anticipating christmas

i know, christmas is past, but i wanted to post this now while all our memories are fresh! yours and mine, because i hope your post a response!
we've spent most of the month of december sick and in attempts to keep things simple, i just haven't been on the computer very much.
heading into christmas this year i had two things in mind; simplify and create more meaning to the holiday. i wondered if these two things could co-exist, but they were both very necessary for us.

the kids are still really young, but i realized that this year there was so much more talk about presents. i'll be the first to say that i love the gift-giving of christmas, but i don't want that to be the emphasis for us. i was hoping for something we could do, enter into, be a part of, engage with, to help us/them understand christmas at a deeper level.

(my creative and precious friend, lb, who sells her goodies over at fashionablylate

led an art session a couple years ago where i got to make this lovely advent calender. )

last year a friend showed us her advent activities for her toddlers and i decided we would practice advent this year. naturally, i waited until after thanksgiving and was up late november 30th working on the project, so next year we'll make some changes,

but,

we did it!

i made a list of 24 activities that would help us anticipate christmas. activities that would focus our thoughts on the broader meaning of christmas, to remind us that the anticipation can be just as exciting. i divided the activities into three groups; simple, short projects were white, (like coloring a christmas picture and having a picnic under the christmas tree), slightly more time-consuming activities were green (making an ornament for someone, a garland, or decorating cookies for neighbors), and big ticket items or ones we wanted to do as a family were red (putting up the christmas tree, going sledding as a family)

since i waited until the last minute, i simply wrote the item on a piece of paper and rolled them up. we picked one out of the bowl each day. next year i'd like to make a numbering system so that i can have a little more control over which particular item is chosen each day.

one of the favorite activities was making this garland out of recycled christmas cards.

we also made an advent wreath. four candles represent the four sunday's prior to christmas, the center candle represents the Christ candle, christmas day. there are many words given to the four candles, and it seems there is no wrong answer, so we called the first candle LOVE because first there was love. we love because he first loved us. God sent his son because he loved us.

the second red candle we called HOPE. love gave us something to have hope in, something to hope for, filled us with hope!
the third candle we named JOY. having hope and experiencing love brings joy. Jesus gives us a reason to rejoice.
the fourth candle we called PEACE.
the final candle, the large white one, was the JESUS candle. the fulfillment of our waiting.
we lit the specific candle during dinner each night for the entire week following its introduction. some nights it felt more like we were lighting the candle and that was it. other nights we actually had conversations about the word, or about advent, or waiting, or anything! it was fantastic!

the most exciting thing was to realize that even though we were adding something to our day, another activity, it the season actually felt more peaceful.

what have you done to make christmas more meaningful? naturally, i am thinking about preschool aged appropriate, but really want to hear about family traditions for all ages of children!

halloween, two weeks later

i have never loved halloween. i don't like to be scared, i don't like spending money to buy crap for a country that already consumes far too much sugar, and i don't like my own kids to eat the stuff. it has been fairly easy to avoid, until last year when jackson spent a month working on a robot costume (never mind that on halloween he decided he'd rather be super-speedy-safe-guy instead of wearing the costume that consumed us for a month!)

this year we knew it would be challenging at best to avoid the holiday, so we decided instead to rethink it.

we love the creative costumes and have pretty creative kids, so we talked more about our costumes. jackson found an austronaut costume at a thrift store this summer, and designed a rocket to go with it. we all worked together on a bird "helmet" for claire to wear along with pink, pink and more pink.

last year we let the kids choose a few of their favorite candies to keep in a jar and we threw the rest away. that worked well and kept the HFCS to a minimum in our house. this year we heard about another idea and created our own version of the tooth fairy's offer!

steve told a great story about the tooth fairy partnering with the dental association and holistic doctors to make this once a year offer to kids: leave your candy on your doorknob and in exchange you'll receive a gift. immediately jackson's excitement grew! what kind of a gift would she give? we weren't sure, so we asked him what he thought would be a good gift.

a toothbrush.

sounds good to me!

i'm not hot on telling a big story to manipulate our kids, and the last thing we need is one more person who comes into our house while we are sleeping! occasionally, while we are snuggled on the couch, the kids will hunker in closer, look at the fireplace cautiously and ask if santa is coming down. i want them to know who gives them gifts and have the opportunity to express gratitude. i also like the opportunity to excite their imagination, especially with some honest conversations about belief. over the next couple days we talked about whether or not there is a tooth fairy, who she might be, what she might do with all that candy! inside they know that we're the ones that went out and bought that toothbrush (and a baby doll onesie and deck of cards), but i'm okay with them pretending that the tooth fairy really came.

