New Bedding

Thanks to a sale at Isetan, the local department store, and some super soft sheets and comforter, the girls got new matching bedding for their room.  They love how soft the bedding feels.   So now, the room has a bit of a new feel.

Chocolate

Chocolate, the dog, of course.  Rania might complain that Chocolate doesn't get enough love in our blog posts, so thanks to Gabi getting a new camera for Christmas, we have some new pictures which we can add to the blog, including a picture of Chocolate, our dear dog. 

Horse Game

We've been having fun playing some of the games that Grandma Woodward gave us for Christmas.  The horse game has many different versions, and we've especially enjoyed the first one.  The horse cards are quite beautiful with nice stories and names to go with each one. 

Head of School Party

One of the fun traditions at ISKL are the gatherings where we get together with other members of the faculty.  In January, rains bumped us from poolside to a ballroom, where we enjoyed some delicious food (much more than the normal bits of snacks, it seemed) and some time with colleagues.

Travel Back

Thankfully, one piece of luggage (Gabi's little suitcase) hadn't made it when we arrived in December.  As a result, we had a phone number in the system, so American Airlines called us to let us know that the flight from Toledo to Chicago was cancelled due to the frigid weather, and wondering if we would want to leave many hours later and fly from Detroit.  Shorter travel time?  Yes!  We were switched to a Delta flight and left in the afternoon, making the connection to Malaysia Airlines in Paris.

We had quite a bit of a problem getting the boarding passes in Paris, as the gate agent was not very sure of what to do with our ticket since it had been changed, but only on the first leg.  After a long hour of sitting in a tiny waiting area, we finally were allowed through just as the plane was boarding.  All in all, it didn't end up being too bad, but we were thankful for the notification that the flight had been cancelled and American Eagle's agent being proactive in booking us on a different flight. 

Jacob's Birthday

We took the chance before we left to celebrate Jacob's birthday.  How fun to get to eat more cake. . .and more time with family before the long ride back to KL.  We've been very thankful for the extra time off (3 weeks) for the Christmas break, which gives us the chance for the long trip.  Rejuvenated and ready to get back into a routine, we get a last birthday celebration before departure.

S'mores

It isn't quite like fires in the summer, but we did our best to have some s'mores around the candle-lit burner.  Another fun treat as we wrap up our trip.  Yum!

Toledo Basketball

 

On a cold evening (school had been cancelled due to cold), they still had a basketball game, and Laura was set to cheer.  We braved the cold and made our way to the TCS game.   The Grade 8 game was done, but the grade 7 game was set to tip off, so we got to watch some middle school basketball. 

Laura was kind enough to do one cheer for us, and Reeve got a bit of court time during halftime. 

Sledding! Wow!

How amazing to be invited over to the Quockert backyard to do some sledding.  We found that the neighbor's yard had a cleaner run, which we were able to explore with some great sledding.  Wow - how fun!  With one adult running interference to avoid hitting the lake. . .we made lots of runs up and down on an absolutely stunningly glorious day.  It started with stunning blue skies and was a sight to behold.

The family had fun - and here is a pix of each of us on a fun day worth remembering!

 

 

 

The Quockerts also came out for a few runs!

Bitter Cold!

Tasha wondered if she had ever, in her life, experienced such cold.  With the high temperatures just barely cracking zero F, it was incredibly cold - with some bitter wind.  The lake was definitely getting plenty frozen - and a dash more of snow left up the possibility of possible sledding if we could get some more. 

It was sad to say "goodbye," to Auntie Tasha, but she wasn't too disappointed to be heading to Hawaii (via Seattle) for some warmer weather.   A touch of winter reminded us of how nostalgic snow seems - but how bitter cold it can be when actually felt!

An Auntie Tasha Christmas!

With the hyper-efficiency of the Rhodes residence, all the Christmas decorations had been put away.  But it was time for Auntie Tasha to give her gifts (and us to give gifts to her) while she was visiting. Fortunately, a single little tree was found, and with a few lights built in, we had our Christmas tree for yet another Christmas celebration. 

Another celebration?  Yes! (Included: a debate on the size of "small" earrings.)

SNOW!

In an answer to prayer, we ended up with snow.  While playing a game at the kitchen table, Tracy's exuberant scream put us all on edge - until she rushed outside to see the huge flakes of snow falling down.  Within moments, we were in coats and shoes outside trying to catch huge, luscious snowflakes in our mouths! 

How beautiful; how fun!

Toledo Art Museum

We hadn't visited the Toledo Art Museum in some time, so with Auntie Tasha visiting (from DC en route back to Hawaii), we thought this would be a fabulous time to see some of the sights in Toledo.  It was a cold, sleet-filled day, but we enjoyed seeing a glass blowing demonstration and some truly amazing art.  What a jewel in Toledo. 

 

Rania was the photographer extraordinaire, and we ended up with lots of pictures of art work, especially ones with animals.  Fun!

A New Year!

How fun to wake up to 2015.  For the first time ever, we thought, both Rania and Reeve stayed up to watch the ball drop.  There was some dancing to Taylor Swift, then straight to bed!  And to start the new year, some crazy cold temperatures - and more ice on the lake.  Yea!