Puzzle time

It's become a Christmas tradition for the Lefebvres and Goldsmiths to do a puzzle on Christmas Day after the gifts have been opened. Last year we'd purchased a cheesy puzzle of Marco Island -way back in April. We left Cindy to finish it and she reported that it was missing a few pieces. She said she couldn't blame the damn cats though, since a few pieces from some other puzzle were inserted. Cheap!

This year I nearly forgot to buy a puzzle! Paul and I purchased it on Monday while doing some last minute shopping in Denver at an outlet mall. No missing pieces this year - it was a nice 1,000 piece puzzle.

Puzzle time was my favorite part of our Christmas trip. At one point Cindy and I were working on it and the kids and Paul were "resting", sitting in the living room nearby. Cindy and I were singing and laughing - driving the others bonkers I'm sure. We entertained ourselves though. It was a relaxing time - even Cindy took time out from cleaning up after the big Christmas Eve "sing-a-long" wingding at her house.

I don't know about you...but I find Christmas very stressful - and I don't even cook or entertain at home! There is such pressure for perfection, amongst the angst of loss. This is a time of year that many of us most miss our loved ones who have died. I think about Christmases gone by. What fun we had when I was a child - the excitement of the belief of the man in the red suit! That's what gets me through the super early build up of the season - knowing that the kids of today are amped up like I was.

I loved seeing our family. We arrived at our daughter Amy's place on Sunday afternoon - kind of a surprise as we'd failed to let her know we decided to drive out a day early. Hello Amy! She took us to hang out with her friends - fun! She and her girlies sang karaoke.

Feeling some Christmas spirit here...

I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of me with my Aunt Marty and cousin Amy. Doh! We stayed with Marty in Centennial, near my cousin's place. My cousin Amy Brownlee so kindly invited the fam over for chili - 2 kinds plus cornbread!

Niece Jordan and her girlfriend Jill were there, along with Brownlee's delightful children Matt and Kate. We got a brief glimpse of the new pup - a 6 month old yellow lab. It was great to see my cousin Richard too. Note: Post Christmas, All of the Lamm fam is in Mexico right now including the San Fran clan - my cousin David and his wife Lisa and 2 kids. Of course Aunt Marty is playing up the Matriarch thing! Hope they have a great time - I think Richard was making them all dress in their Broncos gear today...

Jordan, Jill, Amy

On Tuesday we were off to the mountains. There was a bit of snow to contend with once we got vertical.



Edwards

That night we ate Mexican with my sis Cindo. My endocrine gland and her eyeballs have been acting up and we were glad to see each other. Damn health problems! Good thing the things we have aren't life threatening. Phew! Next up for her - cataract surgery in early 2015. We drank margaritas. Jud and Kara arrived from St. Louis via the airport and rental car that evening. Yay - our gang was all there!

On the 24th, Jud, Kara, Amy and Paul all went skiing. Cindo and I ran errands. I took time later to shop in Edwards at my fave bookstore. That afternoon we attended a candlelight service and sang Carols.

Colby's GF Liv made the gorgeous cookies

The singing just warmed us up for what was to come....the Lefebvre party!

Fam photo 2014 - Amy, Jud, Kara, Paul

Liv, Colby, Cindy

We got out the music books that Bolder's mom sent him back in the 80's when they started these parties.

even Jud donned a grass skirt this year!

The party was a success! As much as it ever can be without the main attraction - Bolder. We sure miss that guy.

Christmas Day was nice - opening gifts at Cindy's place, eating little quiches and a new addition - Duffy Rolls from Denver. Uncle Bill introduced us to them - yummy. I received some cool and thoughtful gifts. Just right. Still...not as exciting as receiving a Johnny West or Secret Sam gun with a message shooter though...

Eric carves

We worked on the jigsaw puzzle noted above and it was very relaxing. The Goldsmith attended the movie, "Wild" - it is really good. Later we went to Pottorff's for Christmas din din. It was awesome as usual. Good food and friends. It was a great way to end our trip.



It's all over but the crowns - prizes after a fab meal

It was a snowy drive out. We ended up staying in North Platte on Friday night as the snow flew. We were glad to get home to snowless DSM. Especially Odie who found the tall snow in Vail daunting. My fam rocks!

Mele Kalikimaka without Boldie

I admit I've been fretting about how Christmas Eve might go without Bolder around to be a part of the annual Lefebvre Christmas Eve extravaganza. The guy was larger than life, after all. So I can imagine what my sis Cindy must have felt like before the party. Colby and Cindy's best friends Bonnie and Eric's son Byron were in charge of leading Christmas carols, after years of being mere backup singers.

Cindo was in full party prep when we arrived Sunday. We tried to help where we could - but she and Colby pretty much had it under control. That afternoon, we drove into Vail so Cindy could pick up her Golden Bear jewelry, which was at the store getting polished. Golden Bear is one of Vail's signature stores. Bolder used to buy her pieces for gifts.


Cindy and me with Albert Einstein (at right) at the Golden Bear store in Vail

We thought the best thing we could do was to get out the way Monday,  when Cindo was in full party-prep mode. We did a bit of shopping in Edwards with Jud and Kara, after lunch at Fiesta. Amy came to lunch too after she spent the a.m. in Glenwood Springs at the vapor caves.

