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Happy New Year!
2007-01-01 - 3:16 p.m. Ha! It's new year's Day, and I have the house to myself. Probably not for long, but for a little bit. It's lovely here -- we're home, and all our visitors are gone, and in the end it was actually nice to have them. Having nieces and nephews running around the yard and making secret hideouts in the basement made me realize that that's the kind of thing our kids don't do anymore. We're not likely to have the kind of secret-hideout memories here that we had at our other house. Anyway, in the end Christmas was great -- we got up quite late and got our presents opened and were just settling down to make pancakes when K's little brother and family and mother arrived. The madness began -- but I think it all went well. The day after, K's other brother and family arrived. We hung around, getting provisions and getting settled, and then left the next day for Yosemite, which was incredibly beautiful. The first day there, K and I went x-country skiing for the first time in about 10 years, and the next day we took N with us to the downhill spot, which was very dinky but fun. We tried to get the others to come with us, but it didn't quite work. But I think they had a blast sledding and sledding and sledding, and I think they went down to the valley to look at it, which was certainly a good idea. Then we drove home, stopping on the way in Columbia, which is an old gold-mining town which the little kids liked. The next morning the youngest brother, and mother, left, and we had a day with the older brother until they left on the red-eye. It was actually quite fun. K's mother tends to worry inordinately, which is a little hard to work around -- you don't want to worry her, but on the other hand we can't spend the whole day sitting on the sofa just to keep her from worrying (nor, to be fair, would she want us to -- she knows her worrying is over the top.) The kids tend to wind each other up, which can lead to them fighting and parents tearing their hair out. But there was less of that as time went on -- they just have to work out a way of being with each other. One family was billeted in N's room, which then caused my kids distress because N was homeless, so hung out in M's room, which she didn't like. But really, on the whole it all went well -- better, I think, than I ever expected. It was good. And now we have our house back (although I am sad that no one will now be builing secret forts in the basement). I've swept, but need to start the laundry, and the putting away. And last night, M stayed home alone with her friend MT, and N went over to E's house, and we went to an actual adult party -- which seemed very odd, but was ultimately really fun. And that is that. Pictures to follow. Happy New Year!
find me! - 2008-02-12 |
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