reunion

The blessings of friends continued after Christmas when the Johnson family came for a visit. They stayed with other friends from Wichita, the Hartje's, who are expecting their first baby (boy) this summer.
We got to enjoy a dinner and an afternoon park date while they were here and the boys played "together" more than ever before.  It has been very fun to watch them grow together and also to see their very different strengths and interests.   We also got to meet Riley's new brother Ethan for the first time.  Sadly both Johnson boys were a bit sick and poor Ethan was really struggling with a cold and cough.  My non-mama snuggles weren't quite enough to keep him happy but we have a wedding to attend in Wichita in May so I look forward to more snuggles then. 

 

Here Riley's thinking, "well, he's paying attention to me now but why does he care so much about these basketballs?"

 

They found a shared interest in the dirt. ;)

They took turns running to and from the basketball court and playground and playing for 5 minutes at each one.  Again Riley surely wondered about this basketball thing.

Christmas Day

..............MeeMee and I were up on cue before 6 am and waited the many hours for everyone else to awaken.  Thanks to the very late night before Ben slept long past the rest of us and we finally woke him gently before 9.  We snacked on butter braid and coffee while opening stockings and gifts and then enjoyed a new "healthier" sausage and kale strata for breakfast that we won't try again.  I guess there are some food traditions in life you don't mess with and Christmas breakfast is one of them.  As was true on Christmas Eve, Ben's interest in opening gifts was short-lived but he made it through most before heading to the basement with Tante to watch Despicable Me 2.

Santa left Luke a new memory foam bed and both he and Oenghus approved.

Cookies before breakfast?? Who needs presents!

Tante and I got matching navy Hunter's

MeeMee wanted $ for Sonos

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly." Andy Rooney

faces of delight

 

Not sure why or how this was the only pic with his actual Christmas PJ's on.

It was a very transportation-themed holiday for Ben.

....and a blue Christmas for me!

I think he was amazed at the stocking alone.

MeeMee departed first to start preparing dinner at her house and the rest of us slowly made our way over in the mid-afternoon. A nice walk around the neighborhood was a little shorter than I'd hoped and next year, weather permitting, I'd love to add a long family walk to our tradition.

The prime rib we enjoyed for dinner was THE. BEST. EVER. and my Grandma Theresa's cheesy potatoes on the side were the perfect compliment.  Pioneer Woman's Brussels sprouts were also delish.
Ben was thrilled when MeeMee and Daddy built a real fire after dinner and we all snuggled around the fire, wine in hands, and watched The Family Stone.  It was the perfect end to an overall relaxing and quiet day.  The day had allowed for lots of wonderful contemplation about the reasons for the season and my heart was grateful for the time with family and friends and the ability to give and receive such beautiful gifts. 

Our lives are so incredibly blessed and when I took time to reflect, I was most happy for the gifts we had given to the families at Ben's school who were in great need.  While Ryan and I actually save many semi-basic needs for giving to each-other at Christmas, I would love to strike a balance that allows more giving to those with real needs in our community.   I'm thankful this value was taught to me growing up and will work hard to make sure it's one that's important to Ben-at Christmas and all year, too!

The Heimer family hopes your holiday was absolutely delightful and filled with warmth, love, and whatever elements of Christmas make your heart light and your eyes sparkle.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was bright, sunny and beautiful.  As sometimes happens, everyone's plans changed minute by minute but we did our best to go with the flow. Poor cousin Ian had been sick the night before so the Witherspoons weren't able to join us as planned for a late-morning celebration at Nana and Papa's.  Great-Grandma Lola was in attendance though, as were Uncle John and cousins Christopher and Kathleen for short visits.  Nana made delicious white bean chicken chili and amazing nachos for lunch before we exchanged gifts.

see-they were beautiful!

The first gift Ben opened was a very fragile ornament but he was the most excited during opening of that.  For the next two days the excitement slowly waned to forced opening. Maybe next year I won't say, "maybe next year."

Meowsic is still one of his fave's.

