TIME

Time is going way too quickly.  With my Christmas trip to California with Mike, I did not even get any Christmas stuff posted. So, I am going to go ahead and put some of the photos up anyway, even though it is past. The photos of Hayden's concert are not as good as I would like.  It was a full room, and the program went pretty quickly, without much warm up. The children's voices were wonderful though, and the expectant looks on their faces priceless.  It was heartwarming to see Hayden's smile light up when he saw me in the audience.

Mike and I had a great time with his kids and extended family.  Full houses of happy people, tons of great food (too much), sharing of good times, and some new scenery for me.  We visited the Felton/Santa Cruz area, Manteca (down in the valley), and Yosemite (just for a day trip).  We got to see Jupiter and the moon through a very nice telescope.  The colored bands on Jupiter were awesome to see, along with the moons of Jupiter, and our own moon.  The trip to Yosemite for the day took us from 50 degree weather, rain, sleet, clear skies, and then fresh new snow up in the Yosemite Valley.  During the clear skies we saw El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls, the Brothers.  Then back down out of the valley, to the "other" valley (San Joaquin/Central Valley) where Manteca is.  We played Trivia at the local pub with Mike's two older (college age) children in Santa Cruz (came in 3rd) and had a wonderful time walking around the area.  It was a much needed "real" Christmas vacation for me.

It is the first time I have had extended planned time off around Christmas to really enjoy it since ???  I can't really remember when....maybe the year I left school nursing and Rachel and I flew to Lincoln for Christmas (1994?).  I've had other memorable Christmases since then, but with only a day or two off, if that.  There was Hayden's first Christmas, in 2004 when we all went to Rob's Aunt Barb's for a couple days.  That was a nice year, until the tragic event of the tsunami hit the news.  And then all of us except Rachel got sick within a couple days of Christmas.  Share the good times, share the germs! Then there was the first Christmas I was in St. John (2001?).  Rachel flew down and stayed on the boat with Mike and me.  It was a wonderful time, except I had to work Christmas Day, so Mike and Rachel enjoyed the Caneel Bay Resort and beach and cooked me a yummy dinner when I got off.  There are many more wonderful Christmases that I remember, even if I did work through parts of them, but as I try to think back over past Christmases, it is scary to not be able to remember each and every one!  Where do the brain cells go?!!  eek!

The ski photos are from just this past week when Mike and I went to Pine Hill, NY to cross country ski on Belleayre Mountain.  I enjoyed it much more than downhill last year.  The fear of falling is not quite so acute.  Plus, the snow was deep, fresh, and very soft.  No one else had been out on some of the trails, so nothing was packed down.  I've found my sport for the new year.  We only had to drive a little over an hour to get there, and cross country equipment is much less expensive to rent or buy.  Plus, we didn't need lift tickets!  The aerobic workout felt good.  Fairly low impact (unless of course you fall down!) And being in the snowy woods with such quiet beauty was awesome.

Now, as the beginning of the year evolves I try to make resolutions that I can keep and start with a fresh outlook.  And keep that fresh outlook going!