Merry Christmas from Chilly Maine!

We celebrated a small Christmas at home before we left to Maine two weeks ago. We bought just a cheap stocking for Madie this year. We had a couple gifts for each other--we had no interest in flying all our winter gear AND a bunch of presents to Maine when we could open them early and just fly the ones for the rest of the family out instead. But more than that, it was just nice to kind of do our own thing with our immediate family.

Quite possibly Madie's favorite gift: a clementine. She loves these things!

We got to Maine on Wednesday evening. The next morning, the whole family (minus Jacob, who didn't get in until Christmas Eve) went to The Bear's Den for breakfast. This place was great! And the pancakes were HUGE! I got blueberry, of course. It was literally bigger than my face.

Grammy gets to hold the Fi. A rare treat, even when she's around! Madie loves everyone on video chat, but takes time to warm up around them in person.

She also takes time to warm up to snow.

Luckily, sledding helps. She loved it! And Aunt Hope's was just the place to go! A great hill and a house close by.

She hadn't ever met Uncle Todd or Uncle Jake before, but both were a great hit. Especially Uncle Todd. He grows facial hair just like Dada's--except maybe ten or eleven shades lighter.

Teaching the Tropicals how to build a snowman.

I have lots of other pictures and videos, but something weird happened while I was uploading them to the computer, so they'll have to wait until later today or tomorrow. It's been great being here in Maine for Christmas. I think Mike is really enjoying it, too. We hope to get down to Bar Harbor sometime this week, but we'll see if we can manage. Mike leaves on Friday, which really stinks and cramps our time together quite a bit. But we've really been having a lot of fun. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Really Did Come Early!

It's kind of funny the people you know and how you know them, and how you part from them and then sometimes how you get to see them again. (Did you get all that? Write that down.) Case in point:

I grew up in the same ward the Lowe's/Conti's lived in back East. Julia (not pictured, so don't look for her) and Nikki and Sierra all live within about an hour of us. I knew Janice and Galen were back in California, but I heard they were spending most of their time in SoCal with Janice's aging parents. So when I arrived at Julia's for a Christmas potluck, I was so excited to see Janice stirring something in the kitchen! She and Galen both ran right up to us and gave us all hugs! And to think, I almost looked for a sitter for Madie! They wouldn't have met her! Nikki came too, as did Sierra! It was awesome to see them all again. We already have talked about getting together for a camping trip in Yosemite next summer.

We celebrated Christmas as an immediate family yesterday and today. We opened presents yesterday morning--it was cute to see Madie try to figure out the box that held her dress. (The dress, by the way, is ADORABLE. I think it's the cutest piece of clothing she owns. I'm so happy I found it!) Mike and I each had a gift for each other and little stocking stuffers. Tonight we had the traditional oyster stew. I made some eggnog--even better than last year, I must say. I'll have to post the new-and-improved version on Cookin' Up A Storm. Mike asked me why we have oyster stew for Christmas Eve. 

"I don't know. My mum's always made it, and her mum does, and so does my dad's mum, so...I guess that's why."

Honestly, I thought everyone did until I was in my teens and realized "some turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright" was true for most people. (Never related to that. But "turkey" fits better than "oyster stew" I guess.) Looking around at different sites, I see that in Lithuania it is traditional for the main Christmastime meal to be eaten on Christmas Eve--that's what we've always done--so that makes some sense, considering Mum's family history. Then again Dad's family does the same thing, and there's no Lithuanian there. Anyway, when I type in "oyster stew Christmas dinner" into Google, lots of sites pop up and act as though everyone has it every year, and why would anyone think of having anything else. Any thoughts there? What's your Christmas/Christmas Eve dinner tradition and do you know how it got started? Does anyone have any more information as to why some of us have oyster stew?

On a totally unrelated note, here's a cute little picture of Madie with her puppy "backpack" on. I think her expression here is just like her Uncle Tyler's. (The fact that they both have Nana's eyes adds to the effect, I think.) Anyway, I think it's cute how she and the puppy are looking right at the camera!

For Our Mutual Christmas Enjoyment

Thank you, Sting, for the personal concert.

"Bring in the bottled lightning, a clean tumbler, and a corkscrew!"

For those of you who don't know her, this is Bethany.

Image A

Bethany and I landed some sweet tickets to go to the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco last weekend. It was held in the Cow Palace--don't ask--and as soon as you walked in it was honestly like another world. All the workers spoke in British accents--even a bum sitting on a keg outside a store gave me a look and said, "'Ello, luv." It was awesome.

