Home for the Holidays

We just returned home to freezing Virginia from sunny Arizona Wednesday night and are currently suffering from the early stages of frostbite. Nothing serious, just a little black around the fingertips and nose. Right now, all I can do to keep my mind from dwelling on the below-freezing temperature, is reminisce of our Desert Holiday....


A few of the highs, and lows:

LOW #1

After prepping Makenna for over a month for her first social meet-and-greet with St. Nick , even teaching my little elf to chant "Ho Ho Ho" at the sight of the jolly old man, she crumbled under the pressure of a 2 1/2 hour wait and screamed bloody murder when placed on his knee. Like any good mother would do, I ran in to save the day, holding her on MY knee (but pushing her leg up onto HIS so it would be official), whispered my short, but precise, wish list and then scurried away in 4 minutes flat. I can't WAIT to make this a family holiday tradition.

HIGH #1

Christmas lights with the family on Christmas Eve. Since my empty nest parents got rid of their van some years back, we had the pleasure of piling into Daniel's gargantuan truck and cruising the town.

The best house by far, which speaks volumes as to the holiday cheer that resides in Arizonan hearts...



Take THAT Clark Griswold.

LOW or High #2 (depending on which way your bread is buttered)

It was a high for me to get the best Christmas present Mother Nature could give. Arizona's version of a White Christmas... RAIN ALL DAY! To wake up to the sound of pitter patter on our rooftop at 7 a.m. warmed my heart, and then to have it continue on into the evening warmed it even further.

(It's hard to see, but that's rain in the backyard, sure enough.)

HIGH #3

This High is two-fold. The first part being that my dear, sweet mom began reading the Twilight saga, per her daughter's recommendation. She did not just read them, she began to develop strong feelings for them, as I knew she would. (The argument, "But I'm over 13!" just does not hold up when you know what you're dealing with). The second part of High #3 is that she went to see this with me not only once, but TWICE! Below is the evidence, should it be required.


Part HIGH, Part LOW #3

The High being my exhilarating Girls' Night Out with with my sassy BFF from high school. We had a delicious meal here to celebrate my birthday (Note: I am still in my twenties; please no one forget that for another year). Then we did not have to twist eachother's arms to go see a movie together and use very expired student ID's to get $2 off. A night spent laughing to our heart's content (mostly at the expense of old high school acquaintances).

The Low being a heinous crime committed to the Bird Mobile while we were inside movie hopping. I came out to our car and low and behold, THESE were all missing. The nerve of someone who has nothing better to do on a Friday night than steal some metal embellishments of a Camry in a nice part of town during the Christmas season is beyond me.

HIGH #4

An insane amount of fresh citrus from the backyard including oranges, tangelos, lemons, and grapefruits. Leading to a killer homemade Lemon Meringue Pie, pitchers of orange juice, fresh grapefruit for breakfast, and an expansion of Makenna's love for picking fruit.


HIGH #5

Family Time. Need I say more?


After three weeks spent across the country, it's nice to be back in our little home sweet home. Traveling, especially at Christmas, with a "lap child" as the airlines refer to them, with presents up the wazoo in not-enough suitcases, meeting and greeting relatives, and coping with rowdy crowds is difficult.

Even my 17-month old knows that...