Special Delivery

Look what the UPS driver delivered today....liquid gold! Our very own Extra Virgin, First-Press Olive Oil from Meadowlark Field. You can read the story behind this very special oil here, on my dear friend Kate's blog.

We can't wait to dip a slice of Grand Central Como into this beautiful oil in honor of Jane!

Sleepover

2 six-year-olds + 2 stuffed animals + countless giggles = Mary's first sleepover!

The Christmas Low-down

Christmas of 2010 will go down in history as being a wonderful whirlwind of days. A beautiful Christmas Eve began with gingerbread cookie decorating with the girls (and just try to determine which ones were decorated by Mary versus me-- it's tough to tell!). Dinner and mass, followed by a gift opening extravaganza with the Loebs. We think Grandma Loeb found every single Littlest Pet Shop package in the Portland Metropolitan area!! Oh, the girls were overjoyed!

Christmas Day was celebrated with Santa gifts at home, and then dinner at the Buck house with all of the siblings. Grandma Buck suspected Santa would bring the girls their specially-requested American Girl dolls, so she ran a small sweatshop in her sewing room whipping up all kinds of gorgeous creations. And Auntie Em the Author was at it again with a new book, North to Alaska, featuring none other than Mary, Lucy, Chiara, and of course, the canines in the family!

The day following Christmas was the larger Buck cousin gathering, with all but two of the Buck cousins able to join. We had 30-some people, including 9 children (Mary's the oldest) and 8 pooches. Chaos. But, blissful chaos. Cousin Becky is a fabulous chocolatier (yes, that is a real job, amazing, right?!) and she brought a huge chocolate Santa of delicious 70% cacao chocolate. Yum. The kids were a bit tentative to smack Santa with the mallet (understandably so, given that he had just made their year with special gifts), but eventually dear ol' Saint Nick was broken apart to enjoy.

An incredible stretch of days, with many fond memories with precious family.

Snowshoe Spectacular

Today, we spent a spectacularly gorgeous day snowshoeing with my parents, my brother Ryan and his wife Nikki, and my baby sister Emily and her boyfriend Ben.

Everytime I hang out with my siblings, I learn new things. Today was no exception.

For example, I learned that no matter how old I get, Ryan will still catch me off guard and sack me in the snow.

And, I learned the fine art of sumo-snowshoe, a game invented by none other than Emily. Just like reindeer games, only much more fun.

Unless, while you're watching, you get sacked in the snow. Then, not quite as fun.

Doubting Lucy

Late last week, the girls spied a Christmas elf, decked out in red and white elf garb, perched up on the door frame leading to our dining room. Mary knew immediately that he was a magic elf sent from Santa. An elf who will fly each night to the North Pole to report on the girls' behavior, and then return to perch in another location in the house the following morning.

Lucy, on the other hand, wasn't quite so faithful. I caught her darting back and forth under the door frame, with her eyes fixed on the elf. She repeated this a few times, then confided in me, "Mom, this isn't a real elf. It's just a stuffed animal."

"What? Why would you say that, Lu?" I asked, shocked by her disbelief.

"His eyes aren't moving. Watch this." She again ran back and forth below the elf, while keeping her eyes on that little guy. "See, his eyes don't move. He's just a stuffed animal. Plus, Mom, I think I see a tag on him."

Can you imagine? No elves? No magic? Well, our little elf, named Kristopher, better not be reporting this news back to Santa.

Angels Among Us

Today was Lucy's Christmas pageant. It was equal parts fabulous and hilarious, with 40 preschoolers singing eight memorized Christmas tunes.

And there were only a few snickers about boisterous Lucy playing the role of an angel. Well, does six still qualify as a "few?" Hmm...

Anyway, here's one song for her fans who missed the live performance!

Blitzen

As we were unpacking the Christmas boxes today, Mary picked up the Reindeer plates (with clever images which match the reindeer names). She looked at Comet, and said, "Oh, a comet is a type of shooting star, so that's why this reindeer is holding a star."

Then, she glanced at Blitzen. "Hmm....Blitzen is holding a wine bottle. So blitzen must be another name for wine."

Apparently, she began to second-guess her reasoning. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she asked, "But Mom, how come I don't ever hear grown-ups ask for another glass of blitzen?"

Camouflage

Since Curtis has returned from his annual elk hunting trip, he hasn't felt compelled to shave his beard.

Today, at the US GranPrix of Cyclocross, I finally realized why. It's so that he blends in better with the dirt. Camouflage for the competition.

And speaking of cover ups, I had to look for shelter myself while volunteering in Lucy's preschool class on Thursday. As I was helping children with an art project, I heard Lucy in the middle of an altercation across the room. My ears perked up. Lucy was saying, "Yes, you do kill the elk. It's nature!" while another little girl was fighting back tears, saying, "We don't kill elk and deer!"

Fortunately, the teacher interceded to help explain that Lucy was talking about hunting for food, and skilled educator who she is, she worked it into a little talk about the life cycle. But, as I listened to Lucy insisting that elk must be killed, I certainly could have used some camo of my own...