The Holidays Wind Down

I remember as a kid, the week after Christmas was always a massive let down.  I had the new toys, but the anticipation of Christmas was gone.  In the back of my mind, I knew school would be back the next week.  The decorations came down, and everything just kind of felt anticlimactic.  (I wasn't exactly an optimist even as a kid).

This year, the holidays were completely different.  The last 4-5 days may have been my favorite all year.  We've sat at home and played with the kids.  My interaction with anyone outside of my immediate family has been limited.  Basically, we've relaxed.  The week before Christmas was busy with preparations for our Christmas party as well as the Christmas Eve Service.  This week, we've caught up around the house, but done so without feeling like we were working on our "days off."  I've kind of accepted some of the frustrations with work that I realize are outside of my power to change, and I've still got one more day to enjoy. 

Happy New Year.

Christmas Morning

Things are finally quiet this afternoon.  The day started around 0630.  Em and I got up to get dressed, make coffee and have breakfast (made it much easier to make it to church by 1030).  We'd scheduled with both sets of grandparents that we would get the kids up at 0700.  They got to watch Isaac and Claire open their Christmas presents.  In the picture, you can actually see my parents watching on one of the computers.  I'm not sure how much either set of grandparents actually saw between the kids running back and forth out of the camera's range.  It was midnight their time when we got started, so they got very little sleep last night.

Claire obviously enjoyed her rocking horse.  She also enjoyed Isaac's race track.  Isaac was amazed (and perhaps irritated) that Santa ate all of the cookies he'd put out.  Claire actually licked the plate to make sure there were no crumbs left behind.

OK, time to get in a nap before the kids get up.

A Christmas Date on Steroids

Emily in front of the Christmas Tree
in Trafalgar Square.

Emily and I have had a tradition for several years.  Sometime around Christmas, we go on a very nice, overly elaborate date.  (I gave her tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet our first Christmas as a married couple, and the tradition stuck).  Basically, she wants a date the requires her to put a dress on and me to put on at least a sport coat.  This whole production gets me a pass on Valentine's Day.  Instead of fighting crowds of people waiting to get into any restaurant worth eating, we stay home.

This year, we moved the "Christmas Date" up a notch to a weekend away.  We left the kids in Belgium and the two of us spent the last couple of days in London.  We went to museums, looked at the Crown Jewels, looked at the most ornate graves we've every seen (also known as Westminster Abbey), and ate more varieties of cornish pasty than I care to recall.  The"dress up" date was going to see Les Miserables in the West End.  Em says this was more than one notch up from the normal.  For once, Emily listed a visit to a church (Westminster) as her favorite part.  The Rosetta Stone may have been a close second.  (She didn't realize it was in the British Museum until we walked up on it and I pointed it out).

Bastogne Staf Ride

The officers and senior NCOs from my battalion took a staff ride/senior leader devlopment trip to Bastogne.  We visited a lot of the battle sites surrounding the Battle of Bastogne. 

The picture you see to the left is one of the foxholes left from where Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was dug in during the seige.  You may remember that this is the company that "Band of Brothers" was written about.  The German line was within 100 yards.  You can still see the foxholes from each side.  Great experience all the way around.  The curator for the 101st Airborne Museum in Bastogne served as our tour guide.  He's also the commandant for the Belgian Army Barracks in Bastogne.  The installation is closed as an army unit (2010), but there are a few soldiers left because they have restored the parts that served as the HQ for 101st during the seige.  We stayed in their barracks.  Overall, a great experience.

Decorating for Christmas (Almost)

The Christmas season has officially started (at least it feels that way now).  We had a great crowed for Thanksgiving Thursday night.  Emily had to work that morning (thanks, NATO assignment), so we set most of the house up Wednesday night.  Everyone brought food (we only cooked a couple of things).  Everyone helped clean up afterwards.  I'm not even sure Emily washed a dish (I know I didn't). 

Friday, we went to Cologne, Germany to their Christmas Markets.  The Cologne Cathedral is breathtaking.  Emily says it's the prettiest church she's seen in Europe.  The city itself is where I think I would want to live if I lived in Germany.  (Unfortunately, there's not an army installation there).

Today, I lost the annual argument about how large of a tree we should buy. I think the top of the tree should be within an inch of the ceiling (give or take). Emily just looks for what trees are available. I guess I should stop complaining, it took three tries before we found a place that had live trees. Apparently, Belgians don't decorate until the first weekend of December.

Isaac is currently fixated on the Polar Express.  Claire is literally jumping up and down in Emily's lap.  (She seems to like ginger bread men).  The tree is up.  Most of the decorations are done.  (We still need a couple of wreaths and some poinsettas).  Isaac enjoyed putting frosting on the ginger bread men.  Actually, he enjoyed squeezing frosting directly into his mouth.  Emily made fun of my lack of talent for decorating cookies.