December 2010

Ahhh...December! Isn't it such a wonderful month, full of so much magic, beauty, cold, spirit, and yumminess? I particularly enjoyed December this year because on a daily basis I was reminded how grateful I was to NOT have a newborn at this time of year. Maybe it's not that bad just to have a newborn, but to be recovering from a c-section is NOT my idea of a good holiday season. I thoroughly enjoyed this year's holiday season in every way that I could: I got our Christmas decorations all up right at the beginning of December, I bought some of my favorite Christmas candies and treats and stocked them around the house (guilty-pleasures are okay sometimes right?), I did a little shopping here and there so that I wasn't cramming it all in the few days before Christmas, I baked and cooked some of my favorite holiday foods, I had fun making dehydrated apples with cinnamon and sugar for friends and neighbors, I ambitiously MADE several of my gifts for people this year, we read a Christmas story or 2 or 3+ every day with the girls, we talked non-stop to LucyMae about the birth of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas, we also indulged in a little of the worldly portrayal of Christmas - by watching "The Polar Express" with the girls, and then riding "The Holiday Express Train" up in Hill City (although expensive, that experience was completely worth it when you have a little girl like LucyMae. SHE LOVED IT!!!!...more on that below), we attended our ward Christmas party, and we enjoyed a lot of time as a family, soaking up the season. 

There was a little bit of stress going on along with all of this holiday spirit though....we were in limbo-land for what seemed forever, just wondering if/when Sam would get a job. Now that he was done with his course-work, and would no longer be receiving his GRA, and I was giving up my violin students (on the assumption that we would probably be moving, AND that I am about to have 3 kids ages 2 and under and will probably be recovering from a c-section again) we weren't really sure how we were going to keep paying the rent and putting food on the table for a while there. BUT, our prayers have been answered. Not necessarily in the way we had hoped or anticipated, but we are feeling truly blessed at this time, and know that all will work out for the best in the end. Sam has had this job-offer with a start-up company here for a while...they just weren't offering to pay him enough for us to survive on. Sam really wants to be part of this company. It's exactly what he wants to be doing. So, he sat down with the owner of the company and told him his needs....and the guy said OK!!!!! So here's the deal: Sam is the second person in this company. They are working on making/designing a transcatheter aortic valve. If they succeed with their valve and get it on the market, the company would make it really big, and we would certainly be very happy. But in any case, Sam's boss has told him that until the summer he can pay him an acceptable hourly wage (which will enable us to live basically at the level we've been living  - so we'll be fine). Come summer, though, he says he can guarantee Sam a full-time, salaried, benefited position including stock in the company, for at least 2 years. So, the company has enough investors and funding to survive for at least 2 years he says. And for Sam, even if it doesn't do well, at least he will have some AWESOME experience under his belt, in the field, which will help in finding another job if/when he wants/has to. Another plus to this job is that the owner of this company doesn't really want to stay here in Rapid City. I like it here. Don't get me wrong. I just want to experience another part of the country/world, before we actually kind of settle down somewhere. I anticipated a move at about this stage of our lives, and then in another few years perhaps another where we would kind of settle for a while (hopefully out west somewhere). But what I anticipate and what actually happens rarely ever line up...so whatever. The owner of this company (Thubrikar Aortic Valve, Inc.), and his wife, would like to move the company anytime within the next 2 years, back East. All his connections and investors and stuff like that are back there, so that is where he'd like to be. So, we are currently anticipating a move back east sometime in the relatively near future. We'll just see what happens....more waiting:) Now, my dilemma is - do we try to find a 3-bedroom to rent here (which is what I would want if we are going to be here much past June), or do we just make it work in this place for a few more months? Probably a combination of the two. 

And now the major thing on our agenda is to find a decent minivan that we can afford ASAP!!! We literally cannot fit 3 car-seats in the back of our car. And this baby is coming soon! We are on the hunt big time....so let us know if you know of anything....

So, back to our fun month of December. We read The Polar Express many times with LucyMae, bought tickets for the train in Hill City, and watched the animated movie the night before. I cannot believe how much LucyMae LOVED the movie. She was more than excited afterward for our adventure of the next day. And I think she truly experienced EXCITEMENT for the first time. The day of the train-ride (which was in the evening), she literally could NOT fall asleep for her nap. It was actually quite frustrating, but adorable at the same time. And it made for a slightly grouchy LucyMae that evening. She was thrilled and fascinated perfectly with the experience. This train is from 1880, so it's really cool inside (and kind of chilly). They give you hot chocolate and cookies on board. They go to "the North Pole" where we could see Santa's house, and then Santa got on the train to give everyone a bell and a candy-cane. Well worth the experience if you have a child with you!

 Who seems more excited to see Santa here? I love that child-like grin on Sam's face!

 Fascinated with her bell - and still is, and still talks about the whole experience frequently.

LucyMae wearing my old sweater and hat for church. I miss those Christmas decorations already.

We opened most of our presents a few days before Christmas, because we were headed to Utah on the 23rd. LucyMae got lots of great stuff - but I failed at picture-taking that night. She did get some great new snow-pants that she was very excited to put to use on the ski slopes with Papa!