One of the first stops we made was at a bonnet-makers. (See "image a" above.) There's something you should know about Bethany: I didn't think I'd ever get her into a bonnet. That's just not the type of girl she is. She's more this type of girl:

ARRR! Ye lass in back o' me'll be walkin' ye plank afore long!

I, however, was DEFINITELY going to try on a bonnet! Check this Christmas beaut out!

There were tons of shops. Tons. Wand-makers, a couple of haberdashers, a harp shop, lots and lots of roasted nut stands, a couple of candle shops and candy shops, dress-makers and corset shops, Fezziwig's was right as you walk in, where you could learn to dance, they had three other stages and a whole separate theatre, there was even a scientific demonstration for all those interested by Phileas Fogg and his associates. I wasn't as good about taking pictures as I should have been, but I did get a couple more. For instance, the mask-maker shop. This place was AWESOME! Man, if I had a couple hundred bucks to blow on something I would use bi-annually at the most, these masks would be it! Check out my crow! It was my favorite one.

And Bethany's bear was pretty cool too. They had smaller ones--just to cover the eyes--and even bigger ones! They had a wolf mask that was just enormous!

All in all, it was a very fun time, even if we didn't find a third person to go with us (we had three tickets) and despite not being able to blow a ton of money on frivolous but really cool things I would have loved to have and used occasionally despite their being out of fashion. I did spend $14 in an antique bookstore, but you can't blame me for that. I saw a little book called "Песни о Мире" ("Songs of the World") all in Russian for $4 and a hardcover, 1910 printing of Shakespeare's complete works for $10! A piece of my heart stayed at the bookstore though when I couldn't purchase a small collection of children's stories with illuminated illustrations throughout because it was $95. :( Someday...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Doings

Just thought I'd put up a couple of pictures after our return from Arizona for Thanksgiving.

Here's the wee one bundled up for the first real chilly day here in Livermore. Although it's nothing like Idaho or Maine, the winters here in the Bay can be pretty cool. They're typically rainy and cold. Anyway, I thought this picture was so cute of Madie in the little red sweater with that zebra-fur lining! hahaha!

We set our tree up a couple day after getting home. We were going to cut one down, but that would have meant waiting 'til the weekend (at least) so we could drive a couple hours, and since we're only going to be here a few weeks this year we wanted it up asap, so we bought it from a HomeDepot. It's the perfect height for our apartment (and for the few decorations we have for it). We don't have a picture of it finished--I know! I know! I'll put one up tomorrow, I just don't want to get the camera cord our to upload onto my computer. Hahaha! So, again, tomorrow. Don't you worry.

Thanksgiving Break - Part 2

Friday morning, we had the wonderful opportunity of attending the sealing of our niece Brodi to my brother BJ and his wife Shannon in the Mesa, AZ temple. We were so glad we could be there.

BJ, Brodi, Sam, and Shannon. Quick note about Brodi, she is such a curious little girl and will literally get into anything. I think it was on Wednesday that Brodi somehow ended up alone underneath the Christmas tree with a lot of presents, all to herself. I think you know where this is going. She opened nearly all of them up until someone showed up and caught her! Such a funny girl! It was great getting to know her and seeing how Sam has grown up over the past year.

After the sealing and open house, we loaded the car and headed up to Williams, AZ (near flagstaff). We had an 8:00 pm train to catch to the North Pole! The Polar Express train to be exact. I had never read the book or seen the movie, but I really want to now that I have experienced it first-hand. There wasn't a lot of snow up there yet, but it sure was cold (coming from CA at least).

It was about a 25 minute ride to the North Pole (thanks to the time warp tunnel). We were served hot chocolate and cookies (for the record, the hot chocolate wasn't quite the right temperature).

Gotta love Brodi's face. Jeff and Ethan waving hello. The kids loved the train ride.

Sadie and Madie were buddies on the train.

Madie had a lot of fun with Nana, Papa, and Ethan.

I don't know if anyone was as excited for the train ride as Sam. He has been obsessed with trains since before he could really speak! He didn't look as excited as I thought as he would be, but I according to BJ and Shannon he soaks in the experience and will talk about it for weeks afterwards.

Madie was given a silver bell from Santa! She was much happier than her first encounter with Santa. A day before, she actually got to sit on his lap at Bass Pro Shop. Let me just say, her face was priceless. Immediate emotional meltdown.

Madie started to get tired at the end, and decided to suck on the bell with Nana.

Williams is exactly one hour away from the south entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. Neither of us had ever seen the Grand Canyon, but we also didn't know the next time we would be this close to it. So off we went and we were so glad we did!

