Christmas at the Shertzer's

The anticipation of "baby's first Christmas" proved worth the hype! We awoke to snow flurries which didn't let up all day. . . perfect weather for spending the day in PJ's opening gifts. Santa was good to our little man (and the rest of the family, too!) so we spent the better part of the day unwrapping!

Our family always starts with the stockings and there was one thing Santa couldn't fit into Hayden's so he left it right by the fireplace. I set him down to take some pictures and he immediately noticed the new ride. . .

After some gentle redirection, he eventually made it to his stocking. He discovered the family standard: an orange and a pickle, and a few other goodies.

After several minutes thoroughly investigating all of his new prizes, he made his way back over to check out that new ride again!

And then, it was time for a nap. If I had as much unwrapping ahead of me as he did, I'd want to be sure I was up to full strength before jumping in, too!

After his nap, we headed for the tree and it didn't take long for him to get the hang of the whole unwrapping thing. The hard part was getting him to put down the toy he just unveiled to move onto opening the next. He loved everything he unwrapped, even the paper! When it was all said and done (almost 2 hours later!) he had quite the collection of toys.

Grandpa was especially fond of their matching train engineer hats. . .

Another nap, some more time to play with all the new gear, a yummy Christmas dinner and the day came to a close, with snow still flurrying to the ground outside!

The next day, just as quick as Santa had come, we loaded up and headed to the mountains. Aunt Laura arrived from Florida, which meant more gifts to open.

It's not a Shertzer trip to the mountains without some time on skis. Rich and I took advantage of having babysitters (thanks, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Laura!) and had a date on the slopes. Two years away from my alpine skis didn't deter me. . . the temperatures, on the other hand, did. The thermometer on the summit of Mary Jane said -5 F! We managed to last almost 4 hours, with several stops in warming huts. I think Rich's big toe is still tingling from a mild case of frostbite, but we did have fun!

The next day, temps were up to a balmy +10 F, so we headed to the cross crountry ski resort and Rich, Laura, Hayden, Maggie, and I hit the trails.

After a short ski with all of us, the babysitters were on duty again so Rich and I could have a second ski date before the sun set and it got really cold!

After our fun--but cold--days, we warmed up by the fire and played a few heated games of dominoes. That got the blood flowing again!

We certainly had a Christmas to remember, with family, good food, fun games, and plenty of snow!

'Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house, one little creature was stirring, looking festive and cute. . .

from our family to yours we wish a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

2007 in Review

The beauty of blogging is that it's a recorded history of our family. I can look back in the archives and see what we were doing in any given month or week or day. Although I know I'll do that--sort of like looking back in a scrapbook--I'm sure most of you aren't that interested in our family. But, since the Christmas cards went out this year without the standard "Shertzer Letter," complete with tales and photos of our many adventures, I thought I'd basically recap our year here, now, in one sweet post. Hopefully it won't disappoint! (I also linked to my original posts on each subject so you can see even more pictures about anything that really interests you. . .)

On January, 31st, 11 days past his due date, Hayden James joined the family. This sweet boy has filled our hearts with joy and love!

(these two photos courtesy of Erin Cobb photography)

Almost immediately, he proved himself a true Shertzer, joining us for his first outdoor adventure when he was just 4 weeks old. All snuggled up in his Chariot, he enjoyed several rides with Dad until the end of ski season.

Despite living over 1,000 miles from any of his relatives (except for his Aunt Emily, who luckily for us, lives in Colorado Springs!) Hayden has seen his grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles on a fairly regular basis throughout the year. Everyone was out for a visit in May for his baptism on Mother's Day.

We spent the summer and fall enjoying more adventures in our beautiful home state of Colorado. Hayden logged an untold amount of hours in his Chariot (which we use for skiing, biking, and running) and being carried in either our arms, the baby bjorn, or the backpack.

at Red Rocks Open Space for some rock climbing

Road Race in Winter Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Biking the Fraser Valley

hiking near home, in Douglas County

hiking near Winter Park, CO

We took a break from our Colorado adventuring in July to visit Rich's family back east. We spent a few days at his childhood home in Pennsylvania, then we all met up with his Aunt and cousins in Stone Harbor, NJ. We had quite the group and it was so nice to see everyone!

On Labor Day Weekend, we decided to explore some more of Colorado and ventured to southwestern portion of the state to do what we truly love. Hayden once again did great, (mostly) enjoying the camping, hiking, and sightseeing.

peering deep into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

our campsite in Ouray, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park

At the end of October, my contract with the government came to a close, ending the part-time employment I resumed after a 3 month maternity leave. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to my career of 8 years, but I really have been loving my new job title of full-time stay-at-home-mom. And not spending 15 hours a week at work gave me a little more time to get back into running. I decided to train for a marathon and in December, went to Huntsville, AL to compete in the Rocket City Marathon. Our dear friends moved there this summer, so we got to spend some time with them, meet the newest member of their family, and have my post-baby return to racing.

(race photos courtesy of Erin--thanks!)

the rest of our weekend, we just hung out with good friends. . . here are all "the boys"

Rich continues to teach in the Engineering Mechanics department at the Air Force Academy. In October we found out that he'll be in an academic environment for another 3 years, but as student rather than instructor. His department is sending him to get his PhD. He'd like to study Applied Mechanics at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. He should get orders in the spring, then we'll know for sure where we're headed come summer. The nice thing about him following this career path is that our future is a little more certain. After he spends the next 3 years in graduate school, he'll do another Air Force job for 3-4 years (at a yet-to-be-determined location), then he'll come back to the Academy to teach for 4 more years. Then, he'll be at a point that he can retire from the Air Force! Crazy that we have retirement on our radar. . .

And just a few weeks ago, he found out that he'll be pinning on Major next fall. We're so proud of all of his accomplishments!

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year! May you find peace, joy, and happiness in 2008!

(photos courtesy of Shelley--thank you!)