Christmas, 2007
| Harry and Elle came down from New Jersey over Christmas to read to Robert. OK, they came down to visit, but Robert took advantage of the opportunity of having more readers available to him. | |||||||
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Dan Henry saw this carabiner and decided rather than show it off he would give it to us. Well, initially, it
sounded like a gift to David but over lunch with Shaw, Pete, Suz, Sarah, Robert and David, Dan decided (as Robert
drove it over Pete's head), that it was really a gift to the family. It's not a trick photo, it really is the largest
carabiner ever spotted, and Robert enjoyed showing it off to Grandpa and Nona.
Other interesting gifts follow.... |
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... But before we opened Christmas presents (Dan's was delivered unwrapped over lunch), we took Harry and Elle to the Botanic Garden and the train exhibit. This has become a Christmas tradition for us: We started in 2005 (actually January, 2006) and returned for Christmas 2006. This year, the outside trains had a third island and a second bigger bridge. I suppose they have established the tradition of trying each year to top last year's setup. I can't wait until the entire garden building is surrounded by train tracks. There was no indoor snowy mountain exhibit this year, but the Christmas tree train was there, as were all the cool buildings. | |||||||
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| Speaking of not being able to wait, on Christmas morning Robert came down see what all was under the tree. We decided not to tempt him too much, so we kept most of the presents hidden away rather than under the tree until Christmas Eve. And, of course, Santa's gifts didn't show up until we were all asleep. |
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| After some initial exploration, we opened our stockings and had a nice breakfast. Then Harry and Elle came over (they were staying at the Embassy Suites a couple blocks away) and the day began in earnest. | |||||||
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| Robert's biggest package was a garage for his vehicles: three stories with ramps and elevators. Very cool! Elle and Sarah got earrings, everyone got small carabiners (unrelated to Dan's gift). And Harry got a titanium pool cue (more on that later). Robert also got some really cool, fancy blocks that Grandpa was happy to help him play with. And we all got a variety of new clothes (Robert actually seemed really happy with his new gripper socks) and books. And the Williams side of the clan had a cow... Well, we exchanged cow parts... Actually, we gave parts of a cow to someone in need via the Heifer Project. |
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| After all that hard work opening presents, Robert, his dad, Grandpa and Nona took a walk to the blue park to enjoy of the sunny weather. Robert wore another gift, his construction hat with light. After watching the DVD special of the Woodrow Wilson bridge construction project (a birthday gift to David), he decided he was ready to help out with the next section of the bridge. Sarah stayed at home to slave away on the Christmas goose. | |||||||
| The goose was pleasantly devoured by (from left to right): Harry, Elle, Sarah, Robert, Romeo, Marjatta, Roy, Mattie and David (behind the camera). Then the youngest generation watched the movie, Cars, while the rest of us digested, chatted and caught up. |
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| As promised, more on the pool cue. Harry has been a big player of billiards and the more difficult (and difficult to find table for) snooker since his college days. Sarah tracked down a great, local pool hall with a not so good web site and we all headed off to help Harry enjoy his new toy. Robert enjoyed one of the other presents, a magic drawing pad, had a fish and chips snack and watched the fun. | |||||||
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| Of course, after watching, Robert wanted to play as well. We were all surprised when one of the staff brought over a cue just the right size for Robert — never mind that he needed to sit on a stool to use it. |
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And saving the most interesting gift for last... As a combined birthday, Christmas present, Sarah arranged a Discover Scuba trip for Harry. After their trip to the Galapagos and the snorkeling there, he's been more intrigued with the idea. Harry, Sarah and I trundled off to the dive shop the 26th to pick up gear and sign waivers. Then Kat, the instructor, met us at the pool and gave Sarah and I a quick refresher as she introduced Harry to the equipment and concepts. We've had lots of good luck with the disposable underwater cameras before (expect for passing them through the XRay machines at airports), but we've never tried one at an inside pool. So use your imagination: this is taken from the bottom of the deep end, looking up towards Harry. The lights are in the ceiling above the pool, there are some bubbles rising between the two lights and below the bubbles is a slightly darker shape, which is Harry with his scuba gear. | |||||||
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