Ohhh Christmas tree

We only knew her a few short weeks, but grew to love her regardless. Sadly, we said goodbye to the little fir that had taken up residence in our front room this holiday season. 

She came cheap, being so late in the season, with only a week left before Christmas. But we dressed her up, snuggled her into the appropriate holder,  adorned her lovingly with homemade decorations and twinkling lights, and in return she sent out a wonderful aroma into our home and helped us make many memories. We'll always remember her as the best little tree in Utah. 

But with so many needles weaving their way into the carpet and ending up in Roscoe's mouth, I decided it was time to move her on out and take her to the tree deposit so that she can start composting down for another generation of Christmas trees.  

A very Merry Christmas

Well, Santa found us in Utah this year. Christmas morning began at a very decent hour, in fact I found myself fidgeting in bed around 8 a.m. with no signs of life coming from any other family member. Isla woke up shortly thereafter and the magic of Christmas began. Our morning was seemed to have it's especially precious moments, with our fair share of giggles and squeals of delight from the kids.  

Roscoe got a bike. 

And even let Isla take him for a spin on it. 

Isla was thrilled with her baby highchair and new booster seat.

Daddy made breakfast.

And Mommy made a cake. 

And there were many other generous gifts from family, thank you! 

Later in the afternoon we headed over to our friend's place, to celebrate Christmas dinner with a group of Logan imports. Four couples with kids, and two fellow grad students  - all of us from different places, here in Logan this holiday and with no family in town. It turned out to be a great night with plenty of laughs. Many thanks to our friends here in Logan for filling the family void this year. As my sister said so eloquently in her own blog this Christmas, "I am thankful for good friends close by, who remind me that family is not just people who share your blood, but your life."

'Twas the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all throughout the week

the DuPonts had been playing and not getting enough sleep.

Since their return from the sunshine, there was plenty to do

to get ready for Christmas and decorate too!

A tree was the first thing they needed to find.

At the grocery store they picked one, 'twas one of a kind.

Uncle Jai and cousin Dalen stayed over one night.

to help hang the candy canes and string up the lights.

Then Isla and mommy made garland out of pasta one day.

and a family trip to the studio to make ornaments made of clay.

There was time for some outings to play in the snow.

Isla turns out to be a pretty good skier, wouldn't you know?

The evenings were busy with parties and friends.

And plenty of last minute daytime errands.

Tonight we read stories and put food out for the reindeer.

And toasted friends and family, those far away and those near.

Now the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Let's hope Santa Claus finds us in Utah this year!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Oh, to be two again

When you are two...

You wear camouflage overalls and everyone thinks you're adorable.

You can request a cuddle and get one whenever you need it.

Your latest trick is to snort like a pig and bok bok like a chicken. 

You can take long afternoon naps everyday.

You want to grow up and learn to surf like your dada. 

You can spend your entire day making nothing but vehicular sounds and no one thinks you are crazy.

Your entire universe revolves around bikes and milk. 

You love your big sister unconditionally even though she steals your toys and bosses you around. 

Your mother can't help but love you, even when you give her the stinkeye.  

 Happy Birthday little Tookey. We love you. 

Sandy, sun-kissed and ready for snow!

What a holiday! Pictures say a thousand words.....

We're packed up and ready to head to the airport. Thanks Mom and Sam for a well needed family vacation. 

Made it to Mexico – barely….

We’ve had a couple of days now to unwind from the busy days of semester end, recuperate from the epic journey we made to get here and are beginning to acclimatize to the glorious hot weather here in Mazatlan. Whew!

Semester end – Robin had his final crit that went well, well enough to allow him to leave it all behind for the next 10 days anyways and enjoy a well-deserved vacation with his family. I managed to finish and mail off all the Christmas packages, pack and even clean the house before we took off late Monday evening into what was the start of a country wide snowstorm.

The Journey – We woke up at the awful hour of 4 a.m. in Salt Lake City to several inches of freshly fallen snow and frigid temperatures. A very cold shuttle bus and cranky driver skeptically delivered us to the airport where we checked in and patiently waited at our boarding gate. The kids seemed happy and excited despite the early wake up call, likely because I gave them free reign on the enticing snack bag  mmmmm…chocolate at 6 a.m.

That snack bag became a vital survival tool when we ended up sitting on the runway for an additional two hours after boarding because of weather conditions. Only one runway was open due to the snow accumulation over night which meant waiting our turn for take off privileges, which when finally came round, we had to turn back because too much ice had built up since our initial de-icing and we had to roll on back for a second round. We did finally make it off the ground, two hours late, which meant we only had 15 minutes to connect to our second flight in Phoenix. Fat chance I thought. But wouldn’t you know, we made it. An adequate image of what happened would have been: Robin fighting his way to the front of the plane to get off, boarding passes in hand, loaded down with a duffle bag, snack bag, toy bag, and laptop bag, and running the length of several football fields with me not far behind, pushing Roscoe in an umbrella stroller and Isla hanging off my back legs flailing… and we made it! 

The second flight from Phoenix to Mazatlan was fairly uneventful other than the fact that the kids had been up since 4 a.m., were both starting to get a little wiggy and restless. Luckily we had the entire back row (both sides) to ourselves and could corral them in. The most hilarious part was that they both fell asleep AFTER the plane landed while we were waiting for people to disembark the plane. 

Acclimatizing – The weather is brilliant here. Hot, sunny and not too muggy at all. We’ve already enjoyed a dip in the pool and several trips down to the ocean to feel the sand between our toes. For Roscoe, a trip to the beach means feeling the sand between his toes, fingers, in his hair, ears, up his nose and in his diaper. He doesn’t seem to mind though! And from what we hear of the weather back in Utah, we’re lucky we flew out when we did.

Looking forward to a whole week more of this....

Playing Santa

I'm making a list, checking it twice......

Gotta make sure I get a whole whack load of things done before we leave on Monday. Besides packing for the trip, it's felt like a little Santa's workshop around here, busy making, wrapping and mailing off Christmas presents, putting up lights and thinking up inexpensive decoration ideas. 

Isla it totally into decorating this year, and with all our Christmas frill and accessories back home in B.C., we're improvising. I've got a ton of scrap fabric that I intend to make something with, and I'm inspired by the animal Christmas ornaments that my grandmother made some 30 years ago that used to hang on our family tree each year growing up. 

Tonight our friend Kate offered to watch the kids while Robin and I put our heads together and went in search of Christmas morning surprises for the kids. I was amazed at how busy the shops were, even at 8 p.m., we found ourselves amongst other parents scouring the shelves for that perfect gift, all of us with that same stunned look on our face. I'm amazed at the junk out there! 

But now that we're home, with the surprises tucked away in a safe secret stash, I'm feeling as though it was a successful trip, and so fun that we were able to do it together.