Sundance

Dear Readers -

I start today's post with a minor housekeeping note.  You probably received an invitation from me to join my La Famille Shutterfly share site.  If you accepted this invitation you probably also received a "Weekly Digest" email from said site.  Do yourself a favor and scroll down to the bottom of that digest email and click on link that lets you "never" receive digest emails.  I update it nearly never so no one needs to be getting a weekly, monthly or even yearly digest.  Sorry for all of the extra junk in your inbox. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Tucked under the beautiful Mt. Timpanogos you will find the quirky and charming Sundance Resort. Started by Robert Redford, the resort offers skiing, art classes, authors series, theatre workshops and any other sort of thing you might associate with that handsome blue-eyed cowboy actor. Located about 45 minutes from Park City, Sundance has all of the convenience of it's bigger, more famous sister but none of the downside. Fewer people, more natural beauty,and almost no one on the slopes. The fact that it was film fest week here actually meant that fewer people skied!  God bless those beautiful, lazy people who can't be bothered!

Insert stunning photo of Mt. Timpanogos here.  

Oh wait, we had kind of crummy weather and never got a good view of it.  Oh well!

It also means that people expect to see celebrities, which equates to more and more people staring at Matt, trying to figure out if he's that guy from Homeland. (If you don't know what I am talking about, google Damian Lewis. Matt is of course better looking, but to some people all redheads look alike.  Yeesh.) One woman went so far as to ask the salesgirl at the ski rental shop to look at Matt's paperwork on the sly to confirm his name. I overheard the salesgirl whispering "it says William Kelly" much to the woman's disappointment. Tee hee!

All in all, we had a very relaxing weekend where we actually got to go skiing (a rare occurrence post-parenthood), sleep in, and eat delicious meals that we did not have to prepare.  A lovely way to reconnect and celebrate the 6th anniversary of our "real" wedding.  The one we didn't tell most people about before the "fake" (but amazing) one we had on New Year's Eve almost a year later.  And it is official - we will be fleeing the children every year from here on out to mark the occasion!

Sgt. Brody enjoying a brew by the fire. 

Happy Anniversary mon mari! 

The End of the Insanity

Apologies, dear readers.  This year the holidays were a doozy and I am just now coming up for air. Finding time to do anything but tend to basic needs and recover from holiday upheaval has been challenging so le pauvre blog has suffered I'm afraid.  Hopefully now that we have unpacked, put away the decorations, dealt with a multitude of home-related issues (leaking roof in kitchen, no heat, no internet service, broken alarm system, washing machine down - aaahhhh), the blogging can begin!

In spite of our full plates this Christmas we managed to enjoy ourselves on what we have fondly (?) dubbed "The 2013 Insanity Tour".  Three stops - Park City, Utah followed by Phoenix, followed by St. Louis. 2 car seats, 4  pieces of luggage, 3 carry ons, 1 stroller and about 3 nervous breakdowns.  But,  we did get to see LOTS of cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles and that made it worthwhile.  Some photos from the road...

Hank and S. Claus on the Polar Express in Heeber Valley, UT

Oh, yeah.  Someone hearts trains.

Three little monkeys all in a row on Christmas Eve.

Gus getting spoiled by Lynn, Barb and Auntie Alice

The view from our room in Utah...can't wait to get back!

This weekend we escaped the Inaugural madness (nothing compared to 4 years ago, but still a royal pain with street closures etc.) to come up to Bryce Mountain resort in the Shenandoah Valley.  This is a great little spot with a small mountain (read: 5 runs)  for skiing in the winter and a lake, golf, tennis etc. in the summer.  And it's only 2 hours from DC.  I have a feeling that we will be spending more and more time here since it is a great place for kids to learn how to master the slopes and it provides an easy escape to the country!

Thursday sees Matt and me taking a long weekend trip to Sundance, Utah sans the children to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary.  We are VERY much looking forward to the escape from all of the child-related chores, to spending time together just the two of us, and most of all to sleeping!!!

For some long overdue photos of our Fall activities and the entire Christmas extravaganza, please click here: Lots of Famille Photos

That's all for now but I promise to be back soon!  Adieu!

Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy, There's So Much To Do!

The title of this post is taken from the world's most annoying toy - a child's size measuring tape that belts out a different grating sound (saw, anyone?) and/or phrase (see post title) at maximum volume every time the dear child pulls on the tape.  The "busy" phrase sounds especially frantic, belted out by what seems to be a deranged elf on speed.  Every time Matt and I hear it we feel like jumping off the roof.  Anyway, it seems a fitting title for my frame of mind at the moment...