the story of Jesus is, after all, pretty crazy!

the kitchen cure

something had to be done.

i appreciate mom unpacking my kitchen 5 years ago. (i also appreciate her doing dishes all day every day she is here visiting, but that's another story). i had a new baby, a new house, a newly remodeled kitchen and i was grateful to have one less thing to do. five years later i am ready to reorganize and purge things from my kitchen. its a small kitchen with lots of storage, but most of it out of reach for little me. the very reachable space is also very accessable to two curious kids who i think are finally old enough to know what they can touch. claire is as obsessed with my glass blue beehive blender as i am , so i will keep it out of reach since she accidently broke my last one!

i digress.

i've been ready to really get after it, but i really needed the help of a friend to help me make decisions, and two days without the kids around. then really, if i get a friend, and two days without the kids, would we really clean my kitchen??

then i saw this post on a blog i occasionally follow. BINGO! a month is much more reasonable length of time for me to do a makeover on my kitchen. the motivation i needed and the weekly checklist to go along with it!

so, last week was the pantry and the refrigerator. seriously, even that was a lot for one week!

i'm going to bare all and show you the before and after photos

a.) because YOU are really the ones that will hold me accountable to continuing this!

2.) i am already really proud of myself

3.) it is fun to see before and after shots!

d.) i'd love your feedback - ideas, suggestions. i still want more counter space and more cuteness

so, here are the before for the spice shelves and pantry! snug, i know!

not too bad, but a lot of spices dusting the bottom shelf, and the basket full of misc spices and jars

the pull out drawers are awesome, but (aside from the bottom two) there wasn't really a place for everything.

and after.....

i know, it still looks crowded, but when you cook from scratch, the pantry IS crowded. what you might not notice is that claire and i labeled jars! we also consolidated and put nearly everything into jars (rather than plastic bags from the bulk food section)

the bottom drawer is snack stuff - nuts, fruit, popcorn

the second from the bottom is dry goods - grains, beans

the next shelf up is baking goods - sugars, misc flours, oils

then there is the adult snack shelf - chocolate, a few boxed mixes, more chocolate

then i moved my foil and wraps to the next shelf (they had been above the refrigerator in a sloppy stack that always fell over). behind them are the rice papers for making spring rolls. seriously, keeping those from getting broken was crazy as they balanced on top of other things - behind the wraps - brilliant.

top shelf is very misc stuff that i don't use often - the bulk bags of bulk teas, steve's jerky making ingredients, white sugar

and the spice cupboard? the hubs noticed before i even told him i signed up for this gig! it might not look too different, but i purged at least 10 jars of spices we just don't use, some old coffee from the top shelf and a few jars with unmatched lids.

found: box of vegetable bullion, extra cumin (my favorite!), and the perfect jar for the bag of home grown oregano

the satisfaction will continue as i battle the refrigerator!

heart strings

starting preschool has made more of an impact on our life than i anticipated!
jackson is going to a little neighborhood dual immersion preschool three mornings a week. it is great and over all we LOVE it! it is really close, very diverse, has a really active community of parents and teachers, and he is learning spanish!
that said, it is amazing how three little mornings a week can feel like so much!

• three days where we really shouldn't try to do much else, lest we get overstimulated
• six extra commutes.
• waking up my deep sleeper every. single. morning!
• finally (i know you scheduled people, i've finally converted) getting ourselves a morning routine.
• stopping the morning play, the best play of the day
• being on time. in the morning!

the first few weeks were hard, he wanted to go to school, but he didn't want to leave me. he didn't want to miss out on what claire and i were doing without him! he would cling to my leg, beg me not to leave, or to take him with me. ironically, claire wanted to be a part of the class and would beg to stay just 5 more minutes, every day! we climaxed a week ago when he began to cry as i left. the day he was holding my leg and claire was prostrate on the ground because she wanted to stay, i asked for back up. for one pretty miserable week (just three mornings) i would stay for only 5 minutes, then a teacher would come take jackson while claire and i left. i couldn't' watch, knowing he was clawing at the walls, the door, anything to come to me. i couldn't look because i knew it was the right thing to do, and peeking would only make me question what i already knew.

