Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas with Babbo and Yia Yia

Stocking hanging

Collecting the stocking loot -bags were needed

The photos almost say it all.  They start and end with Christmas Eve then move through Christmas Day and then move back to dinner in the city on the 23rd and Christmas Eve at the Brodas.  The Coburns were out in strength at Ted's with all of Pip's and all of Ted's families plus Julie, Matt and us. It was great to see so many cousins and siblings together both there and at the Broda's.  It was a treat for us as we haven't seen some of them since they were in elementary school and now Ted and Trisha's youngest is a senior in college - the oldest is an art critic in LA and the middle is in Berlin doing research for the German gov't on architeture in Berlin.  Buddy is a senior at UVM. 

I HAD A GREAT PARAGRAPH HERE ABOUT EVERYTHING WE DID AND IT GOT WIPED OUT WHILE I WAS MOVING A FEW PHOTOS --  IT IS ALL SO EASY ON THIS APPLE UNTIL IT DOES TRICKS I DON'T UNDERSTAND JUST LIKE THE PC ! ! !  I'LL SUMMARIZE IT AND LEAVE IN THE MISSPELLINGS - THE APPLE KEYBOARD HASN'T IMPROVED MY TYPING EITHER!

On the 22nd we trimmed the tree, wrapped gifts the 23rd, then to Zion Church for the service at 5, followed by the Brodas, stockings, and sleep.  A new twist was Sarah leaving for Gran't's house for a visit after we had gone to bed.  christmas Day we had stockings, gift at noon after the traditional but not home made cinnamon buns - gifts at noon, guests at 4 for eggnog, dinner at 8 with 11 t the table - a family oof four joined us and bed,  Boxing Day was relaxing until 4 when we finished gifts and watched a TV series - Glee - after dinner.  Matt got the full 1st year on CDs and we saw 3 episodes.  It caught me but on analysis as I wasn't sleeping I began to see the series as a bunch of cliches put together - all the standard -football and cheer leaders, etc centered about the reemergence of the high school glee club.  Out side school were the wife who wants everything just her way and perfect including a baby, the overworked faculty, etc.  I'm not sure I'm ready to give up reading for TV in the evening but it may happen sooner than I think.  It sure was a life extended for my Dad who spent hours in front of the TV his last couple of years - it was new then and filled time he couldn't read and certainly couldn't very around much.



We hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying post event life.  Best wishes especially to Rachael as she heads for a new adventure in Sydney -stay in touch and the blog is a great way to do it. You don't have to add photos! but they'd be welcome.  To the Kelloggs - thanks for such super photos of home events and we look forward to seeing those of California.  Say hi to Kate's family members who are there.

Love to you all and a happy New Year.


Yia Yia meets Eragon

Duke takes center stage
Dinner in city at Ted and Trisha Coburn's Tribeca Apt

Sandy with Ann and Kelly's Mom at Ted and Trishas

Christmas Eve at the Brodas

Sarah, Babbo, and Buddy at the Broda's

Sarah starts The Night Before at home

The tree Christmas morn 2011

Friday, December 23, 2011

Godzilla Eats Gingerbread Town!!!


Villagers flee in terror!
For dinner tonight, we had a a special treat of letting the kids eat some of the gingerbread houses they made two days ago- as you can see, the carnage was pretty hilarious. Mom and Dad got out just in time, because we got 15 " of snow the night after they left. It was a classic Rocky Mountain light, dry dump and the weather turned bluebird and gorgeous right after.   
"It's like this house had my name on it!"



Nonplussed mom
Light 'n' fluffy
We spent the bulk of the snow day building our epic sled ramp down from the treehouse. It's the Corbet's Couloir of treehouse slides.

More fantastic skiing at Eldora today, and the elves were busy getting ready for Santa's arrival. We're getting ready for our departure to Hollister Ranch to visit Susannah and Christopher's new place on the California coast for the week after Christmas- stay tuned for more posts about this new adventure.