Jud, Kara, Paul and I hung out at the Riverwalk Hotel's lobby that afternoon. Jud and Kara played board games as it snowed delightfully. The four of us attended a 5 PM Lutheran Church service held at the Interfaith Chapel where Bolder's memorial service was held. Only about 20 people were there - not sure if the small crowd was due to the snow or the fact that people were traveling. That made it rather intimate though - everyone introduced themselves and we said where we were from. The pastor was from Des Moines! He started naming Lutheran Churches in Iowa, until I mentioned we were Catholic...that put a smile on his face. My favorite part was the candle lit singing of Silent Night at the end. I admit it choked me up at times - very moving. Then it was on to the party!

Cindy was putting the final touches on things. The place looked great! Dips, wings, meatballs, cookies, wine, beer, pop, water - it was all there. The tree was perfect! Paul and I were set to cook the wiener winks. We took a few quick family photos, before people began arriving.

Colby was wearing "The Sweater". It's his legacy from his father. I don't even know the story behind this work of art. But he definitely looked the part. 

Colby doesn't tuck the sweater in like his father does...

Prior to arriving, Colby and Amy had been at E-town and Woody's, Bolder's fave hangouts, for refreshments to prepare for the evening. Byron arrived a bit later - looking classy - hair freshly cut, and with new glasses. I think they went to the garage for some liquid courage prior to their first set. People continued to arrive, and the noise level began to arrive. Paul and I chatted with the friends we've made through the years.

Then it was time. Colby, Byron, the Sanders kids - Kelsey and Reeve, Sarah Melzer and a few others got into position and it was time. We sing, and if we don't know the words, we sing "hanna hanna hanna". It's fun. This year, Bart Garton wrote a song to one of the Christmas tunes with works about Bolder. Was it Winter Wonderland? It was very clever, mentioning how he liked to bowl, and how he buttoned his shirts to the top. It made us all sing and smile. Cindy's friend Clarey kept hugging her the whole night! Actually Cindy got hugged a lot by a lot of people. Kara got mistaken by someone else's girlfriend. Holly broke a wine glass and just kept eating her wiener.

We sang the very last set about 9 p.m. That's when the kids come out in the Hawaiian skirts and we do Mele Kalikimaka, complete with motions. It was so fun, we did it twice. I was feeling the joy. This holiday season, every time I heard that song - in Younkers or where ever, I though of Bolder watching over me. It made me happy. About 10ish it was time to go. Of course Cindy was up until all hours cleaning up. I hope she was pleased with the party - as pleased as one who has lost a spouse could be. And all the parents can be pleased that Bolder's legacy has been passed on through their children. A Merry Christmas Bolder Style!

Back online

Finally - back to WiFi hookup. I've been out of touch since Christmas Day! I was Jonesing. Not really - I was too busy to worry about Internet access. Good busy.

When I last blogged, we had just experienced our Beano's evening. The rest of our Vail portion of the trip was mahvelous as well. Paul, Amy and Jud skied on the 24th. Not ideal conditions - cold and I think we have more snow here in Ioway, especially after the big storm we missed. We went to Wal-Mart (it's the size of a small town) in Avon that day to purchase some stuff I forgot.

We got to Cindo and Bolder's early, to beat the crowd. It was fun to have the cousins hanging out - Amy, Jud with Colby Lefebvre and Jordan Alvillar. We snapped photos and snarfed the Moe's wings and pulled pork Chef Colby provided from his work. Friends began to drift in - many I'd met in past years.

We stayed for the first set of Bolder's Christmas caroles. As I was singing in the kitchen, I was a member of what Bolder calls the Kitchenettes - he calls out names like that ala Lawrence Welk. A good time was had by all! Sounds like it got a bit outa control later, when parents failed to keep track of their kids causing sis Cindy to melt down. Glad I missed that part!

Christmas Eve

Our family always did the Midnight Mass thing at Christmas time. When I was little, Dad would stay home with Bitsy Betsy (that's what people called her cuz she was such a cute little thing). I on the other hand, daughter #3, would have a little rest after the Christmas Eve festivities and then would have to go out in the cold to church.

Our evening's festivities went like this. Momo and Bubba (my in town grandparents) would come over late afternoon for a few drinks. Then, after they were properly lubricated we would move from the family room into the formal living room where the Christmas Tree was awaiting. We got to open gifts from each other that night. So exciting! Afterwards we dined on chili and for weird people, clam chowder. Momo made her own peanut butter and would bring sandwiches. (I preferred Skippy then, Jif now). One year, Mom dipped her brand new shell necklace (a gift from Dad) into the clam chowder whilst stirring.

So we'd play with our new stuff throughout the evening, and then take a rest before mass. I distinctly remember one year Betsy went to bed, so I laid on Mom's bed reading a book from our large children's home library. Mom and Dad had a 50's bedroom - twin beds just like Rob and Laura Petrie. But theirs were shoved together, mostly.

Dad made sure the bedroom door was shut. But I could hear it - the sounds of rustling. They didn't want to do the Santa thing after Mass, so they put the presents out before we we left. Good thing I my Santa bubble had burst before that! I think it was the next year that I discovered some of our gifts (not yet wrapped) in the furnace room. Of course I couldn't resist showing Betso the stash. Johnny West for me and Jane West for her - with their own ranch and horses. They were awesome!

Sometimes there were arguments at Christmas. Us kids when we were young. Mom and Dad as we got older. Our Christmases weren't perfect. But it was always an exciting time, and make up some of my best childhood memories.