Ben was clearly worn out from the previous couple day's festivities and all the Christmas fun and plopped right down among us for a snooze on the living room floor. :)

Kathleen and Christopher

Ryan and Papa Jim attaching the new seat.  Jim has been beautifully restoring his childhood Schwinn.

 We had planned to depart for home in the late afternoon as Ian was slated to be in a Christmas pageant that everyone else was going to attend.  This meant my first time being responsible for Christmas Eve dinner in many years and I took a nod from my Mom and Tante's tradition of crab legs and snacks and planned just that.  I also let Ben have whatever he chose and of course that was "peppermacaroni pizza." Knowing MeeMee would be dining alone, I invited her to join us and Nana and Papa joined at the last minute after Ian's pageant debut was cancelled.

The craziness of the day meant a very late bedtime for Ben and the rest of us but we got the cookies and milk set out for Santa along with some broccoli for the reindeer and settled down for our long winter's nap :)................. 

last minute fun

The day after the cookie fest we had heard rumblings about the Petersen clan being in town from the east coast so decided to crash their party with with Lineberrys.   Hearing the Wilson clan would also be there sealed the deal and we packed for a last-minute trip up the hill to Winter Park.

The boys and Grace and Sara got some sledding in before everyone else arrived while I hung back to help Amy in the kitchen.  We then enjoyed a delightful dinner of home-made noodle lasagna while the kids, who had eaten in a shift before us, watched a movie.

I was shocked his long undies from last year fit and couldn't get 

enough of his little bum in them.

The boys on the sled hill shot from the comfort of the condo front porch.

The obligatory snot-faced, red-cheeked shot.

Sadly the night was not without incident and Grace accidentally locked the door of an upstairs bedroom that COULD NOT be remedied by the 2 engineers, fighter pilot and ER doc in attendance. The owner of the condo did not know about this lock nor have a key so a call to a locksmith was necessary.  We did get in a couple hours of game playing before heading back home.

Amy patiently taught Ryan how to make pasta.

A ginger sandwich-lucky me!!

My good eater-often left alone at the table. :)

Merry Christmas!!

the kiddo shift

one content Daddy

Due to the last minute nature of our trip and because we (I) had lots of Christmas prep and cooking left, we knew we had to make the trip that night and to say it was awful would be an understatement.  I was praying to gods that hadn't previously existed to me and had to tell myself over and over to keep breathing and to talk to Ryan to keep his mind off the treacherous mountain road and negligible visibility. Winter Park is closer than many other ski resorts and is Ryan's favorite, but I reminded him many times on this trip (as many of our friends are on the brink of buying condos/houses here,) that Berthoud pass and I are not friends and that I would not drive it on my own with any regularity. 
Thankfully we made it home in one piece and in just about 2 hours all due to Ryan's cool, calm and collected winter driving skills. 

We had had 4 of the 6 WHELLP families that we go to the beach with every other year and it was a wonderful last minute mini-reunion.  The count-down is on to August when all 6 families gather in the Outer Banks.  We're so looking forward to that, and to white sand in place of white-outs.

1st annual cousin cookie fest

On Saturday afternoon we began a new holiday tradition with the Witherspoons.  We joined Dave, Christy, Ian and Luke for cookie decorating and dinner.   We both arrived armed with pre-made cookies, some sugar and some gingerbread, and decorations and icing. 
Ben "hung with it" much longer than I expected and surely because of the sugar and Ian was entertained even longer.  
Dinner was glazed chicken legs from a recent Wildtree party Christy attended and was incredibly delicious.  I am excited to be attending a party in February and get in on the Wildtree craze. 
The boys had SO much fun playing all evening and Luke awoke part way through dinner perfectly on cue.  I look forward to this being an annual tradition and seeing just how elaborate the cookies get over the years. I also think with the sweet tooth's we have on hand that these boys might never be "too cool, " to decorate cookies.

 

Ian's creations

 

 

Caught!!

Ben's handiwork

the evidence

The Heimer Spread

The Witherspoon Collection (Ian loves googly-eyes)