By the way, Boden, Reid and I went to the new 3-D Tintin movie today and it's awesome!! Most entertaining theatrical experience I've had in a long time!

Happy X-mas eve everyone!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town!

Or so the word on the street has it...
Lots of holiday cheer in the Kellogg house now that we're on break and the countdown is in full swing. Boden and I spent the first day of break doing some shopping and had a nice coffee stop together for a mocha and some gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread.

We had another all-family ski day yesterday with a milestone event- the whole family taking a run together!  All of us were on two chairs and I helped Alden get down one of the green runs on the little mountain at Eldora. She is very taken with the sport, and thinks the chairlift is just the coolest thing ever. Some bribery with "Unicorn Poop" (Skittles) helps keep the motivation high.

Reid is completely skiing-crazy now- I think he's gotten in ten days already this season. He's been taking the bus up with friends and enjoying some middle-school independence. It's such a cool feature of a friendly local resort, and it's nice that one of my good friends is Eldora's marketing director, so he's usually up there and is willing to be a surrogate parent in case of emeergency. I love skiing with Reid because he's getting so much faster and more confident- he's usually right behind me, and I ski fast!

Reid in holly wreath cookie production mode. Love those green cherries!
We had a wild time last night for Lara Cutter's birthday- some good old fashioned disco dancing and many cans of upslope. Saturday, we had a nice dinner with Mom and Dad, getting a little festive time in with them before they head east for Christmas. We've been having snow flurries all day and it's freshened up our old, dingy snow on the ground, so it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Alden was wild about all those little Rudolphs! We'll have to make some.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

SO MANY RUDOLPHS!!!!

  



The girls and I have been getting into the Christmas spirit too, as this tray of Rudolphs will attest...I will post the recipe below.  They are easy and fun to make and decorate.  You may have to make some allowances for Australian ingredients and measurements, but they are pretty straightforward...and yummy!!


If you do give them a go, I hope yours turn out delicious too!

Mom and Dad's front door looks very festive, and we'll be eagerly awaiting an update on Dad's medical situation.  Happy holidays and a restful break to all... love from the Blackwells


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Christmas is coming

The door is our major effort at decoration this year.  It looks great coming in at night and people passing by can see the light if they look quickly.  Mitch next door appreciates it as it is the view from his dining room and kitchen.

We've had a nice two evenings out getting us very much into the spirit.  Thursday we saw the professional production of Its a Wonderful Life - the radio show.  It was well done and the set attractive.  I actually enjoyed the amateur production we saw two weeks ago a bit more.  I think in part because we knew several of the actors, esp. the angel and that part was better in the amateur version.  (actually, there were two different scripts written by different people.)  Then last night we went to a concert by Ars Nova, an excellent acappella group in town.  They have been around for a number of years, have performed all over the world, and have 10 CDs.  The program was at the local Episcopal Church, stone, very Gothic, a perfect setting for the opening music - the singers came in with candles and the church was lovely. The music was all Christmas oriented from the Renaissance til now.  Amazing the sounds the human voice can create.  It was great.

We are about to go to Boden's basketball game and then the Kelloggs are coming for dinner.  They are on vacation for two weeks.

We are looking forward to being in Dobbs Ferry.  We leave Wednesday in the late afternoon and return on January 3rd - a long break which I will enjoy.  Life has been very busy with the United Nations Association and will continue as I'll be President next year.  The organization is going to be a challenge and I feel Mom believes I am crazy - I may well be.  I thought I'd learned to say no, but that was a dream.

