Ohhh so much to tell, and it's really best told through photos! I've put together a photo album of the entire holiday, for those of you with a little time on your hands. So... Andy and I had 2 whole weeks together with the kiddies at the house in Maine... by the end of it we really felt completely at home, and it was awfully hard to leave. We used both woodstoves every day, and the house was so cozy - that was the only heat we needed in the whole place, even when it was in the single digits outside! We had a nice big snowstorm right away when we got there, and then another big one the weekend that we left (postponing our departure by one day), but other than that it was just mostly cold. Because of the cold, we didn't do nearly as much outdoor stuff as usual, and spent
a lot more time in the house - Andy got the upstairs back bedroom painted, and the bathroom, and I got primer and one coat done on the new front door, but then it got too cold for us to leave the door open for long!We had some quiet, cozy dinners at home, but were lucky to spend LOTS of time and have many meals at my mom and dad's house down the road, with Ollie and Maddie's cousins Aidan and Eli as wonderful playmates for the kids - they're such great boys! Ian and Suz were there as well, and we had several visits with my good friend, Chloe (never enough, but we do what we can). Mom was in full baking mode for days and days - she made her famous stollen, Finish coffee bread, and about 5 different kinds of co
okies, at least... good thing I hadn't started my diet yet! Christmas Eve dinner is usually lobster, but this year we had turkey with all the fixings; Christmas dinner was roast beef with yorkshire pudding, as always!
Oliver has started to catch on to the whole idea of Santa. In the weeks and months before Christmas, whenever we were at the shops and he said he wanted something, I would say, "you have to ask Santa!" and he would say, "ohhhh, Santa," and put it back! I couldn't get over it. 3 years old - what a fantastic age. Maddie enjoyed hanging out with everyone, and batting at the ornaments on the tree. Ollie's big present from Santa was a Kidizoom digital camera - a big hit!! Maddie got a great drum, as well as a baby laptop that plays songs and has flashy lights and butt
ons.
We had a little New Year's Eve party at our house - you'll see photos in the slide show - it was only a simple afternoon wine and cheese type event, not a party that actually lasted till midnight! Even though there was a pretty big snowstorm that night, most of our friends could still come, and it was great to see everyone. It was so hard to say goodbye to our lovely little house after such a cozy holiday together, to leave the woodstoves warming the house from top to bottom, knowing that in a few hours it would start to be cold and lonely... don't worry, little house, we'll be back soon!
okies, at least... good thing I hadn't started my diet yet! Christmas Eve dinner is usually lobster, but this year we had turkey with all the fixings; Christmas dinner was roast beef with yorkshire pudding, as always!Oliver has started to catch on to the whole idea of Santa. In the weeks and months before Christmas, whenever we were at the shops and he said he wanted something, I would say, "you have to ask Santa!" and he would say, "ohhhh, Santa," and put it back! I couldn't get over it. 3 years old - what a fantastic age. Maddie enjoyed hanging out with everyone, and batting at the ornaments on the tree. Ollie's big present from Santa was a Kidizoom digital camera - a big hit!! Maddie got a great drum, as well as a baby laptop that plays songs and has flashy lights and butt
ons.We had a little New Year's Eve party at our house - you'll see photos in the slide show - it was only a simple afternoon wine and cheese type event, not a party that actually lasted till midnight! Even though there was a pretty big snowstorm that night, most of our friends could still come, and it was great to see everyone. It was so hard to say goodbye to our lovely little house after such a cozy holiday together, to leave the woodstoves warming the house from top to bottom, knowing that in a few hours it would start to be cold and lonely... don't worry, little house, we'll be back soon!
