Xmas 2018

We have had a pretty lovely holiday period.

This was the time in the circadian rhythm for the #1 clan and we to assemble. We discussed going to California or them coming here and opted for the latter. As neither of the #1, The Next Generation, had had alone time with us during the summer, we decided to bookend the full family visit with individual visits from 1.2 and 1.1.

So on December 21, 1.2 who is 9-years old, arrived on his first ever solo flight. He took it with complete aplomb. We bought some pizza on the way home for our first dinner. And as I mentioned two posts ago,  in the morning I took him out shopping for snack food. I played the grandparent card to the hilt. He loves...I mean LOVES...I mean LOVES gaming...euphemistically known has screen time. So I set him up with his device and his snack food and let him indulge for a number of hours.

But we did other things as well. We went to the River of Lights which I mentioned in the previous post. And then we went out for a hike. Taking the grandchildren for hikes I've found can either be much less than you expect or much more. In the case of 1.2, he was much more capable than I would have thought. We ended up going on a fairly strenuous hike with a climb that I have always found challenging. I was quite impressed with is balance and his judgment. This was particularly true when he climbed up boulders where he showed great patience and control in descending which is where most young people seem to have issues.

We also went to Albuquerque's internationally famous Rattlesnake Museum (okay a bit of hyperbole there). It actually was quite interesting. 1.2 adopted his alternative ego persona, Kyle the Diamondback Rattler. Then it was time for the rest of the #1 clan to arrive on Christmas Even afternoon. However we got a phone call from daughter #1 telling us the forgot the kids Christmas stockings and could we pick some up. Well three stores of looking on this, Christmas Eve, and nothing was to be found. So Wife, being the Grandmother extraordinaire that she is, created some out paper bags!

We had a chill Christmas Day. 1.2 got a bunch of gaming related gear and exhibited the most unrestrained joy and gratitude of just about any child I can remember. We did our traditional breakfast of bacon, biscuits and oranges and for our main meal we made pizza. Wife's crust has become so dependable and such a thing of beauty. We have the size, temperature, relative amount of toppings to put on now down to a science. Each one of us made a pizza making use of the wide variety of toppings we had available. I have to say each was good. By the time we got through with lunches a couple of days later, not a slice had been uneaten.

The rest of the clan connected with us via Skype. Daughter #2 sent her husband out to get this great picture of Kiev Ukraine 

Son-in-law 2B showing his love of the Ukrainian cold in getting this shot.

"You had better appreciate this old man!

#@!@*&"

From our Amsterdam correspondent, Daughter #3, we got news that she had bought this posh new car.

"Yes I know I said I would never own a car but damn it I am now a hotshot salesperson and need to look the part!"

Actually this was a free upgrade of a rental car that husband, 3A on their regular Christmas visit back to the UK.

The day after Christmas we had snow! There wasn't much here in town but it looked like the got a fair amount in the mountains. The next day #1 wanted to go for a hike and needed the work out as well. It was sunny and around 39 degrees. We were both broiling and stripping off layers within moments of starting. But OMG there was at least 4 to 6 inches of snow right from the parking lot. I took her on the trail I normally go on which is a pretty good challenge under normal circumstances. But with all that snow we were really slogging. We'd agreed to go for about an hour. Normally to go the full 2.5 miles out that is my regular hike takes an hour and 15 minutes. After about 50 minutes under these circumstances, we were both ready to turn around. We'd gone the amount that normally takes me about 20 minutes. It was pretty beautiful though and we definitely got our work out in. 

Once we turned around clouds started coming in. The temperature started to drop and we put on all the layers we had stripped off earlier. 

Last night a really blizzard like storm came in with winds of 40-50 mph, whiteout conditions. The airline recommended they change their flight from today to tomorrow. We made lasagna with the leftover stuff from the pizza. Today it is so cold and windy that we are all just chilling.