety about how the book would end so i read it front to back in two days. i cried and gasped and held my breath.  there i said it.  i loved it.  couldn't wait to get home to start book 2.

we also got to spend time with kendall and grady.  the kids really love playing with their cousins.

the best part about this week was getting to enjoy the outdoors.  this was bobby's office for the afternoon. i think he is seriously considering moving in.

at night we had dinner and played games.

skip bo

and mexican train.  this was fun because no one was clear about the rules.  so we looked them up on the internet and then chose the rules that made sense to us.  kind of a fun way to play.

normally we head back home and ring in the new year with friends or family.  this year we decided to spend new year's eve in kernville and go home in the morning on jordan's birthday.

after an amazing new year's eve dinner we sang happy birthday to jord and ate waffles with ice cream.

photo from midnight

the boys stayed up and watched new year's rocking eve. sofia fell asleep a little before midnight.

sunday we got home around noon and got ready for a family gathering to celebrate jordan's 13th birthday.  maybe not the best way to do it, but it was wonderful starting the year surrounded by our family.

monday was our last day of vacation.  we let the kids choose what they wanted to do.  lots of kinect playing (the disneyland adventure game is really fun), doll playing, rose parade watching, putting christmas away. i knew that getting them back to school would be rough and we wanted to enjoy our last vacation day together.

that's how we made it to 2012.  and that pretty much sums up our life.  lots of craziness, outdoor adventure, quiet moments, love and happiness shared with friends and family.

this year i am hoping to slow things down a bit.  with a large family it seems like there is always something going on.  and we love to be a part of it.  hopefully we can find the balance of participating and taking some time to ourselves.  that will make for a very happy year.