Christmas Time

We have had a busy month and I have been neglecting our blog. So here is some catch up....

We got buried in snow and I tried to take Joshua out, but he hated it. These pictures are pretty representative of the snow experience. Maybe next year it will be better.



Caleb wanted a break from the winter so we went to my families for his two week Christmas vacation for some sun. We had two feet of snow when we left Vermont so we were really looking forward to the warmth of California. We were scheduled to leave on Sunday December 21st so we had our own Christmas eve and Morning on Saturday the 20th. We have a tradition of making a big Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, opening one present, reading the Christmas story, and making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. We did all that on Friday and then Saturday morning opened all our presents and had Christmas breakfast. Joshua caught on to the present opening pretty quick.

He loved his presents especially his cars. After opening presents he spent most the day laying in this big box and drive his cars around on the bumpy card board. He was very excited about it.

Saturday afternoon we packed and got ready for our Sunday flight. It had been snowing a ton, and more snow was coming, but we were trying to be optimistic. Sunday morning we get up for Church and learned that everything but Sacrament was canceled because of bad weather. By the time we got home from church and checked on our flight it had been canceled too! We desperately tried calling Continental to get on any flights anywhere before Christmas. Everything was completely full until the 26th! So we kept trying and finally got a confirmed flight out of Manchester New Hampshire through Newark Tuesday the 23rd arriving at LAX at midnight! The next best option was to fly from Boston to Las Vegas on the 24th and then just drive from there! So we took the Manchester flight but were mad that we would end up loosing 3 days of our trip and have to pay for parking or a rental car in Manchester. Caleb checked on some flights from Burlington to Newark on Monday. There was a 7 am flight that might have stand by room so we decided to try to get on that flight or any flight to Newark. Then we could try get stand by on any flight earlier than our confirmed flight, but if we could not at least we knew we would be leaving Newark on Tuesday at the latest. So we got up early and miracoulously made it on stand by on our flight to Newark. When we got to Newark we got on the standby list. We were about twentieth! Although there were 7 direct flights out of Newark to LAX that day so we were very optimistic. We went and waited by the first flight, which was overbooked by five passengers and had stranded crew trying to get on. After them they would call standby passengers, they only let one on that flight. All day from eight in the morning we went from flight to flight trying to get on. It was nuts by the end of the day the stand by list was close to a hundred people. We were tired and frustrated from a day at the airport and dealing with a lot of rude unhelpful people. When finally we got on the fifth flight of the day at 5 pm. When they called our name to board the plane I started clapping with excitement and almost started to cry. It was one of the longest, most tiring awful days of my life, but it was worth getting out to California a day earlier.

This is how we killed the time at the airport inbetween waiting at gates for our name to be called. Joshua was actually a great sport all day and had a blast playing with his cars. But even he had started to melt down by the time we finally got on a plane. I think Heavenly Father knew we had all reached our limit and blessed us.



My parents started a tradition a couple years back of bringing a Christmas tree and dinner to Gam (my 90 year old grandma) in Thousand Oaks. It is one of my favorite things to do so they planned to do on Tuesday so we could come and help. I was so glad we made our earlier flight an were able to make it. She has this great house and property in the hills that I just loved coming to as a kid. So I was excited to have Joshua be able to play there with his cousins. They planted "trees" (old dead branches), fed the fish, and looked for coyote, bob cat tracks, lizards and snakes. We also decorated Gams Christmas tree for her. Joshua had so much fun and I loved seeing Gam and my Uncle Ron.




After Gam's we went to Chuck y Cheeses for Braddock's second birthday.





Then Christmas eve came and we did all the traditional Christmas eve things with my Parents and Elizabeth and Scott. We had dinner, acted out the nativity, made treats and ginger bread houses, and played games. It was really fun.



In my family since my brothers all started getting married and having their own kids we always have our own individual Christmas mornings, especially since most everyone has always lived within an hour of eachother. Honestly the only way Caleb is able to talk me out of not being home on Christmas morning is because he has a limited break. So to try to fly out right after Christmas from across the country would just not be reasonable or give us enough time to make the long flight worth it. So I am looking forward to when we are with in driving distance of family so we can have our own Christmas morning and then meet up with everyone else. Anyway we had a wonderful Christmas morning we each had a few presents to open, which is fine with me because to me Christmas is more about being together as a family and of course the food. Joshua helped make the cinamon rolls for breakfast. Then Elizabeth and Scott came over for a huge Christmas Breakfast.



In the afternoon we went down to Travis and Susan's and met up with the whole family for Christmas dinner and present exchange.



Joshua loves spending times with his cousins and wrestling with them.



Here are the three little babies, who love playing together. They are really starting to interact with eachother and are quickly becoming best buds. Joshua is the youngest of the 3 by 6 months, but tries hard to keep up.



And the babies with their daddies and then with their mommies.



Here is Gam and some of her great grandchildren.



A couple days after Christmas we took a beautiful hike along the Santa Barbara coastal range. It was awsome to hike up and get a panaramic view of the ocean, and burn off some of the calories from Christmas.




One day we went down to the Santa Barbara zoo. Joshua loved seeing all the animals especially the monkeys.



