Ian's Note to Santa

Christmas Eve at Terri's

Every year we get together for food, conversation and a Christmas celebration. It's all about the kids. They open their presents from the extended family. Then everyone has their immediate family celebration Christmas morning. It's like having two Christmases each year!



Ian.




Colin.




Ashley, Erin, and Lindsay.




Wil and Cooper.

Arctic Survival Training

I've been showing Ian some basics to survival in the wilderness. We really do it for the fun but it's good stuff to know!




Ian in his snow cave. Underneath him is a bed of pine boughs for insulation. To his left is a candle which, along with body heat, is sufficient to bring the temperature up to 50 degrees or so in there.

Starting a fire

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We only had time for a start so we didn't gather kindling, etc.



Eat your heart out, Uncle Rick and Uncle Jeff! (You guys should get up here and do some survivin' with us!)

The Storm

It cracks me up when people (even weathermen) refer to any snowfall as a "storm." This time, though, we had 13 inches, and high winds created blizzard conditions. This one qualifies!

Needles to say, we had the day off from work to clean it up and play in the snow. Some people hate the snow. I'm not a downhill skier, but the way I figure it is if it's going to be cold let's have some snow once in a while! I ain't scared!

Rudolph

Rudolph likes raisins. Who knew?

This picture was taken right after Santa asked him to guide the sleigh.

Our Outdoor Christmas Tree Tradition

Every year we decorate a tree outside and leave fruits, seeds, and popcorn for the animals. We all enjoy being outside and hanging up the treats. We saw deer and other animal tracks right by the tree. It's a well established hangout for turkeys, too. Steph initiated this tradition and it has become a must do around Christmastime!

Colin missed out this year. We couldn't bring ourselves to wake him up. It was right around his naptime so we let him sleep (we had to do it then as there was a storm brewing).




Do any of you do this, or have another holiday tradition?

Ian's Christmas Concert

Ian's Christmas concert was really fun. He was very attentive and sang all his songs. He has been learning tin whistle and will be playing some songs on it at the Spring concert!