Our Christmas 2000 Postcard!!
As we approach the Christmas season, thanks for taking a moment to check out our latest postcard! We’ve seen the snow and we know it’s going to be a great winter! (OK, actually we just had some fun in our shorts at the local hockey rink this fall but… There really will be snow soon - we hope!)
We begin with a look back to the fall. Late in September, John and some buddies rented an RV and drove to Indianapolis for the inaugural United States Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the new road track at Indy. Just imagine six guys in a home on wheels, packed with beer and chips and food, driving 16 hours each way to a motor racing event and you can almost smell the testosterone. Or something. Anyway, they had an absolute blast! The race was great and the friends were fun!
The whole family took a trip to Harold Parker State Park in the wilds of Andover (about 4 miles from our house) for a fall camping trip. The boys had practiced in the backyard but this was still a good step for us. We had cocoa, cooked marshmallows, swatted mosquitos, hiked, found caterpillars, peed in the woods - all the camping basics. The boys particularly enjoyed the campfire and playing with flashlights in the tent. We’re going to pull of that backpacking trip soon for sure!
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We made a couple of climbing outings this fall. In Early October, We made a full family outing to Blue Job (that’s like Job in the bible) in New Hampshire. A pretty easy hike for us but it had a nice fire tower at the top from which we enjoyed 360 degree fall foliage views. Slippery rock footing on the decent - there were several spills - but no real damage. We came home with bags of colored leaves to decorate our home with (and a photo for our Christmas cards)!
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At the end of October, John, Jacob and Joshua climbed Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire. They had a great day for a challenging hike up a backside wilderness trail. Snakes were the animal du jour - Joshua and Jacob spotted three on the trail! The summit was less than thrilling - mostly occupied by antennae - but we found a great sunny lunch spot on the rocks just below.
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We made our annual pilgrimage to the Topsfield Fair. The boys love seeing all of the animals on exhibit and riding the rids. Grams went along with us and we all enjoyed a bright sunny fall day!
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Of course, we did all the mandatory fall stuff like playing in the leaves and building a scarecrow for he front steps and hanging sheets in the trees tied up to look like ghosts…
Halloween was a fun filled event for us! Joshua was a “glow up” skeleton this year and Jacob was a red race car driver. Very important that you note he was a red race car driver - the purple race car driver costume had to be returned! The boys collected candy at the school party and later pillaged the neighborhood bringing home more than enough loot to give them bellyaches for weeks! It was great fun! Shawn did some clowning around as well and shared her big glasses with the boys!
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In November, we of course had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat! Grampa Ralph, having just returned from another tour of Europe (London and Wales this time) with the Young at Heart Chorus was with us as was Grams. We were also joined by Jacob and Joshua’s buddies Noah and Dylan, and their parents, Gary and Melissa. It may for a full table and just enough chaos to make it feel like a holiday!!!
In December, John crossed over into a new demographic group. He celebrated at Red Bones barbecue where good food, good beer, and especially good friends assured that his 40th birthday would be one to remember!
Beyond that, we’ve had a lot of fun getting ready for the holidays. The boys have made lots of new ornaments for the tree and put up decorations all over the house. We participated in the advent workshop at church and even Auntie Cyndi came by one day to help us make decorations!
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We kicked off the holiday party season at the annual Oakledge cocktail party with the traditional singing of “On Top of Spaghetti”. What? Not a tradition in your family yet? You don’t know what you’re missing!
We hold our own annual holiday wassail charity bash on December 15. It’s become a tradition to ask our guest to bring a charitable donation rather than food. It was quite well attended this year and we collected $1,200 for Globe Santa, the Boston paper’s philanthropic effort to bring Christmas to disadvantaged families. It was also a great time thanks to all of our fantastic guests!
Now we’re just waiting for our fourth advent candle to be lit and for the holiday to arrive. We’ve plans to head South just after Christmas to share some of the Christmas season with the southern grandparents and we’re looking forward to it!
We hope the holiday season finds you and yours in good health and good cheer and wish you the happiest of new years in 2001! Merry Christmas!
