The Long and Winding Blog Post: Part 1

Winter Break is over, and I managed to let all 16 days of it slip by bloglessly. So, now that I'm back at school, and I have seventy-four thousand other things to do (okay, maybe just seventy-three thousand) it feels like the perfect time to pretend I'm as free as Lynyrd Skynyrd's bird. Ahhhh. Nothing to do all evening but recap the holidays. Nice.

First of all, here's the family photo you'll probably get in our Sometime-After-Christmas Card. We can't seem to get Trevi to look normal for the camera lately, but I like this one of me, and since I'm in charge of family correspondence, I pick the pic. You all know that Trevi is cute anyway.

I should just take a moment to warn you here (in case you didn't read the title) that this promises to be a long post. LLLLLOOOOONNNNGGGGGG. You might want to go grab a snack before proceeding. Or break the beast down into manageable chunks and spread it out over the course of the week.

And away we go......

This year, we had more gifty occasions than usual. You can see how sad Clara and Trevi were that we forced them to open presents on December 20, before leaving for Nova Scotia.

Thanks, Gomma, for the cool book and puzzle!

Thanks, Aunt Jan and Uncle Bill, for the games (we've been singing with the Grinch) and bracelet-making kit!
I didn't actually intend to pose my children with their freshly-opened goodies, but then Clara said, "Mummy, don't you want to take pictures of us for the blog?" Well, twist my rubber arm...

Since United Airlines is now charging passengers for checked luggage, Chad and I decided to give the kids our gifts ahead of time as well. It was really, really, exceptionally awesome to hand out the big ticket items without sharing any of the credit with Santa. Selfish? Maybe...

For Trevi: A remote-control robot, and a tool box with real tools.
P.S. Real tools = Really nervous mother

For Clara: A horse and a soccer uniform (with cute little cleats!) for her doll, Gracie.
P.S. Clara's dad is pretty cool.


As it turns out, opening presents early is an excellent strategy for keeping kids occupied while you try to pack for a trip. We were bound and determined to fit everything into two checked bags and four carry-ons. And, since last year we were stranded for a night in Chicago and luggageless for a few days after that, we intended to be Boy Scout prepared. We crammed the carry-ons with changes of clothes and toothbrushes, fleece hats and contact lens solution (more than 4 oz...shhhhh). I think I kind of figured that if we were prepared for all contingencies, we'd have a smooth trip. Silly me. If I were Pollyanna, I would say that it was lovely to take a long, scenic drive to Nova Scotia through Maine and New Brunswick instead of just flying there from Boston.

Here we are, a sad bunch of people who've just been told that we'll need to travel for another two days to get to our destination. We're recharging at the Comfort Inn. This pic is a bit blurry, but then again, so were we.

The next day, a teensy little plane flew us to Maine. Trevi kept calling it Spain, and we didn't discourage him. Would you?

I owe Wayne big time for his above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty chauffeur services. He left home at 5am and met us in Bangor, Spain at 2:00. We made it to Saint John, New Brunswick by bedtime.

This is how we all felt by the next morning:

Wayne tried to outdrive the snowstorm, while the kids MacGyvered their own entertainment using wikki stix and a nonfunctional video screen.

Spirits remained remarkably high.
We saw a lot of this:
And then, like a mirage in the middle of the Sahara, we saw it:
Christmas Eve. We made it! Our checked bags would have liked to have been there with us, but they decided to hang out in Boston waiting for the Halifax Airport to reopen.

In our next episode: Two visits from St. Nicholas, some snowy fun, and much more cheese than whine......