preschool is about separation. at the end of the day he only had great things to say about school, so i knew he enjoyed it. the teachers are wonderful and we knew we were leaving him in good care. so it was really the act of watching me leave without him and knowing he was missing out on something else that made him doubt.

the following week was magic - he initiated goodbye, he walked away from me to a project table, he gave me a kiss without hanging on my neck.

considering we had him enrolled for kindergarten this fall i'd say we made the right decision to take a year of preschool! next year he just might be going to school 5 days a week all day long! geez! that is a lot!

i have (okay, still do) thought about the idea of home schooling. i know it would be really difficult for me, but there is so much about it i would really enjoy. already i am missing being his lead teacher! he is only gone from me 7.5 hours a week, but i really miss being the one to see the delight in his eye as he discovers something new. i miss walking with him as he figures something out. i miss being able to point something out that i know will challenge his thinking.

and already i am getting an unsatisfying answer to the question, "how was school?". i have to eavesdrop when he talks with his doggy to hear a few more details.

at the same time, i know that it is my job to help him become a strong individual who knows himself independent from me. a person who has the tools to work thru his thoughts, make decisions, and have confidence in his beliefs. i want him to be able to listen to other perspectives, work in groups, be a positive, helpful person in the community, and grow into the person God made him to be.

i want that.

i know we can't lead him in that alone. my old refrain again - we need our community to help us with that. maybe it is that our relationship with this school is still really new, whereas our relationships with the others who are helping us raise our children are relationships we have fostered for years! i am needing to trust as we grow our relationship.

this is good for me.

and i am still processing all this...the desire to protect, the desire to trust, the desire to let go, the desire to hold on, knowing the balance of these desires.

lady of leisure

on friday mornings we go to swimming lessons along with a group of kids who come with their daycare provider. we've been with this group since jackson was 6 months old, mom/tot style, and really like it. this is the first year where both the kids are in the older class, leaving me free to swim laps!!
last week a couple of the ladies called me a lady of leisure as i came out of the water. even though i am sure they meant no ill by the comment, it really bothered me.
i have never, ever, in my entire life had a regular exercise schedule. ever. it has always felt like a perk. i should go for a bike ride or walk AFTER i get my work done. that never happens, so exercise never really does either. it hasn't been a really big deal since i have always had physical jobs. i delivered newspapers, babysat, and worked at a garden center. i know, you are perhaps remembering my days as a barista and picturing me sipping latte's and taking down a pastry or two each shift. well, i also stood all day, running back and forth from car to car, taking orders (this was no drive thru, rather a drive UP to). and don't under estimate the weight of a gallon of milk, lifted up and out of a refrigerator!
my job now is even more active, i actually even get my heart going some days!
at the same time, now that we are raising children it has made me think about how i teach my children the value of taking care of our bodies when i have never placed a high value on exercise. i really thought about it a lot when the kids were little. biking and walking were the best things for that stage. once jackson started walking (before 10mo) he wanted nothing to do with being buckled into a stroller or bike trailer. this made walking pure misery. claire tolerates a stroller much better, and now that jackson can ride a bike on his own, we can go on a family bike ride together. i have not, however attempted that alone!
doing yoga and stretching together results in me turning into a jungle gym.
the kids biking is more like a stroll for me.
so during the week we have been limited to romping around in the back yard, claire and i strolling behind jackson on his bike, and the once a week yoga at the Y (with free childcare!!)
but, now preschool has started, and wouldn't you know there isn't a class i can take between the hours of dropping him off and picking him up. the class times just don't work.
that leaves friday swimming.
30 minutes for me to swim by myself.
30 minutes of exercise for an entire week.
30 minutes a week of trying to push myself.
which i am sure is why that comment bothered me. i am not a lady of leisure! i work hard and certainly do not consider my small workout leisurely! it feels more like an accomplishment. we are exercising together!

how do you exercise with small children?

hope.

