The Blessings of the Holiday Season

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!!

We have had a very blessed holiday season.  My parents came to visit for a few days over Christmas and my brother and family came for a two days before Christmas.  It was great to have my family all together and to be able to host them all in one place.  One of my gifts is hosting and it has been a while since I have been able to do so much.  I am loving my new house and a chance to have everyone in the same place without sitting on top of one another. 

The evening everyone got here we headed to the gym to do some rock climbing and play ping pong  and foosball.  Much fun was had by all, even Zane gave it a go on the rock wall.

                                                        Kyla on the wall 

                                                   Zane checking out Uncle Zac on the wall

                                                   Grandpa making his way to the top

Nana and Casey battling it out at Foosball

                                                      Keanan heading up the difficult wall

The next morning we headed out for a hike on Sunset Trail.  It is a three mile loop that follows the west boundary of camp on top of a ridge.  We recently found Zane a larger scoot bike with a hand brake, so Kyla rode his old scoot bike and Keanan rode his old bike that he recently gifted Zane.  It was a bit comical to see the older kids on bikes too small for them, but they had a great ride and Zane loved showing his cousins the way.

                                                     Uncle Zac checking out the view of the Central Valley

                                                      Grandpa enjoying the walk with Nip

                                                       Zane and Kyla coasting along

                                                      Kyla, Keanan and Zane leading the way

                                                 Some ladybugs we found on our walk

Once we arrived back to the house the kids decided to head down to the pond, which is now drained and is currently a small creek.  Zane and Kyla had their mud boots on and Keanan decided to go in wearing shorts and flip flops, it was a bit chilly.  Zane has enjoyed exploring the creek until he goes in deeper than his boots or gets stuck in the mud. 

  We finished the day with some wrestling, one of Zane's favorite things to do, before Zac and family headed back down the hill. 

 On Christmas Eve we headed up into the National Parks with my parents and walked through Grant Grove.  It is home to the General Grant tree, the third largest(by volume) in the world.  It is wonderful having this amazing park so close.

                                                    Mom and Dad in front of the General Grant Tree

                                                    The guys climbing the rocks in the park.

Christmas day was spent opening presents and doing a smaller hike at Hartland.  Zane enjoyed his many gifts from trucks and a skid steer, to toy animals and a tool belt.  Casey and I got him a small tool set that is the real thing.  He is ready to start building things.  Zane is even getting his own work space in our shed for his projects.  It is enjoyable to see Zane learning the reason for the season and the story of the birth of Jesus.  He is starting to understand and isn't shy in telling you why we celebrate Christmas.

                                                        Our Christmas tree

                                                    A tool belt 

                                                    Zane's new tool set


We ended the visit with Nana and Grandpa with some painting and games.  Zane loves to paint and what a better thing to do with Nana the best painter in the family.

                                                           Candyland!!

                                                      Painting with Nana

New Year's Eve we did a hike with a bunch of the families from Hartland to the top of Sunset Ridge to watch the sunset on 2018. 

                                         Beautiful sunset.  The large clumps in the bare oak tree is Mistletoe!

New Year's day found us doing some more exploring.  We found Pierce Pond which is close by and a favorite place to go ice skating when it gets cold enough.  Which it has been very cold at night recently. 

                                        Casey showing Zane how to slide on the ice

Phew, what busy last week with great time spent with family and friends.  We are so blessed to be here at Hartland and look forward to the next year and how God works in our lives. 

Many blessings to all of you in the New Year.