Holiday Trick

This year I discovered a neat trick. Move everything up around the holidays by about one week. Then, after you think Christmas is over there will still be another week. You'll be sitting around on "Christmas day" and realize you can go to the hardware store, etc. because everything is open. Best of all you'll have what will feel like a whole extra week to sit around and do nothing.

There was a lot of nothing this year, to be sure. But also less down time in a way. And fewer pictures taken overall, because for the most part I was quite busy having fun. Like one of those weird people that doesn't take and post pictures of a plate of food at a restaurant.

But how's this for a first day - Eva made her own music video. All around my building on campus, and now on Youtube (search Eva Peloza). Here is the moment she cracks up because I backed into a door while filming her dancing toward me.

Afterward, she hangs with her entourage.

Levi had a couple days left of school, so Eva got to see what a fourth grade party is like. Ain't no party like a fourth grade party cuz a fourth grade party don't stop.

The first full day of holidays for both kids and we went skating. The first of two trips. Turns out Eva is very good at it, and loves it to death. After a few seconds it was clear she needed the little walker thing.

But then she said she wanted to try on her own. So she toddled a fair bit and had a couple highly unstable laps.

Levi chimed in with his wisdom, gained from many rollerblade skates and several previous trips to this particular rink.

After a couple more laps Eva is trucking around the rink. And Levi is rocketing around so fast I really couldn't get any pictures of him. Speed skating is in the blood of the Korean people. Eva took a more slow, graceful approach to the sport.

Obligatory group shot on the ice, following by some penalty box time to sit and feel shame and warm hands. Just kidding on the shame part.

I said a whole lot of not much. Eva hangs out with some new friends, human and feline. For his part, Levi dropped off the check to the Humane Society to fulfill his science experiment and make some dogs and cats happy.

Then the big morning, which wasn't really the big morning, but it was. See previous explanation. It was later in the morning than in previous years, you can sort of tell from the difference in outdoor light in the two pictures below from this year compared to last year. I suppose that happens slowly over time, kids wake up on Christmas morning a little later each year. That, and people generally don't bother to get dressed. Somehow the kids still believed in Santa this year, so I suspect this will be last of that. Interestingly, two of the three people in the second picture look like they are a year older.

In addition to ice skater, one last new career prospect for Eva. Eva the Enchanted!