Holly Jolly Christmas

Since the husband and I have families in different countries, we've made it a tradition to do one Christmas holiday in the states followed by a New Year's holiday in Japan the following year.  This was the year for my family, and we spent a cold and snowy time in Washington at my parent's house.  The highlights : my mom's zealous decorations, my brother's Kegerator, my sweet new baby nephew, and a jug of peach hefeweisen all for little ol' me.  *best*

Road Tripping

When I first met my husband, we used to do something we liked to call "Happy Christmas Tour".  It consisted of a 2 week or so road trip from Seattle (where we lived) all the way down to Southern California and back, complete with camping, stacks of mix CD's, surfing breaks, and the occasional shady hotel room. We did it three times, each time around the long Christmas break.  And you might not believe me, but it's even more fun now with two kiddies in tow.

Not to mention cheaper than a flight for 4 around peak holiday season.  The hotels are not so shady as they used to be (we did a pitstop at this natural hot spring in an Oregon forest), and we now watch movies instead of listen to music, but there's really nothing like a road trip.

mad traffic coming out of LA

Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn

speeding tickets were given

my husband made dinner with things scavenged from the convenience store