We got all packed up and headed to Utah early in the morning on the 23rd (4:45am). We're lucky we made it I think, because when we left our driveway, the roads, everything was a sheet of ice. I've never really experienced a true ice-storm before...it's crazy! Raining, yet solid ice on the ground. It makes for GREAT driving conditions, let me tell you. We actually did a nice 360 before we'd even gotten out of town (on a 4 lane road with no other cars around thankfully). After we stopped spinning and were catching our breath, LucyMae whispers from the back, where we thought she was asleep, "that was FUN!!!" No! No, it wasn't LucyMae. That was really scary! Should we continue our trip or not? Well, we did. And we drove 25-35mph for the first 5 hours of it, which definitely wasn't fun. But we were glad we did it because after that the roads were fine, but the roads behind us were closed. And we made it to Utah in time for an Eyre family dinner that night (thank you Rick and Linda!!!) And even though the drive that usually takes us 10.5 hours took nearly 16 hours (including our detour for dinner), our girls traveled phenomenally well and I even survived just fine with my prego body.

While in Utah we enjoyed lots of time with family, lots of yummy food, lots of present-opening, lots of laughs, lots of snow, a good amount of skiing, a little bit of sickness (thank you JOE!!!), far too much driving (but it was all worth it), seeing many of our good friends, seeing the lights at temple square, and just being in Utah. We took a lot of pictures (although I missed a lot of moments), videos, and soaked up all the memories we could.

  I'm really mad that I didn't get more pictures of all this. We spent Christmas day with my dad and siblings. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to let us use their house, since they were out of town, as a central gathering place. We had a great time with everybody - chatting, lounging around, opening presents, sledding, eating, chatting some more. And LucyMae and Samantha sure do love their aunts and uncles and Papa and Gramma-great. But most of all I wish I had gotten some pictures of them playing with their cousins, Clark and Cannon. They were really cute!

  

This is up at Beaver. The drive was long, but worth it. Sam's family was nice enough to watch Samantha for us, so we could have a day of skiing with LucyMae. It was perfect! She loved it! Thanks Papa, for making it possible. NO, I did not ski. But Sam had a great time on the slopes with Papa and Rennie when LucyMae and I were hanging out in the lodge. LucyMae just went out for 2 lessons - each about 1 hour. She certainly is an independent little thing. I just wanted to make sure she is getting exposure and enjoying it. But she was pretty determined to do it by herself. She even rode the bunny-hill lift and skied all the way down between Dad's or Rennie's legs. Thanks for helping Papa and Rennie! There are some videos of her skiing at the end.

We also got a chance to see my grandma Ruthie again. Doesn't she look amazing for 80-something? Four generations of Eyre-blood right there. Sadly, we had to hit the road, and didn't have time say hi to my other grandparents while we were in Logan....next time for sure!

LucyMae got a bath doll for Christmas! Can you tell she loves it?

And thanks to Rennie we got to enjoy a little more skiing up at Snowbird. Sam got to go up earlier with Rennie, my dad, and Aubrey to do a little real skiing (for free thanks to my AWESOME sister Rennie), before spending most of the rest of the day on the bunny hill with his sister, Hannah, and LucyMae. Although fun, this experience was not nearly as successful with LucyMae because we didn't even get her out there until it was past nap-time (which she didn't have), and she was too tired. Oh well. Samantha got a little exposure as well via riding along with dad:) And Hannah had her first experience ever on skis, and ROCKED it! She was ready to move on to more terrain for sure. Way to go Hannah! (side-note: the lack of pictures here is due to the fact that I was inside trying to entertain Samantha and/or LucyMae most of the time.)

And then to make a long day at the ski-resort even longer, we enjoyed a night on the town with our siblings. We ate dinner at Hires:) And then walked around temple square and saw the lights. LucyMae LOVES Christmas lights! The kiddos handled it fairly well, but man, those naps are missed by all when they are missed. Can you see how happy Samantha was about the whole situation in the picture below?

 

I am so glad we got a chance to see my mom and Don while we were in Utah too,  because they were in England most of the time we were there (and dealing with traveling in those storms without any luggage...no fun). They treated us to a delicious dinner at Mimi's Cafe with the whole crowd. It was fun to get to see everybody, although not for long enough. LucyMae thoroughly enjoyed her hot chocolate and all the attention. She also enjoyed playing a real violin at Grandma Michelle's house after the dinner (we had to swing by to pick up some baby boy clothes that my sister was kind enough to give us - THANK YOU NILLY!!!) And I stole all these pictures from my mother (forgot to take a single one of my own), which is why she is not in any of them:( Boo on that mom.

We also enjoyed a fabulous New Year's Eve. While the night was still young we joined our traditional fondue party with our good friends, the Denzers, Balls, and Bristows. Not only was it great to see all of them (although again, not for long enough), but it was fun to see our kids actually playing and interacting with their kids. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of that night either (just one little video) - mostly because we were out of memory on our camera, but also because Samantha was not a happy camper most of the night. I think she was quite overstimulated and tired and who knows what...oh well. BUT, I borrowed some pictures from the other cameras that were there:) THANKS!!! For the last part of the night we joined Sam's family for a great party. Our sister-in-law, Amy, had planned an awesome night of "minute-to-win-it" games. I don't think I've laughed so hard in many a moon. That game is definitely a must for future New Year's Eves for us! 

 And finally the fun all had to come to an end. We drove back home on the 3rd of January. Thankfully, the weather was much better this time and we made it normal time. These girls sure were happy to be back at their house, with their toys and beds and stuff. In trying to prepare LucyMae for the heartbreak of going home, I started talking to her about it the night before we left. Well, she started crying when we put her to bed that night, still at grandma Clair's house because she wanted to go home, and thought we were leaving right then. I'm glad to know that she likes our home and Rapid City, South Dakota. She kept saying "I'm going home to Rapid City, South Kota" (that's about how it sounds). She was very excited! And Samantha has just been waltzing around like she is the queen of the castle ever since we arrived.

Here are few videos for fun...sorry if some of them are boring, but they're not to us:)