when jackson was born i had no idea what the reality of having children was all about. coming to terms with my reality was brutal. i was sleep deprived and had a child who would cry when i put him down. accomplishing daily life stuff was monumental; laundry, grocery shopping, cooking food. the basics, right? but there were days i just didn't get to it! how could this wee little one zap it all from me?
i was overwhelmed.
i felt depressed.
i was sad more than i had ever felt in my life.
i went to see a therapist.
for the most part she was helpful, but one unhelpful comment had been in bold highlight in my memory ever since. "when i think about those early years, i think about sitting by the pool sipping iced tea with my friends, watching the kids play"
WHATTTTTTT?!!!
didn't she just hear me cry my eyes out to her about how sad i felt about motherhood? how i wasn't feeling connected like i heard other mothers talk about with dreamy looks in their eyes as they swooned over their babes? didn't she realize how comments like hers were the ones that made me feel even more like something was wrong with me?!
i know what she meant. perhaps she just blocked out those earlier years. perhaps her experience was different than mine.
i thought a lot about that comment this summer because this was the summer finally got to sit by the pool and sip iced tea.
it was more of an exhausted, collapsed by the pool kind of feeling, but certainly different than previous years.
a summer of...FINALLY!!
all the big changes in our family life came to a head this summer.
the new job for hubby has given great relief (tho not necessarily fewer hours - yet!), the kids are more independant and enjoy playing together.
it felt like a big sigh. while appearing more restful, it wasn't exactly so. we've just been so deprived that there is a lot of catching up to do in many areas. this was the summer to begin to see a change.
now that the leaves are changing and there is a crispness in the air i can't help but feel a twinge of anxiety, wondering what this winter will be like. PTL we've had some really lovely weeks of true fall weather (unlike last year where it seemed to jump right from summer to winter!)
maybe this winter will be one of savoring sips of hot drinks and reading on the couch. maybe this winter will be the one where claire starts to sleep through the night. maybe this will be the winter we feel refreshed by the minnesota cold.
the fog has begun to lift and that is a start.

death and dying.

i'll be honest. i avoid talking about death with my children.
i don't really know how to talk with young children about death. i don't think they have the concept of permanence that we do as adults, so it might not be as hard for them, but my children are already so emotional that i really just don't want to have to deal with extra emotion until we need to. and we haven't had the sorrow of loosing someone really close since they have been born.
a friend lost her father this week. at church we prayed for her and her family and my children heard every word. they were concerned, especially claire. she couldn't take her eyes off Rachel, and kept giving me the play-by-play on whether she was crying or not. she didn't want to get too close, go give her a hug, or ask rachel herself what was wrong, but she wanted to talk with me about it. multiple times during the gathering she asked me why rachel was crying and i said she was feeling sad.
"why is she feeling sad?"
"because her dad died", i responded. cringe. how will she take that? will she immediately connect this death with the potential she has for her own dad to die? nope.
"why did he die?" she asked.
i told her his heart had stopped working.
why. that's right, we're two now, every answer is responded with another why.
"that is a mystery." i told her. i don't know why someone has a heart attack who is otherwise healthy.
all the rest of the evening together, we repeated this exact conversation over and over. at one point claire exclaimed, "she's not crying anymore! she's smiling! her dad is back!!"
that evening as we were in the bathroom getting ready for bed, we had the conversation again. then claire wanted to role play. "mom, you be rachel and i'll be me and you be crying".
i sniffed, pretending to cry.
c- "why are you crying?"
me - "i'm feeling sad"
c- "why?"
me - "because my dad died"
c - "ooooohh" she came over to me and put her arm gently around my neck, "i forgive you" she whispered. then reaching with her other arm over to jackson, who was on the toilet, she declared, "GROUP HUG!!!"

clearly only some of the depth was understood, but i think it is the most important part. the value of being present, giving a gentle touch, a hug when needed. sometimes i want to retreat when things get awkward, people are uncomfortable, or i don't have a clue what to say. just when i think i'm leading my children through life, i find they can teach me so much.

Pizza Farm

i don't know much about Wisconsin, but now i know one of their best kept secrets!
Pizza Farm.
they don't have a website, they don't even advertise. they don't really need to; word gets around. its a working farm, growing wheat, corn, veggies galore, cows, goats, chickens. on tuesday nights in the summer they make pizzas in a wood fired brick oven right on the farm, using ingredients grown right on the farm!
fantastic combos like: italian sausage, kalamata olives, green olives, mozzarella, onions and tomatoes. a killer veggie including beets and eggplant!
a friend found this sweet little video that my kids love watching
we've been talking about taking the hour and forty minute drive to visit the farm, but the idea of that drive AFTER the feast (and more importantly after bedtime) with my two kids sounded terrible. so we decided to camp. our good friend shirley agreed to drive a few of us in her RV and the dinner date became a vacation!
tuesday morning we piled in the RV and tried to keep the kiddos from bouncing off the walls as we otherwise rode in climate controlled luxury. we drove to a beautiful campsite right on lake Pepin, had a little lunch and swam in the unnaturally warm water. it was hot, teetering around 100F! we were so grateful to have a ginormous tree shading out entire campsite. after setting up tents, having a little lunch and taking a dip in the unnaturally warm water, we set off to check out the little town of Stockholm. we spent an hour in the cutest little gallery and came out with a bargain find, already giving us plenty of laughs!



