Christmas was great. And it was white! We really enjoyed seeing everyone and like the idea of a family compound more and more! Of course, the late hours really took a toll on me after a while.
While it was great seeing everyone and having family around, my favorite part of Christmas was the thoughtful and unbelievable gift that Dave gave me. I had my LASIK surgery done on the 7th and am happy to report that I am now seeing 20/15. The only disturbing part of the procedure was when the laser went to work...I could smell smoke. Dave assures me that it was more disconcerting to see the smoke coming off of my eyeball. I'll take his word for it. I still get 'verklempt' when I think of what an amazing and selfless gift it was - he gave me sight. It really makes that bathrobe I got him for Christmas look lame.

After Christmas we spent New Year's with the Schickedanz family in Selah. Also a blast. Ate way too much, stayed up too late, and had a generally great time. Can they live in the compound with us? Paige and I braved the ice one morning and went on a 6+ mile run - it was gorgeous, but also treacherous. I took a good fall, only to look back and find Paige applauding me. Good times, good times.

We had our traditional weekend up at Lake Collins with the fam. I also wish that we could have stayed longer, but work and church obligations were shouting at us. We do plan to go up again in March and stay the entire weekend. The kids went skiing. Isaac is a pro by now and the other three had their first try - night skiing. Parker was reluctant; he wanted to tube, not ski. But once we got them out there, they took off. Morgan is the only one who hesitated, lacking the confidence and patience with herself (she is truly my daughter), but after about an hour, she did not want to go home. Parker, ironically, was the best among them. He must have taken that rope tow 2 or 3 dozen times, then came sailing down the mountain. I think we have more skiing ahead of us this season.