Lauren Got Her Wish...

Yes, it was a "White Christmas."

Christmas Eve Snowfall

What it looked like three hours after it began to snow.
It is always a nice surprise when you wake up to snow that was not expected. That was precisely the situation on Christmas Eve here in Omaha.

Almost as bizarre? A strange flash of light that occurred about six hours before the first flakes began falling.

By 9 a.m., there was already an inch. And up to six more were still to come.

Christmas Letter Time!

Veronica decided to "decorate" someone's face...

Things came together rather quickly when we got down to business on this year's Christmas letter. From Friday night to Saturday afternoon, we finished everyone's text portion, got the letters printed at CopyMax, addressed more than 140 envelopes and stuffed and mailed them off. Emily, Julia and Veronica were the biggest of helpers, with Olivia chipping in and Lauren ... well, being Lauren.

Thanks to a trip to the main post office, we expect the letters to start arriving in the Omaha area on Monday and faraway places after that. The only regret this year? That I did not have time to write a personal message on each one of them. Sorry!

Veronica (right) handled stamps and return address labels this year.

How Emily addressed envelopes while wearing my glasses is beyond me...

Bob Cullinan Visits Omaha

Bob Cullinan surprised Veronica with a pick-up from school today.

Sean's friend, Bob Cullinan, visited Omaha today and surprised Veronica by picking her up from school. There was also this:

Twelve Hours At The Pool

We were the first people in the pool today ... and the last ones out.

A couple years back, when we first lived at these apartments, we once spent seven hours at the pool. It was quite legendary. But the girls – now older – decided we could do things up even better. How about staying at the pool from open to close, they asked.

So today, with temperatures in the upper 80s in the forecast, we set out to make it happen. Several of the girls were documenting things, hour-by-hour, on Snapchat:

We also took this fun photo of Veronica at the start of the day... and another at the end:

Emily was sure excited about something to do with Julia.

Tough girls after a long day at the pool.

Back to the Future: Pool Photo

How's this for a "Back to the Future" photo at the Four Seasons pool?

Oops!

Veronica got a little surprise from the silly string.

Fortunately, it didn't get in her eyes.

Breakfast For Dinner

The girls proudly show off the dinner they made: scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast.

Paper Airplane Throwing Contest

Veronica shows off the three paper airplanes she made.

The weather was nice enough to enjoy some time outdoors today. Though not particularly warm, there was a nice north breeze blowing. And that made for perfect conditions for our first paper airplane throwing contest of the year.

See below for photos of all the respective aircraft that participated (Emily was at a friend's house), as well as a pair of videos that captured (nearly) all of the action. You'll have to ask Julia what "Sain Air" means. (Hint: It is a play off of Sean's first name.)

Veronica's plane – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 – went missing shortly after this photo was taken.

Lauren had a BMC Racing Team-themed aircraft.

This was Sean's second plane – and it stayed up in the air a long time.

Olivia had quite the needle-nosed craft (complete with Rudolph-themed tip).

Lauren's second plane was equally as artistic as the first – but not very "air-tastic."

Add Veronica's Malaysia Airlines Flights 371 and 373 to the list of planes that went missing.

We're not sure what "The Prison Airplane" is all about. You'll have to ask Lauren.

Julia made this amazing plane after watching a YouTube video. It flew nearly 50 feet.

Veronica In Pencil

The girl who lives in a basement apartment drew this of Veronica. Wow!

What Is This?

I found this guy on my mirror. No idea who he is.

Opening Presents

Julia and one of the custom pillows from Santa.

I will let Olivia explain the "hand-on-the-nose" gesture happening here.

Veronica made this amazing poster for me.

Olivia was clearly happy with this present.

The opening of presents was clearly the highlight of the day.

Bob Cullinan sent a calendar featuring some of his amazing photos.

Christmas Morning

There would be no "White Christmas" this year.

Santa Claus delivered customized pillow cases this year.

Santa Claus also left some Reese's Peanut Butter trees. Our favorite!

We always enjoy Santa's notes.

This was a new one. And these "lumps of coal" tasted a lot like Oreo brownies.

Letter To Santa

Here is what was left for Santa at the apartment. Very healthy!

Julia and Lauren split the duties of leaving a note for Santa.

Here is the note Lauren wrote and left at the apartment:

Dear Santa,

We are at a hotel tonight. 

Please enjoy the snack we are leaving for you. The vegetables on the deck are for your reindeer. Have a nice night!

Love,

Lauren and the Weide Family

And Julia left this note in the room at the hotel:

*Anywhere there is a blank, that's for you to answer*

Dear Santa,

What time is it? _______ I have been tracking you for a long time. I can't wait to go home and see what I got.

How tall are you? ____________. Do you have any other outfit other than a red suit, or do you even own a red suit like everyone thinks? ____________________

Do you have any electronics, iPhones, iPads? _________________

Also, do you take selfless, or have a social media account that no one knows about? ______________ 

What is your favorite kind of cookie? _______________ About how many more stops until you are done? _____________

Love,

Julia Weide :)

As mentioned in Lauren's note, we also sprinkled oatmeal onto the deck and left a few lettuce leaves out there as well.

Life Around The Apartment

Veronica was more than happy to pose next to a pie Lauren helped get ready to bake.

She was also ready to be the "first eater."

These are busy times as the days get shorter and it seems the holiday rush is upon us.

For example, last night, we blitzed through the final processing of the Christmas letter, fixed dinner, hustled it down to the main post office, zoomed out to Aksarben Cinema to see a movie and then back home to prepare cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Thankfully, the girls are extremely helpful and handy around the house.

This morning, we were in full-out cleaning mode so they could attend the annual "Christmas Cup of Tea" with Grandma Bep.

The girls did a great job getting their room in order.

It's Christmas Time...

The lights have gone up at my apartment.

Not The Best Days

This crude broadcast is how I watched the Tour today.
When Greg LeMond won the 1986 Tour de France, he crossed the finish line shortly after 9:30 a.m. CDT. The race wasn't shown live, but CBS did do a tape-delay type broadcast, beginning at 11 a.m. But get this, CBS affiliate KMTV did not choose to show it.

So, I called my senior year roommate at Mt. Michael, Matt Schmidt, who lived in Bennington. He said his TV was able to pick up 10/11, the CBS affiliate broadcasting out of Lincoln.

So I packed up a new VHS tape and drove the 35 minutes to his home. And that slightly static-filled broadcast is what I have to show for today.

Flash forward 25 years and here I sit, trying to watch the final stage of the Tour de France again. Only this time, my cable connection to Versus is not working – just like it didn't work yesterday.

Here's my view of the race:

This is what my dashboard looks like when I cover races.

Girls' Visit: A Look Back

Sometimes we're so busy living, we don't stop to realize what's transpiring around us.

Such is often the case with the girls' lives. They come over to my apartment every Tuesday afternoon after school and spend the late afternoon doing homework, relaxing and eating dinner with me. It's so much a part of the routine, it is often pretty forgettable.

But this week, I decided to take a few photos to document the time together. Here's a sample.

Some girls still in uniforms, some not.

Julia, having fun with the camera.