I know everyone has a lot on their plate and don't want to add to it, but I would feel better if I clue you in on a few things that have been happening to me.  I got a clear report after my physical in October until the blood tests came in.  The cholesterol was way up so I stopped Ben and Jerry's, butter, etc. and I was put on Lipitor. The BP dropped 105 points - from 260 to155.  However, there was a warning from anemia ( I have had it off and on for 20 years) and kidney so I went to a specialist, had an MRI, and they found a cyst on the kidney, not malignant the doctor says. Iron tablets have picked up my energy so that is better but the doctor thought I should have a colonoscopy which I did on Tuesday. I'll hear final result this week but the administering doctor thought it was OK - no signs of bleeding, the usual cause of persistent anemia. Then last Sunday I had cold sweats and faintness, went to the emergency and they found nothing as was the case in the previous two situations, but I have worn a halter to see if there is anything irregular with the heart.  I haven't felt anything, but I'll get a report soon.  My conclusion is my blood pressure is acting up, I am on new medicines - the kidney doctor put me on Omnipresent to stabilize the BP which I've been taking twice a day and which IS erratic.  Once that is settls down, I think this long and convoluted episode should be over.  I don't feel badly.  Ever since we have been here I get times when I feel the altitude with a little lightheadedness but not often. I am feeling the cold more and the hands continue to be very cold - as they have for 50 years!.  I am swimming 3 times a week and doing a lot so I see no reason to worry, but thought you should share this background information both for your own future health matters and to be aware in case Mom says something,or I do.  Thanks for reading all this and a Merry Christmas in spite of this bit of inconclusive info.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

AND I MUST SAY---

  I'm thankful for all three of our children's wonderful spouses, whether we hear from you on the blog or not--- but it's great when we do!!!      Mom/Ann

Friday, December 9, 2011

Aussie thanks

Most Australians would probably have heard of Thanksgiving but whether they really understand what it's all about...well, that's another story. We (Australians) don't celebrate anything like Thanksgiving - let's face it, we were a bunch of criminals dragged down here as punshiment! After reading Rico's blog, I got to thinking about all the things I'm thankful for:

I'm thankful and very lucky that I'm married to Elli for so many reasons: I have first-hand, precise and exact information on all things American. Having just had my long-awaited (almost 18 months) hernia operation I'm thankful for our public health system. Fortunately I wasn't in a lot of pain waiting, and I'm now in the care of a fully-qualified carer who just happens to be my wife!! How lucky is that? All puns aside, Elli is the best thing that ever happened to me and I am so thankful that she is my wife.
I'm thankful for a rainwater tank that has been full more than it's been empty...more than full (is that possible)?
I'm thankful for lots of sunshine on our solar panel system which is now generating enough power that we don't have to pay (our power company actually pays us!!!)


I'm thankful for our bird bath and our native trees that attract birds to come and eat, drink, bathe and be merry almost in touching distance.
 
I'm thankful for our chooks who take care of unwanted food waste and then give us a good supply of fresh eggs in return,

Elli, Rachael and I had a nice visit with my dad recently which I'm extremely thankful for as he lives such a long way from us. He was in good spirits and even managed a few laughs.
It's pretty good here Downunder in the "Lucky Country" and I'm very thankful for my family and my situation!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Winter Is Here!


Sled Action
No matter what the calendar says, it sure feels like Winter has arrived in our part of the world! 15" of snow this past week, high temps in the 20's and Christmas parades are all conspiring to make it feel like we've said goodbye to Fall for another year. We had some great fresh snow at Eldora today, and Alden and Kate went to the Lights of December parade downtown tonight. Only 2 more weeks for us until Winter Break- unbelievable!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thanksgiving was Spectacular!

 The sunsets were amazing!
 The company was fine!
The hikes were breathtaking. All in all, SO MUCH to be thankful for.
Then, when we got home on Saturday, Matt caught his ride to school, Drew got ready to paint the storage room floor, and Sarah and I packed for our day trip to Syracuse on Sunday to watch the Dobbs football team play in the Carrier Dome for the New York State (Class C) Championship. They won, 39 - 0. Grant, Sarah's senior classmates, and the rest of the team were on Cloud 9. Our 4 coach buses were escorted into Dobbs from 40 minutes away with a police escort. Quite amazing.
Now, we are entering December.....

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thankful

The view from my ride last weekend- another reason I love living in Boulder
We just got back from our annual trek to Durango to spend Thanksgiving week with Wendy and her family, and it made me reflect on the many things that I'm thankful for. Mom and Dad's post about their travels over the break make me thankful that I have parents who are so adventurous and self-reliant and creative and independent (and I think I could I could come up with another dozen positive adjectives pretty quickly).