None of these pictures really do it justice, nor have I seen any pictures that really have. This is just one of those places you need to see with your own eyes. It was spectacular. No words to describe how vast it was. You just have to see it.

I wish we could have spent more time here. It would be great to spend 2-3 days hiking, camping, and exploring. Unfortunately, we only spend 20 minutes in the park. Maybe we can do a family reunion there at some point?

Madie loves spending time outdoors. No matter how cold it bites or how windy it blows, she is always glad to be outside.

Happy Birthday Dear Mii-iike!

I love you! (Madie just uses you, as you can tell.)

Happy 26th!

Thanksgiving Break - Part 1

We just got back from Thanksgiving down in Arizona with Mike's family. It started out with a big surprise! Kylie, the oldest grandkid, turned eight in September and her baptism was scheduled for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It didn't look like Mike and I would be there until Tuesday at the earliest--or so we told Nana and Papa. The sibs were in on the secret, but did great jobs of keeping it under wraps. Soooo, when we walked into the room they were all waiting in before going into the font room, Karen immediately started crying. Mission: Accomplished.

It was great to see Kylie be baptized. It's so weird to see how much she's grown and matured since the last time we saw her last summer. She is so much fun! And LOVED Madie. She was even willing to play many rounds of Madie's favorite game--ring around the rosie--which I can only take so many times before I'm really over the whole fall-to-the-ground thing.

Anyway, we also got to see Holly and her family. It was the first time for Tyler's family and Holly's family to meet Madie. BJ and Shannon had met her before, but their kids hadn't. So it was a chance for everyone to meet her and for us to meet BJ and Shannon's daughter, Brodi.

Madie with Aunt Holly. (We thought we'd spare you the drunken picture, Hol.)

Nana and Papa gave Madie an early Christmas present the first night we were there. She LOVES it. Anything soft and cuddly, Madie's there. She gets it from her Uncle Sam. (My brother, not old man in the patriotic get-up.)

It's a puppy pillow-pet!

And that is it's nose!

Claire had almost as much fun hauling Madie around in the wagon as Madie did being hauled!

Beautiful Sadie and Ethan--pre-thumb severing incident. (Go to randomcreepyguy.com for further details.)

It was great seeing Grandma Clark, too! She flew down from Utah for the week. We haven't seen her since March!

Nana leads the kids in a game of Don't Eat Pete! up at the cabin. (Sadie doesn't look happy.)

Madie eats a snack on Papa's lap.

Kylie and I play Ring-Around-the-Rosie with Madie. (Like I said, thank you Kylie.)

Holly, Jeff, Claire, and Ethan went on a hike with Mike and me after the night at the cabin. (The wimps all went home.) Man, those kids were literally running up and down the hills!

Kylie and I pose in front of one of the lit trees at the zoo. Shannon got the hook-up and Nana and Papa paid for us all to go to Zoo Lights--$5 a person! That's awesome!

We walked all over the zoo looking at lights shaped like animals. It was really cool. Any guesses as to what is behind us? (No, not the recycling bin. The animal.)

We went bowling on Tuesday night, which Madie loved. She didn't get to roll the ball down the lane, but she did get to hold this bright pink one for a while, and put her head over the fan in the dispenser. She also practiced her walking a lot.

And tasted soda. She likes rootbeer. Go figure.

"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye--or thumb--or whatever." This was the event that led to Ethan dropping a six-pounder on his little thumb. It almost entirely severed his top joint! The poor kid had to spend the night in the hospital and pretty much all of the next day. Holly and Jeff stayed with him the whole time, but Claire had to come home and didn't see them at all until they got back the next night. Such a rough day. But Ethan seemed to enjoy it far more than his parents: when his dad asked what his three favorite things were from the day, he said, "Going shooting, going bowling, and going to the doctor's." Hahaha!

That same night I went to get my haircut. Mike promised to let me cut my hair however I liked without saying anything about it. So I did. :) What do you think?

Since we had Thanksgiving on Wednesday (so Tyler, BJ and Shannon could join us), I was able to go to Old Navy and get a couple things for Madie before the real rush of Black Friday. I bought a pair of soft-soled shoes since she's finally walking now, and this cute jacket and those snowpants! The snowpants were only $11! I didn't want to spend a ton of money on something she'd probably only use once, but she really needs them for Maine at Christmas. So I was happy to find them for so cheap! Thank you, Tiff, for scouting the deals and letting me tag along!

Cioccolato e Madeleina

The sampling...

Don't think she even had to ask for more. Her face says it all.

The face! Did you honestly think we would let her smear chocolate all over her mouth without enticing her to make 'the face'?

That is one happy Madie.

Probably the cutest little Italian mustache.