a little ice cream, a little window shopping, train spotting, herb spotting, so much fun with friends, you wouldn't know we were skipping a nap!




we made our way past corn and soybean fields, truly in the middle of nowhere, just a few minutes after the farm opened. we weren't alone - we were order number 73!
it was easy to pass the time waiting for our pizza, wandering around the farm, checking out the animals, feeding lambsquarters to the lambs, having some for ourselves, watching the pizza making, and finding a nice shady spot to picnic. a trip to the Bran Can, a bucket toilet system i had read about in the Urban Homestead - cover your business with a cup of bran - the cleanest, nicest smelling outhouse i have ever been inside, complete with running water for the sink.
the kids were starting to loose steam, so by the time the pizza was ready they were literally running circles around our blanket. i didn't exactly savor the pizza i was so aware of the kiddos, but even with my distracted attention, i found it to be delicious!








back at the campsite, the kids were way overtired, hot and sweaty. one friend helped jackson take a cold shower while i began putting claire to bed.
one of my first glimpses of claire's temperament was on the night she was born. it was winter, and like a good mama, i had her swaddled, but she would not stop screaming. not until i unwrapped her and let her sleep in just a diaper. in the minnesota winter. she knew what she wanted, and it was to sleep coo.
so lying in the hot and steamy tent with a screaming claire brought back memories.
jackson joined us after a little popcorn with the ladies. he, on the other hand, could sleep in a sauna (and since his bedroom has the worst air circulation, he often does) but he is super sensitive to noise. i sang songs, told Beyond stories, prayed, talked about our special day, but nothing was helping them settle down, in fact, their differences were clashing like cymbals.
i left them for a few minutes to gather my bearings and get some water, heading to the RV to consult my friends who were in the middle of a game of sequence. "i don't know what to do!", i exclaimed and jessie replied, "claire is running out of the tent, should i go get her?"
let's just say Shirley got her way and we all ended up sleeping in the RV. we turned off all the lights and claire was asleep in a few minutes. jackson, the social little night owl that he is, managed to stay awake for an hour of back rubbing before exhaustion overcame him.
this was a perfect example of my village raising my children with me!
so to my community, THANK YOU!!! i really couldn't do it without you. i would have packed the kids up in the car and drove back home just to have a few hours of sleep in their own bed if it weren't for you.
most of the time i love being with my children, but times like this are so draining. they take from me so much of my energy. and time! it was close to 2 hours of bedtime. i was really looking forward to that evening of hanging out with my friends. it is hard not to feel resentful.
claire was awake at 6:30. we wandered the beach, spotted two bald eagles, a heron, a few geese, an old school playground (you know, the kind that really provide challenges) and a friendly neighbor who offered me a cup of coffee. the resentfulness slips away with those sweet hours with my girly. i am reminded that she isn't trying to make my life miserable. she is trying to figure out what her dad has learned; when the party is going strong and you are ready to go to bed, its okay to say goodnight, excuse yourself from the group politely, and go to bed.


we passed a sign and i laughed: "danger mosquitoes". yeah, yeah, that's what they say. in 7 years i haven't found them to be bigger or more in number than base camp at Beyond (where my ankles were constantly bitten). i have thought that Minnesotans talk about the mosquito and the winters like Seattleites talk about the rain. apparently in Wisconson, the mosquitoes really are vicious! i thought i just had camping eyes that were taking more time than usual to deflate. i came home with 7 bites on one foot, 5 on the other, 3 on my neck and 13 on my forehead!!! if i had painted my face blue i could have tried out for the Avatar sequel.

the rest of the gang woke up, we made wonderful breakfast sandwiches, broke camp, headed for home. for naps. memories made.



