Drip, drip.

Man, what a difference a day or two can make.

Here is Christmas eve....

then came the chinook winds from the south....

And then it was drip, drip....all gone. This is Sunday morning...yeah, only 3 days later! It feels like March and I am wondering if I need to go out and tell my tulips to go back to sleep....

Christmas comes but once a year!

Oh, the weather outside was "frightful". And who ever was singing that song, kept repeating the chorus over and over and over and over..."let it snow, let it snow" and it snowed!!!
It was a "White Christmas" for sure. To kill a little time on Christmas eve, we took the kids and livestock to the famous "Carmichael sledding hill". We had a blast.



Then we came home and decorated cookies. TRADITION!!
(Gotta keep momma outta the frosting!) Here's Emma writing to Santa with a few minor corrections and additions.
We read the traditional "Twas the night before..." and even had a phone to phone connection to a homesick daughter in Minneapolis...
Thank heavens for cell phones....

In the still of the night, there was a reflection of the moon over the snow....gee I need to get to bed before Santa arrives...

We were brave. We complained a lot. But we did it and we had a great morning.

Yes, Christmas came to the Sleight house with no older siblings dropping in.

It was a great day.

"Playing Hooky"

Not often do you take a mini-vacation during the busiest time of the year....yeah, I did that and felt pretty darn guilty about the whole thing. Well, most of the time. The rest of the time, I had a blast!

Don and I had to go to Salt Lake for the company Christmas dinner. And Don was asked to "ask his son-in-law" to come and entertain the group. So he went all out and invited Kim Robison to come and sing also. THe company agreed to fly her to SL to sing for us. Wonderful.

We spent a long day looking at yet MORE HOUSES I CAN'T HAVE. (ok, yet). I find it to be sobering, tiring and darn right frustrating. Don finds more fun in the "HUNT" than I do. Could it be that cave man mentality? Ug-let's look at all the for sale houses. ARGHHH.

So after we got that chore done, we spent a wonderful evening taking in the lights on Temple square.

Ok, so I didn't mention and you can't tell by looking at these pictures how COLD IT WAS!!

So, we headed inside for a look at this goregous tree. Don wonders how they got that big ornament to stay ontop!! Such a kidder. We headed back to the Marriot and stopped for a second to enjoy the bagpipe music by this dedicated crazy guy in his kilt! BRRRRRR.

I spent lots of time shopping and enjoyed spending a bit of time with Alicia. I was hoping for a great big hint on what she would like for Christmas. We did find her a cute little black dress and some sassy red shoes to go with. Here she and Brian arrive for the evening festivities.

Kim looked fabulous in her sparkly outfit and sang like an angel.....That "O Holy Night" was just amazing. And of course, that cute couple at the piano are my favorite Utahns.

Then we ran over to the conference center for the dress rehearsal of the Tabernacle Choirs Christmas concert. Did I mention that we ran?? Yes, the man in charge really did charge over there...we had great seats to enjoy an amazing evening.

One thing about the church...they really do know how to do it up right. There were dancers, and bell ringers and singers and all. We clapped in great delight.

So how does one spend the last morning of "hooky"? I was shopped out. I was sick of being glared at and "waved" to when I was driving on the crazy freeways... only one thing left I needed to do. It took courage, and probably a little craziness thrown in for good measure. I went ICE SKATING!! It's only been oh, about 20 years since, but I was determined in my 15 year old mind to try it again. At the hotel there is a skating rink just outside the courtyard and i kept looking at the skaters with real envy. So I bucked up and strapped on the renters with a pit in my tummy. Would I fall on my face and crack out some really expensive teeth? Or would the joy of my youth winters return?

I am so thrilled to say that it all came back! It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the air crisp and not too cold. Only a few others to share the ice with. PERFECT. And I only biffed it once...and I scrambled right back up. (My neck is still complaining!) But it was like being a kid again...and the skates were phenomenal. No ankle fatigue whatsoever! Amazing! I skated for nearly an hour and only quit because it was time to pack the car for the airport. SWEET.

I really did enjoy the mini-vacation.

If only my Christmas stuff could have gotten done while I was away....now THAT would be my Christmas miracle....