Just To Recap

There were a lot of good snows this winter.  And we just happen to live very close to the best sledding hill in Columbus.

Will catches some air

Soren in mid-wipeout

The moment before stuff just got serious

Just To Recap

In February Rick and I attended the Annual St Mary Gala, the major fundraising event for the boys' school.  Because this year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of St Mary Parish in German Village, the theme of the Gala was a throwback to 1865.  Attendees were encouraged to dress in period costume.  

Some did.  

We did.  

After a few glasses of wine, it didn't feel even awkward at all.  

And it gave us the opportunity to take this awesome 

Downton Abbey Selfie.

Just To Recap

In January we went on a Winter Cub Scout Campout.  It was not that bad.  It was strictly a cabin campout with some traditional marshmallow roasting and other organized activities interspersed among the main activity: 

 running through the cabin and yelling.

I did manage to capture the 30 seconds they spent in their bunks on film.

Rick swears he's never going to another Cub Scout Campout. But, really, it wash't that bad.

Just To Recap

As the sun set on 2014 we headed to our traditional spot- Hocking Hills- to unplug, unwind, and spend a little quality time doing some of our favorite things- basking by the fire, crafting, hot tubbing, discovering the wonders of nature, and eating like kings (no pics of that as I was busy at the time, eating like a king).

As the sun rose on 2015 a hike to Ash Cave seemed the perfect way to spend the first day of a new year and balance out some of that eating like kings we did.

Seamus seemed to enjoy the trip out to the country.  He got to spend plenty of time doing his favorite thing- 

herding children.

Just To Recap

So Santa came

And ate his hotdog with spicy mustard

And left gifties 

(a triumphant photo of The First Gift of Christmas)

And then we played

And played

And played

 And didn't even give a second thought to the mess of boxes and paper and little pieces of stuff adrift that was building up around us.  After all, that is clearly a job for the Day After Christmas.

Blessing In Disguise

This year, as we prepared our holiday meals, it became apparent to me that Rick was having a lot of trouble following the recipes.  I'm not sure what that means exactly.  For a long time, his deficit has been mainly finding the right word to say and understanding words that were spoken to him.  During the neuro checks at his oncology appointments, he usually has no problem with numbers, or reading words, or spelling words- even spelling them backwards.  

So this is new.

Maybe I didn't notice before because, though Rick is the primary cook in our house, he usually isn't following a recipe. One of his thousands of amazing talents is his ability to create beautiful, delicious meals from experience or instinct or creative imagination or whatever that magical stuff is that makes people great cooks.

Maybe I didn't notice before because I rarely spend time in the kitchen. We have definitely settled into our comfortable roles of Rick as meal preparer and me as table setter and meal enjoyer.  In years past I have to admit experiencing twinges of guilt as Rick spent the majority of his time in the kitchen preparing the feasts.  Offers of help were usually declined; I think Rick probably enjoyed spending time alone in his kitchen when the house is crowded with holiday hoopla.

Maybe I just didn't want to notice before that Rick's symptoms might be getting worse.

So this year was different. In a good way, I'd say.  We planned a Mexican feast for Christmas Eve and traditional favorites for Christmas Dinner.  We made creative turkey leftovers in the days after Christmas.  This year we did it together.  It was a gift to get to spend time in the kitchen with Rick, helping him do what he still does best.

Just wanted to put some gratitude out into the universe.

What?!

Yes, William turned 9.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve with cake and presents.

I have always maintained that Will is an old soul.  He frequently wears a pocket watch. When we go out to eat, he orders chicken breast with a vegetable and water.  He has gotten in the habit of drinking a cup of herbal tea before bed.

Now picture Will on the beach wearing socks and sandals and a floppy sun hat searching for lost treasure with his new metal detector.

He also got a new tea infuser for his herbal tea and a tried and true classic game.

Happy Birthday, old man!

We love you!