i learned three things:
1. here in the midwest, it might be best to camp in spring or fall, but not summer
2. i want to be a camping family, but we will probably need to wait until our kids sleep well at home.
3. trip #2 to the Pizza Farm will be a date without the kids!

sights of summer

we are soaking up the goodness of summer.

biking playdates! jackson can officially ride a two-wheeler!

watching the annual world class professional bike race in our neighborhood.

swimming as often as we can. jackson finally found something he wanted enough to spend his own money to purchase




spending time with good friends. this is "my special friend Chico"

our backyard robin laid her eggs right on our fence

jackson convinced dad not to sell the mower and has mowed the lawn almost every day since

visiting water parks with friends

having breakfast on the back porch

my little early bird and i sharing our morning hot drinks on the porch

enjoying extra sweet treats!

just one of the beauties of good friends living upstairs

a year goes by

last night we had some friends over for dinner. we were saying goodbye on the porch when i noticed the spattering of color on the front lawn. a few rose heads, some leaves, a couple hydrangea flowers, a couple phlox. then i realized my entire hydrangea bush had been deflowered. my friend remembered noticing the blooming bush when they arrived. so, while we were dining, someone came by and clipped off all the flowers.
then i remembered the exact thing happened last year.
seriously?? who thinks that is okay?!
I'll admit, i cut lilacs from bushes that are not my own, but i choose ones that belong to apartment buildings, not homes. or ones that are clearly neglected. and i certainly don't strip an entire bush!
wow.
it could have been worse. much worse. it doesn't compare to the home invasion, which we can now say was a year ago.
there has been much healing. my mind has nearly erased those crazy worst-case-scenario recordings that would play over and over in my thoughts. i can sleep deeply again. i can watch a movie without hearing things. i don't clench my elbow when i go down the hallway. when we do hear noises, we are still compelled to check things out, but i don't hold my phone with 911 already dialed - not every time.
we are grateful.
we think about Brian often and wonder how he is doing. we have hope that he has received the help that was offered to him at the hearing, and has moved towards healing as well.

WHAT!? on a motorcycle?

we drove by a woman whose dog was in a little cab on the back of her motorbike.
wearing a helmet.

spring strawberries

there is not much better than fresh strawberries, right off the vine. or fresh strawberries with yogurt and granola. or fresh strawberries and ice cream.
we had a wonderful day morning at a farm with friends, picking berries, feeding chickens, tasting herbs that were growing all over the place, and (of course) playing an episode of "mama-baby"









we ended up making strawberry jam (my first go at jam) and found this recipe to be really easy and so naturally sweet! the next morning we intended to have strawberry parfaits for breakfast, but we had used up all the strawberries in jam making. blueberry parfaits were excellent as well, especially with a fresh batch of our favorite granola!

NYC

nearly seven years ago we tied the knot. our honeymoon was brief, but sweet,a mere two days at a B&B, after which we both had to return to work. we promised ourselves that we would have a series of minimoons for the rest of our marriage, rather than be disappointed that our first was so short.
we finally got away!
our good friends, chris and jess, have lived in NYC for six years. our desire to go visit them has been great, but there has always been something holding us back - not enough money, no time off, too late in the pregnancy, small baby who doesn't sleep, baby to old to make it fun, two babies,.....
when we found out our friends were finally moving back to the midwest (!!!) we knew we had to make a visit happen, even if i went alone (which had a delightful sound to it!). we had also hoped to have a little family vacation to celebrate the end of self-employment. we settled on a little family weekend away to Duluth and a minimoon to NYC!
did i mention we had never left our children for more than two nights and one day? we did get to Lutzen, just hubby and i, last summer for a weekend, but i didn't consider that a minimoon since he was working and our time together was dependent upon other people's schedule. i worried a little about our kids that weekend, but more for the suffering of our friends who were waking up with claire at O-Dark thirty.
this trip was free of worry, knowing the kids would be happy as clams with their grandparents!
this was a vacation!
it was about being together, uninterrupted conversations, eating really good food, exploring all day, dressing up and not having to worry about greasy fingers, seeing a Broadway musical the night before it wins the Tony, observing styles that will not reach us until next year, not eating dinner before 8pm every night, having dessert from the Chocolate Room every night (yes, we did), "man games" between chris and steve, crazy good food, interesting archetechture, ...
it was what we had hoped it to be!