Kicking Things Off

...And a happy new year. I'm going in reverse so merry Christmas will come next. I will spare you all the details of my very economically efficient husband's travel plan designs (which I freely admit I agreed to... because who doesn't want to make their itinerary something like Seattle-Portland-Las Vegas-Phoenix-Sacramento-San Francisco-Portland-Seattle? No seriously, who doesn't?) but we had a great, great time through it all. And while there were a few ten o'clock bedtimes for the small people, everything went surprisingly smoothly for our planes, trains, and automobiles adventure. We've been to this travel rodeo a few times and thankfully have our routine down pretty well by now -- plus our kids are getting to the age where there is less juggling/shifting/carrying and more bi-pedalism and going with the flow-ing. Otherwise, this whole shebang may have ended up in disaster very close to take-off. In any event, after we left the Pacific Northwest, cruised the Las Vegas strip and saw the Hoover Dam, we made our way out of the Silver State down to its illustrious neighbor to the south. And, while I wish I could say Phoenix was warm and toasty, it wasn't. Thankfully, it didn't matter because a) we got to monopolize Auntie Holly's time and b) there was sun. After several (dozen?) weeks of rain in Seattle, it was so heavenly to see the yellow orb lighting up the sky.

It was really great to get down south to see Holly (though we missed Nana and Grandpa. A lot.). It had been about four a half years since we'd entered the great state of Arizona and while she is so good about coming up to Seattle and we've been able to catch up with her on various east coast trips, we haven't been able to get down there in awhile to harass her on her own turf (Molly can out-single-white-female just about anyone). In addition to trailing crumbs throughout Holly's house and making her wear homemade aprons, we found time for a few other fun activities. In a shocking twist, Jack was enthusiastic/manic about the train park while Molly insisted on swimming despite the forty... maybe fifty... degree temperatures. We also did some hiking, saw the Fiesta Bowl parade, bounced our way through a trampoline place, strolled through the botanical gardens at night, and discovered new culinary treats (hello Pita Pit!).

We left Holly on the 31st so that she could reclaim her life and enjoy a five feet and over new year's eve while we headed to Sacramento and San Fran to catch up with some east coast ex-pats. There is certainly something to be said for seeing those good looking and familiar faces. It was so lovely to meet new babies, hug old friends, and get a (ahem) slow start on January 1. Except for John... some things never change and he had the most clear-headed, well-rested start to the new year of any of us.

And while I wade through Christmas pictures, I have a smattering of completely un-representative

 phone pictures from our "where are we now?" trip.