The past few months have flown by - I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is so close.  To say that we have been inundated with visitors over the past few months would be an understatement.  Since late October we have seen 2 grandparents, 2 aunts, 2 uncles and 5 cousins in rapid succession, almost every weekend.  Add to that friends who have been passing through town and it's been a veritable season-long reunion! It's been a very busy time for us but it has been so great to spend time with everyone.  We often complain that our family members live in 6 different cities across the US so when we can get together we really appreciate it.

All is well with the wee ones. Hank continues to enjoy school.  He has a done a number of different themed units in his classroom this Fall, including one about a farm,  a doctor/health theme, and the current "Destination NYC" theme.  This last one I find a bit odd, but whatever.  It is basically about transportation but for some reason they threw New York in there.  Hank loves it because he gets to play with trains and cars and buses all day. Yesterday, the kids went on a "field trip" which involved riding a city bus.  Where did they go, you ask?  Ahh, grasshopper, the journey was the destination.    Yes, the field trip was the ride on the bus. The ride on the bus was the field trip. We find this hilarious - you know your kids are leading a sheltered life when riding on public transportation is a special event. And very well received according to the teachers.  Hank was apparently wide-eyed with wonder to be riding on a big bus.  At least I know an easy and inexpensive activity we can do when we are starting to go stir crazy in the house this winter! For lots of shots at Hank in action at school, please click here: Frog Pics

Gus is growing like crazy - he seems huge to me now.  Our 4 month appt. is next week so I'll have some stats to share then.  He continues to be a very easy baby, although he is not consistently sleeping through the night so I still feel like the living dead about half the time. This is mainly due to our desperate clinging to the miracle blankets we use to swaddle him at night despite the fact that it is like swaddling a sumo wrestler in a pashmina. He busts out like the Hulk around 4am everyday and wakes himself up.  He chatters a lot now and laughs at everything.  And for a 4 month old he is super-ticklish.  Watching him giggle while you tickle him is one of the best things ever.

We are in the run down to Christmas now, and it feels to me as though it is right around the corner because, well, it is.  We leave the 18th for our Christmas vacation, taking advantage of Hank's luxuriously long Christmas break.  So between now and then I plan to do all of the gift shopping and wrapping, house decorating, vacation packing and planning, and host our annual holiday party for approximately 80 guests.  Oh, and we are going to New York next weekend for a quick visit with friends and a wedding.  Never a dull moment!

Wish me luck as I try to steer this crazy train into a smooth arrival at Christmas without losing my mind!

Here are some pics of our latest activities to tide you over until my next post - hopefully before we leave on our trip.  Hoping that you are all enjoying the holiday season - I know I am, busy-ness and all!

3 generations of Kelly men

Uncle David gets technical carving the bird...

Hank and Aunt Katie

You have to be strong to lift a head this big! 

Dr. Hank Kelly

It's literally been 70 degrees here this week - sawheet! 

Give Hank a mirror and he will entertain himself for hours.

Hank watches the train under the tree...

Gus turns 4 months old on the 6th! 

 "Hank, lie next to Gus so I can take your picture"

"Don't even think about dropping that block!" 

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Err, don't lick him please"

"Hank..."

"Good choice buddy"

"Hank!"

And so a lifetime of sibling abuse begins. 

It's the most wonderful...

Time of the year!

Vote: Rocked.

Yeah. I rocked it. First time voting in the USA, first time voting ever. Finally!  I feel like a real grown up now.  

This patriotic young fellow turned 3 months old today.
17 years, 9 months to go until he can cast his first vote!

We had a nice visit with Granny Mac this weekend and enjoyed being able to introduce her to Gus! She has headed back to the fairer weather of Florida after a very chilly weekend here.  The weather has turned quite cold post-Sandy but we are grateful to have power, heat and no water damage from the storm.  We feel for our NY friends who have been affected and hope that the Nor'Easter heading their way tomorrow doesn't do more damage.  If you ask me, Mother Nature has been a real bitch lately.

Hank tries on Dad's cowboy boots...

If Gus was a girl....

Happy Halloween!

We survived Sandy with nothing more than a minor leak in our dining room ceiling, which gave Matt an excuse to go out in the storm and devise a fix for it. I secretly think he enjoys this sort of thing. We were very lucky to have missed the brunt of the storm, although we were relieved to hear that school was back on today after two days straight of cancellations. Hank has been climbing the walls, literally.

Unfortunately the Halloween parade at school was cancelled (it is traditionally held outdoors on the main road) as was the annual event at our friends the Roe's but we are making do. The kids had a party in their classroom today and we are going out to burbs to trick or treat anyway. I for one can't bear to be in this house for a minute more than I need to after having been cooped up for 3 days straight!

Hank as Rocky...

Gus as a handyman.

We had a great weekend with auntie Alice and Uncle Brian. Gus and I joined them on a tour of the Capitol building which my people burned down in the war of 1812. Felt a bit guilty about that for the first time in my life. Anywho....

Next up, Granny Mac!

Ring, ring! Ring, ring!