Anticipation

Today Willa woke up and shouted from her room, "Is it Christmas Eve?" I think she thought something magical might happen this morning, so I went in and reminded her that Christmas Eve NIGHT is really when the magic occurs.

We've filled our day today shoveling (4 inches of so of snow that arrived overnight), delivering homemade vanilla and treats to the neighbors, baking gingerbread people for Santa (he will be the only one that will want to eat them after Willa dropped the whole dough-ball on the floor), and planning our evening. We're heading to 5:00PM church, then coming home to feast on super nachos, complete with red & green chips. We'll open the last of the count-down stockings, and then we've decided we can all pick on present to open before bed.

We're doing no traveling this Christmas. I'm so thankful my parents came here two weeks ago - we had a great Christmas together. They completely surprised Willa with their visit. I wish had I gotten it on tape. We do have many projects planned for this time at home, though: priority is to get Willa's 'new room' ready. We'll get that painted during the break, and then I can do some decorating. We've also got new kitchen tile on our to-do list. I'll be so glad when both of these tasks are done.

Anticipation grows for our own new baby, too. I had an ultrasound yesterday and we got a good look at baby's chubby little cheeks and little nose. He/She looks a lot like Willa from what we could see. We're on the countdown - baby will be born on January 28 and we can't wait. Dr. Hess says "it's going to be big!" I said "then can't we just get it out sooner?" No dice.

Thanksgiving in Vermont

We spent the Thanksgiving week this year in Vermont. While it would have been wonderful to be somewhere a bit further south, we had a great time. Jamey's cousin Donnie, his wife Naomi, and baby Thatcher are living in Barre temporarily. Willa was off school for the week, so we decided it would be a great time to hang with Donnie and Naomi, and get to know Thatcher, too.

We flew out of the Quad Cities Airport on Sunday morning and arrived in Burlington, VT mid-afternoon. We spent the first few days at the Anchorage Inn in Burlington. It was 'quaint' (in an 1960s-travel-lodge-ish sort of way) place. Willa enjoyed the pool though, and it make a good base for our explorations.

Donnie has become a great Vermont tour guide. The three of us, along with Donnie and Gaye explored a maple syrup farm, toured the state capitol building in Montpelier, and saw some incredible glass blowers. Jamey, Willa and I also got in a tour of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, complete with samples.

On Wednesday we headed out into the wilderness. We rented a two-bedroom cottage on Fletcher Lake. It was much more remote than I imagined based on Google Maps. Willa and Jamey thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub on the covered porch, despite temperatures in the mid-20s. Luckily the upstairs "tower bedroom" had exceptionally high ceilings. The other parts in the upper levels required Jamey to stoop over.

We prepared a big Thanksgiving feast, complete with burned pumpkin pie and tiny rock-like dinner rolls. Donnie, Naomi, Gaye and Thatcher drove out for the day to feast and play games. After they left, Jamey and Willa hit the hot tub again for some relaxation and we made a fire in the three-seasons porch.

After a nature walk in the snow on Friday morning, we headed back toward Burlington, taking a little side trip to explore some of the coast of Lake Champlain along the way. We spent some time in the downtown Burlington shopping district (a ped mall filled with great little eclectic shops) and then played at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center.

We spent our last night at a very comfy Marriot Courtyard, which Willa declared the nicest hotel she'd ever seen in her whole life. We had to get up at 4:30AM to catch our early morning flight back home. Despite almost an hour and a half wait for the security lines, we made the flight and all was well. It was weird to be home by 10:00AM after traveling half-way across the country.

Vermont 2008 Photo Album.