Alden dressed all her cousin's stuffies in doll clothes
I'm also thankful that my kids have the chance to be close to their cousins and they love them enough that they'll think nothing of driving 16 hours over their break week to get to hang out with them. I'm also very grateful for in-laws that I love to spend time with, and who don't mind putting up with our family descending upon them twice a year.

I'm thankful that my parents live right up the street and they are a big part of my kids' lives, and that they have a chance to interact more than a couple of times a year.  I'm very thankful for all the efforts they make to find and make fun, interesting and special events for their grandkids.

I'm extremely grateful for my kind and patient wife and all that she does to help our family get along, function, take part in all our varied adventures, both day-to-day and large-scale, and to help our kids to thrive.  And she puts up with all of us, which is WAY above the call of duty.

I'm so thankful to live where I do. I can do something I love (ride a bike) to get to work every day, AND I can do it in an especially beautiful place, and I end up at a workplace where I really like all my colleagues and my students. But that's next week- this past week, I mountain biked (a lot!), fished, skied and did fun things like create a mockumentary about shaleboarding with my kids and my niece and nephew. It was a blast and I hope you will all do what you can to help it go viral! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1coc0PgsPo

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving reflections

Mom and I had a very different celebration of Thanksgiving this year.  We enjoyed the newness of it but missed being with family.  However, we have many wonderful and happy memories of family Thanksgivings over many years.  Celebrations at my home when we all gathered followed by years with Gummis and Honey.  We watched the families grow in numbers and size year by year We recall walks around the circle and 'through the woods,' and shoveling a foot of snow from the early dumping that blocked the driveway.  Photos in our many albums trace the development over these years. Incidentally, Mom and I ended thanksgiving going thru old albums trying to find photos of our trip to New mexico some years ago but found lots of other interesting pictures! There are some great moments from more recent celebrations of Thanksgiving - turkey on the barbie and hot tub soaks in Noose and the remarkable appearance of a turkey with all the accompaniments on Block Island in what seemed like an hour after arrival at the Blue Dory.  Memories that remain warm and vivid.

We combined a few of these ingredients this year.  We decided to travel - a usual Thanksgiving event - but not to family but to natural wonders.  We drove 630 miles through some spectacular Colorado scenery spending the first night in an inexpensive but welcoming motel in Fort Garland.  We had a delicious Mexican dinner at what looked like a road side joint but turned out a great place and a fun experience. oOher guests were in bluejeans and cowboy hats - looked as tho they should have arrived on horses, a family of five at the next table was speaking Vietnamese(we think that was the language but it may have been Navajo!), and waiters with wide, beaming and welcoming smiles that remained in place throughout dinner.  We saw the town's restored 1858 fort, Fort Garland, the next morning - adobe and such a contrast to the NE 1750s frontier wood stockades. Then we headed for a highlight - the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The dunes are over 750 feet high at their peak but start on the western side as low ones similar to what we had seen in New Mexico - the White Sands.  The shapes, texture, and shadows kept changing and Mom said she could spend an age there just painting the different impressions.  We spent about four hours, enough to realize the changes, and viewed the dunes from several angles.  We had lunch looking at dunes in one direction and 14,000 foot peaks covered in snow in the other direction while we sat at a table in the warm sun.  Delightful!

We drove on to Salida - on a straight highway through South Park with only an occasional car or pickup traveling on the busiest travel day of the year.  Once we had a traffic jam of three cars so had to slow down from our 70 mph average speed.  In Salida we checked into a rather new Hampton. It was as nice a motel/hotel as we've stayed in.  Very helpful desk workers who guided us to an excellent rather new restaurant started by a retired chef who had a reputation somewhere in the East.  He retired to Salida, got bored, and started the restaurant. It was the extensive historic district which is full of restaurants and cutesy shops (fortunately they were all closed that night and on Thanksgiving morning when we explored the area along the Arkansas River before leaving town - if they had been open we'd never have made it home that day.).  An hour after we arrived,  we headed to the Hot Springs for a new experience - a private room/tub with 104 degree water.  We really relaxed.  We made it to the restaurant in a rather limp condition but regained some backbone with a beautifully cooked dinner and an excellent bottle of wine.

