Florida

Last year's road trip to Dave and Kara's house in Florida was such fun we decided to do it again. The kids had a great time with their cousins and the whole experience was just totally magical. We thought they might want to go to some of the theme parks but no, they wanted to hang out with the family and visit the fun places right around Apopka. Fine with us! Highlights are below:

 

We were greeted with a banner after our long drive.

Playing in the warm backyard pool.

Pool basketball.

Feeding giraffes at the Zoo.

The animals were so frisky!

Ropes course and ziplines.

Dave's creative dinners.

Watching Star Wars in preparation for a trip to the movie theater.

 

Warm Atlantic water at New Smyrna.

 

Buried on the beach.



Snow tires on the sand.

Orlando Temple.

Doing baptisms as a family.

Glow sticks in the pool on New Year's Eve.

Christmas 2015

This has been the craziest weather year! On the 24th of December we had no snow on the ground and air temps of nearly 60 degrees. Just like summer. Which calls for a summer splash, right? I couldn't believe they went in . . . and Lucy went under! It may be warm out, but that water was COLD!

 

They are crazy.

Lucy is the craziest.

Christmas was pleasant and quiet. We enjoyed our new fireplace despite the warm temperatures outside.

Indy helping open gifts.

Gavin wishes I didn't get a fun new camera lens to try out on him.

Performances

Gavin spent much of the fall practicing the trombone. Rehearsals with the Green Mountain Youth Symphony took up 3 hours on Saturdays, and he joined the middle school band (despite being in 5th grade). Lucy performed in two different roles in the middle school play, a spoof of Law & Order involving fairy tale characters investigating the destruction of the three pigs' house. Between the music and the play we had lots of opportunities to see our kids perform in December.

Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit

 

Zell (Rapunzel) investigates the scene.

Merm (Mermaid Ariel) prosecutes the criminals.

 

Green Mountain Youth Symphony

Solo trombone in the back right.

 

School Concerts

Gavin's debut with the Middle School Band

He was so worried about playing standing up!

A beautiful Christmas chorus.

St. Lucia 2015

We love having the Young family to share our Lucia tradition with us!

 

Dad attempting a hairstyle.

The Lucias and their attendants.

Lighting the candles.

Visiting the neighbors.

Lighting the night.

Waxy locks. We need to solve this for next year.

International Adventures

Montreal

The Canadian Dollar is super cheap right now, so we decided to fly out of Montreal to get a great rate. The day before we flew was the Montreal Temple Open House so we figured, why not? We went up a day early and toured the renovated temple and spent a leisurely day at IKEA and the pool at the Airport Sheraton.

Temple Backdrop

 

So pretty at night.

Prague

Prague is one of our very favorite cities ever, but we hadn't brought Lucy there since she was a baby and Gavin had never been. So we spent a beautiful weekend taking our kids to some of our favorite sites

Charles Bridge

 

St. Wilgefortis at the Loreto.

Our cool hotel room!

Learning to ride a Segway.

The bubble man.

Berlin

I needed to visit our study abroad program in Berlin, so we made it into a family trip. Austin and the kids explored while I worked, then we went to the museums together.

Happy to be at Brandenburg Gate.

Gavin falls in love with Doner Kebaps.

Museum Insel.

Pergamon Museum

Augsburg's Christmas Markets

I always love Augsburg, but I was thrilled we got to be there for the Christmas markets. This particular night there were thousands of luminaries all over town, lighting our way to the Rathausplatz to enjoy Kinderpunsch, shopping, and singing angels.

Gorgeous night!

Market stalls.

Lebkuchen is for lovers.

Singing angels.

A bit too big for the Christmas Carousel?

Like always, our trip home was long and arduous. We routed through Paris and barely made our flight (thanks to Lucy's fast running!). Our bags didn't make it for a week after that, since delivering them from Montreal required international customs and all kinds of hassle. But the Kinder Egg advent calendars and our new candle pyramid made it, so that's what matters!

German Christmas bounty.

 

Cross-Country State Championship

Today was the Vermont State Championship in Middle-School Cross Country. It was held up in the mountains of Stowe at the Trapp Family Lodge and it was as rainy and cold and miserable as a Vermont November day can be. Neither the weather nor the tons of Halloween candy Lucy ate last night slowed her down at all -- she had one of her best races ever and I am so proud of her. (Though I have to ask, why couldn't she have her best race after having a healthy smoothie or something?)

 

 

One of my favorite things about this cross-country team is the coach. Liz is a colleague of mine at Norwich and a professor of exercise science. She teaches the girls about overall health and nutrition as well as coaching their running techniques. And she's always incredibly positive and happy to be with the girls. Lucy is lucky to come under her influence. 

 

Another of my favorite things is this lovely cohort of girls. Here they are huddled together in the team tent after the race. They all did their hair in braids today, with team colors maroon and white ribbons. I love that they push each other academically as well as in their running. Even with two-hour daily practices (some at 6:00am!) and two races a week, they still get excellent grades.

 

 

 

Our tiny little school took third in the state for girls middle-school cross country, and last week took first overall in Northern Vermont. No wonder they're so happy!