Holiday Timeline - 12/26/08 - 1/1/09

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My beautiful poinsettia along with the cutest holiday card that we received in the mail.

The day after Christmas I continued to think about all the work that lay ahead to take care of my dad's house and property, his bills and various financial affairs...like my nightmare come true. Here I am 1,500 miles away, and I won't be able to help much because I'm still the chief "chauffeur" around here for my daughters. I wish they were older, already driving, and more responsible, so I could just take off for several weeks to help my sister.....

On the 27th, we got more snow, but it was warmer, so didn't really accumulate. The snow on the ground got soft, which made it harder to drive in. I went out to take Rosanna and her friend to the store, while I went to lap swim at the Lake Stevens H.S. When we returned in the snow storm, I had a time controlling the car on our driveway...it felt like a wild toboggan ride!

On Saturday, the 28th, Rosanna and Caroline were both gone at friends' places, so Larry and I decided to go out. By afternoon, the snow was very slushy--it felt like deep mud to drive in, and we just couldn't get the car going in our driveway.

Here's our poor stuck car....

Next, poor Larry got the snow shovel out and started moving snow.... We only have the one shovel. We need to get at least one more, so more than one can shovel at a time. ('Though I'm sure it was a lot less fun than it looked!)

Finally, to get out of our driveway, Larry put our chains on the car, and we drove up our driveway to the road, where he took them off. Then we were finally on our way! Coming back, we made it to the garage without the chains.

By Monday, the 29th, the snow is starting to diminish. No more getting stuck in our driveway!

Meanwhile, down in AZ my sister was busy making funeral plans, sending e-mails, etc. , and we talked a couple times on the phone. Larry reserved three more plane tickets for him and the girls to fly down on my original itinerary in mid-January, when I was scheduled to fly down to visit my dad. I guess I always knew that one day I would make reservations to see him that would turn out to be a trip for the funeral. I just wasn't ready....

On New Year's Eve, we went up north to Burlington and pigged out at Krispy Kreme Donuts; then went shopping at the nearby mall. (Cascade Mall)

Pile of snow on the mall parking lot.


After study meeting, we were invited over to friends down south, who have one daughter--another one of Caroline's friends. We hadn't been to their house for a while, so it was great to have a visit (it was just us and them), and we ended up staying until midnight, when the neighbors began to set off fireworks. As we drove through the neighborhood on our way home, the sky lit up all around us with multitudes of beautiful, sparkling fireworks...once almost right in front of us! With the abundant leftover snow and many houses decked out in gorgeous Christmas light displays, it was truly a beautiful sight--better than the 4th of July. (The days are so long on the 4th, that many of the fireworks are set off before it gets dark, so the show isn't very spectacular.)

Since we didn't get to bed until after 1:00 a.m. on the 1st, we slept in and spent a very quiet New Year's Day. Caroline didn't want to do anything with us on her birthday...she didn't want cake, since we'd bought 2 dozen doughnuts...all she wanted was some doughnuts and a bottle of Dr. Pepper, which she took over to her good friend next door. And so 2009 began.