“I want to give Santa a hug.”

Elle, after opening her last present.

The girls and I spent 4 days in the mountains together last week. It was just the three of us. We had a fantastic time. I had to work, so the girls went to ski school each day. I posted about that a few days ago.

I would get up early each morning, lay out their ski clothes, wake them up, make them breakfast, and get them ready. We’d be on the hill by 8:30 every morning. At the end of the day, I’d pick them up and we’d take a few runs together. It was like magic.

My time with the girls makes me smile. They make me laugh. Kenna is a nuclear power plant, constantly creating energy. Elle is a lone wolf, lurking just outside of the pack, picking and choosing when to jump in and when to watch. Being with the girls is not like being with kids, it’s more like being with little people. They are sharp, inquisitive, engaging and emotional. Me and the girls are connected when were together and it is a wonderful feeling.

I’m loving every minute of this. It’s almost impossible to imagine it getting any better.

I love you Kenna and Elle. Thanks for the killer 4 days.

Love Daddy

Ellen and I are starting a holiday tradition of skiing on Christmas day. I thought celebrate it by blogging from the slope. Yup, we are slope side, in Buffaloes at Vail. Kenna is in ski school and doing awesome. Elle is in day care and hates it. The snow is amazing. Ten inches of fresh new in the last 48 hours. The trees are covered. It’s a winter wonderland. A good tradition, we think.

We have a new addition we would like to introduce you to . . . Betty.  Betty is our new puppy.  She was my Christmas present from Ellen.

Hello, I'm Betty

The girls love her.  She chases them around the house nipping at their heels.   She lays with Kenna on her lap while she sits and watches TV.   Elle follow’s her around the house saying, “here dawggiee”.   Jeffrey and Lexi are enjoying her as well, well maybe not the early morning potty’s.

She is a beauty, with cinnamon fur and cool green eyes.  It’s nice to have a family dog.   It’s a little like having another baby.   The 3 a.m. walks are a little rough.  Especially in the mountains, where it is 10 degrees or colder. Brrr!

Mr. and Mrs. Keenan ready to grub!

We’ve had a lot to give thanks for this year, especially the full house we had for Turkey Day!  We had 11 people sitting around 3 tables, all of us stuffing our face.  Aggie was in from St. Louis, Mia (Grandmom) was in from Carbondale IL.  Aggies sister, Michelle came down from Vail with her daughter Johanna.  Ellen’s Mom, Meagan, her son Ryder and Jeffrey and Lexi rounded out the packed house.

Ellen and Aggie did it up right.  We had a all the favorites; turkey, sausage stuffing, fresh homemade cranberry sauce, fresh mashed, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, broccoli casserole, ham, Jello mold, coconut cake, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and Grandma Haynes famous Hermit cookies.  It was a total old school Turkey Day!  It was awesome.

Can we go eat now? Geeze um.

Besides stuffing our faces and enjoying the Turkey Day libations, the entire family, including Elle and Kenna, volunteered at the Volunteers of America helping hand out Thanksgiving Day food.  It was a great experience for everyone.   Kenna helped pack the bags, Jeffrey and Lexi helped pass them out.  It felt nice to give back.  The kids really enjoyed themselves.  We’re making it a Family Tradition and will be doing it for Christmas as well.

It was a fullhouse; filled with lot’s of laughter, tons of energy, screaming kids, drunk relatives, the expected bickering, but most of all it was filled with love and that made it one of the best Thanksgivings I’ve had in a while.

Bring on X-mas!  We’re ready!