Thanksgiving morning we enjoyed a hotel breakfast with many choices including a southwestern omelet.  I then swam and we strolled the river walk, saw a Christmwas tree display - each tree a memorial to an individual or family or - less attractive - an ad for a business.  A dentist had a tree decorated with large, fake white teeth, cleaning picks, and the tooth fairy on top!



 The drive home was beautiful. Along the Arkansas River we saw a herd of ten big horn sheep.We had just been taling about them and wishing we would see some - amazing.  We had a picnic after a long climb up a mountain pass when the road leveled and ran through  rolling hills dotted with Pinon Pines.There were wonderful clouds The land made Mom feel 'at home.'  We got to Boulder in time to feed the Kellogg's 'pets" and and to cook some Turkey thighs, a surprise for Mom.  It was a plesant dinner in part inspired by Julie's Block Island quick meal and Elli's turkey on the grill.  We thought of you all in your various celebrations.  We enjoyed getting texts and messages along the way but were unable to answer in part because of no reception in canyon areas and in part because the phone was not at hand. So ends our 2011 Thankasgiving Saga - another memory to add to the collection.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!!!!

Just popped my mince and pumpkin pies in the oven...Ken will cook the turkey, potatoes, and zucchini on the BBQ later...must be Thanksgiving!! Giving thanks for my wonderful family.  Hope you all have a safe and happy "turkey day", wherever you are. Love you and miss you all,  Elli

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Loved It!

Goodnight ipad is definitely a classic updated re-tell! We're not that bad...yet.  I just had to run upstairs to tell the boys to turn off the lights and stop reading Harry Potter, so we are still good old-fashioned ink on paper fans, too.

We're all looking forward to the Week o' Gratitude break and doing some eating, some visiting of the cousins in Durango and some skiing and biking in the same break. Boden has started his first season of YMCA basketball and it's pretty cute to watch. Reid is beginning his 4th year with the same Y team and great coaches, and it's cool to see the increase in level of play each season.

I'll try to assemble a bit of a visual feast for your turkey-day entertainment:
This is the video of Reid's birthday present from Jenny- a seaplane ride around Great Pond. You may have clicked the link on it on the blog before.


Here is some recent Valmont Bike Park action. Reid is starting to go for the 'Large' features in the Slopestyle section of the park, and while I'm glad I have good health insurance, I'd still rather have him doing that than playing football.


And here's our new sectional that I'm sitting on right now, anticipating some relaxing times during the upcoming chilly holiday season!





Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Goodnight Moon revisited

A very special book for everyone in our family has just been re-released in an updated format.  Goodnight Ipad is available in hardcover or ebook, but you can watch and listen to it being read to you if you visit:
 

A must-see for all Kelloggs!!

Hope all is well on the other side of the planet...President Obama arrives here this afternoon for a 2-day visit! 

Seasonal Confusion

This seems to be a seasonal oxymoron, impossibility, I'm not sure what, exactly. Our fruit tree is in blossom and sporting its fall foliage at the same time. It's 11/15/11 - weird!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Emily's Camp Photos


Here are some Year 10 Outdoor Ed camp photos courtesy of Emily.  The kids hiked a total of about 17 kilometres over 4 days along the northern NSW coast near Grafton.  They slept in tepees (first night), a communal shelter (second night), and then in a shelter of their own making during the third night's solo.  As you can see the weather wasn't great!!  But according to Billy Connelly, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing."  Not sure Emily would agree...

a picture is worth a thousand words...
Lcohie and Emily loving the beach in the rain


the view from inside the tepee
things are looking brighter...

there was plenty of wildlife!





Emily's solo night campsite

grateful for a bit of solitude


It's been great to hear from everyone!  XO