Although the thrill of the day was getting to ride the choo choo train around the zoo. He was very still the whole time and kept pointing saying choo choo.



On New Years day we had a picnic on the beach. It happened to be the only foggy day of the trip but was still really fun. We played football on the sand, dug for sand crabs, and took a long walk along the water. Nothing feels better than your bare feet in the sand. Grandma was teaching Joshua how to find sand crabs and burry his feet.



So that is about it. We have had a wonderful Christmas and trip. Caleb went home yesterday, Joshua and I both cried. We go home in two weeks to see daddy. He is going to be very busy while we are gone, but we will really miss having him here with us.

Merry Christmas to all

We put together a Christmas card this year, but decided to keep it digital. It seems like a big part of even making Christmas cards and sending them to everyone you know is simply to remind them of your continued existence and such. Theoretically, by virtue of even looking at this blog you're not one of those people, but whatever works. I hope this entirely non-proactive show of holiday cheer warms your hearts and helps you feel the holiday spirit and so on...

-Caleb

Christmas Trees, trucks and beds

I love Christmas and especially Christmas trees. Every year the day after Thanksgiving Caleb and I have gotten our Christmas tree. I would get it earlier if I could but Caleb won't allow it. I love the smell and look of real trees and I will never willingly own a fake tree. I would rather sacrifice some of my Christmas presents in order to afford a real tree than buy a fake one. To me it is the start of Christmas. Growing up it was always so exciting to go and get our tree. We would all go together to pick it out and we would bring it home and turn on Christmas music and decorate it. It just doesn't feel like Christmas until the tree is up. I am already instilling that love of Christmas trees in Joshua. The first thing we do every morning is go downstairs and turn the Christmas tree on. He gets all excited and points and giggles all the way down the stairs. If I forget he comes and gets me and will bring me into the tree. As you can see thee bottom two feet are a little bare. We put all our kid friendly ornaments down there and he like to pull them all off and then put them on again. The other thing he loves is my nativity set. We have it up on our book case and he always wants me to hold him and tell him the story about baby Jesus. We move the characters all around and act it out, he is always the lambs and does his best little Baaaa.



Other news in our house is that Joshua is now in a toddler bed. He loves the extra room and has been sleeping much better. Although he still ends up in our bed at about 2 am every night. I don't mind I love the snuggling and there is nothing better than being woke up by his smiling little face saying "Hi!". I still remember sleeping in my parents room when I was little. My mom use to make me up a bed on her floor for me when I was scared, some how nothing could get me in their room and I want Joshua to feel as comfortable and safe with us. They don't stay little for ever so I figure I better enjoy it.

So I have to mention this shirt. This wonderful lady brought us a big bag of hand-me-down clothes for Joshua. I was going through them sorting them and stuff when Joshua notices this shirt in the pile. He gets all excited and pulls it out of the stack and starts pointing at the trucks saying vroom vroom! Then he starts trying to put it on. He tried for about ten minutes on his own and finally came to me forlornly and hands me the shirt and says "vroom vroom?" while pointing at himself. So I take off the shirt he was wearing and put this one on him. He was so happy and all day kept getting a glimpse of the trucks and would have to stop what he was doing and point them out to me and say "vroom vroom!" He loves trucks! Now every time he sees the shirt he wants me to change him in to it, so I have to be careful that he doesn't see it everyday. We also got a sheet with trucks on it for his bed and when ever that sheet is on no pillows or blankets can be on his bed to cover them up.



The weather in Vermont has gotten cold so this is now Joshua's outdoor outfit. He hates it and unfortunately don't get out much. The mittens bother him so he takes them off but then his hands freeze and he starts to cry and wants to go inside, it is a lose lose. This is a few weeks ago we are now covered in snow. He is riding his favorite zebra that some one left at our playground.

Thanksgiving

This year we were all alone for Thanksgiving again. We made a huge Thanksgiving feast that, with Caleb and I's equal efforts, turned out really really good. Joshua helped a lot too. Today I am making turkey soup with all the left overs, so it has turned out to be about a weeks worth of food all in one day of cooking. It is fun to start our own family traditions with Joshua. I set the table all fancy with leaves I had ironed between waxed paper earlier in the fall. Then we had our neighbors over for desert. Once Joshua was asleep Caleb and I stayed up and played a grueling game of Risk (a Beifuss Thanksgiving tradition) he one. I hate that game because I have yet to win, Caleb says I am too extreme, I am either all or nothing and spread myself out to thin or I never leave one tiny part of the board. That pretty much explains me, all or nothing.

I even gave Joshua a real place setting, he was very excited.



There was so much food that we barely had room to put our plates.

Caleb had the whole weekend off so we of course got our Christmas tree on Friday, like we always do. On Saturday we spent the day in Lake Placid New York, where the miracle on ice happened in 1980. It was so much fun. We checked out the bob sledding track and other Olympic attractions.



Then we went to the quaint town of Lake Placid and walked around the stores. Joshua found this train table and fell in love. We seriously hung out in this store for about 40 minutes. Joshua would not leave. We are actually looking to find him a train set because he loves them so much. We figure for his birthday or Christmas next year.



Anyway we had a great Thanksgiving weekend and hope all of you did too.