It's been a fun but busy time around the Morris household lately. Before we knew it, Christmas was upon us and we were enjoying our long weekend and new traditions. The weekend before Christmas, Garrett and I spent time at a park south of our house flying his new drone and adventuring around in a winter wonderland. It was an off-leash dog park so Remy was thoroughly thrilled. I also baked some delicious snickerdoodles using a recipe I randomly found online and they turned out perfect! Though they disappeared quite quickly.
I only had to work Monday and Tuesday the week of Christmas but Garrett had to work Christmas Eve Day until about noon. Because we knew we'd be heading up to Mammaw and Bills' house for Christmas Eve, we didn't want to lug all of our presents up and overwhelm their tree with presents just for Garrett and I from our families. We had our own Christmas Eve celebration on Tuesday night and opened about 85% of our gifts. I had Christmas music playing in the background and a Christmas-scented candle burning just like my mom usually does. It's really important to me to create an atmosphere I guess! We took turns opening (just like I'm used to doing) and drug it out because otherwise we would've been done in about ten minutes. I've noticed that people who come from larger families don't take turns while opening gifts - everyone just kind of grabs one, rips it open, admires it (or doesn't), then sticks it in a pile next to them and repeats the process until everything is opened. To me, that's pretty anticlimactic. In my little family of four, we were sure to take turns so each gift could be oo'd and ahh'd, passed around, tinkered with, then set on display. It made me appreciate each person's gift and the thoughtfulness that went into it. I can totally see how that strategy might be torture if you had, say, ten people opening gifts together (though we still did it that way when we had Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house in Salt Lake). To each their own!
I was overwhelmed with the nice things I received this year from my parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, sibling, inlaws, and Garrett. I was sure that, this being our second married Christmas, we'd receive a lot of joint gifts or household items. I was wrong! I was treated to some things that were just for me to enjoy and same for Garrett.
After packing up the car with some more presents, the Christmas ham, our dog, overnight clothes, and ourselves, we headed out of town. Garrett let me play Christmas music the WHOLE drive! We stopped to fill our mugs up with coffee and were in a very jolly mood - to grandmother's house we go!
That night, Bill had a surprise adventure for us and loaded us all into his truck. It was really dark out so I wasn't sure what was in store, but then I realized we were on a hunt for Christmas lights! The houses around Houston and Big Lake aren't very close together so it literally is a hunt for lights since there are very few neighborhoods. I thought we were just going to drive on the road around Big Lake when I heard that was our destination, but suddenly Bill pointed the truck down toward the frozen shore and maneuvered us right onto the ice! I'll admit, I was very nervous about driving a big truck on top of a lake. That's not something I've ever done, let alone thought of doing. I soon realized that there was an actual road plowed into the snow covering the iced-over water. It was explained to me that graters - those enormous, heavy pieces of equipment - actually make these roads so people have a more direct path in and out of their houses in the winter. I was amazed! You could see people's vehicles parked on top of the ice by their docks as a sort of makeshift parking lot...even though, six months later, their boat would be floating in that exact spot instead. So strange! Big Lake is gigantic so we drove around for quite a while searching for Christmas lights. We found quite a few and were not disappointed - some people went all-out. Pretty soon I forgot we were driving on top of freezing cold water and fish and enjoyed our ride. There were some scares - going over a temporary bridge from one lake to another that was very treacherous, avoiding a soft spot in the ice at the last minute, crossing our fingers that the ice closest to the shore wasn't "too thin" - ah! But we made it home safe and sound.
Christmas day was different but very fun. We all slept in a little then lounged around the living room drinking coffee and chatting while Mammaw made some delicious little sausage and biscuit rolls to snack on for breakfast. They eat Christmas dinner much earlier than I'm used to so there was no enormous quiche that filled you up until about 4:00! The sausage rolls were addicting, though, so I probably defeated the purpose of "eating light" when I ate two pounds of them...
I was nominated to be the present-passer-outer (how odd!) and got to dig under the tree and hand out gifts to Mammaw, Bill, & Garrett. We all got spoiled and had a great time playing with/looking at/trying on our new things.
"Dinner" was scheduled to be between 2:00 and 3:00 so Mammaw went straight to work with prepping. She had already done most of the work for the side dishes so I felt useless. Brian and Sandy, the same people that came over for Thanksgiving, showed up for dinner and it was nice to have a larger group to share the meal and Christmas mood with. After cleaning up, we sat around and chatted, read, drank some hot buttered rum and other fancy holiday drinks, and watched a little of It's A Wonderful Life. It was snowing pretty heavily - which was just what I wished for! - but that didn't stop Bill from suggesting we go cruise around on Cheri Lake on the four wheelers. Garrett, Bill, and I got all bundled up and rode the short distance down the road to the shore by a neighbor's house. Bill was in front and he drove right onto the lake! Normally I would've panicked but after our adventure the night before, I felt completely safe. I was on the back of Garrett's and we zoomed around, doing "cookies" and sliding in the snow. It was fun but super cold! The snow was really wet and the wind was freezing. I hopped of so Garrett could be a boy without his wussy wife shrieking in his ear to stop or slow down 90% of the time. We brought the dogs - Hooch and Remy - and they were having the time of their lives chasing the four wheelers and each other on the lake. Last time we brought Remy to this lake when it had first iced over and was completely transparent, she was not impressed and did anything to get back to the safety of the shore. She knew it wasn't normal! But this time, since there was a good four inches of snow on top of the ice, she had no idea and ran around like a crazy wolf dog. Walking on the snowy icy lake was pretty cool. It would've been awesome to hook up a tube behind the four wheeler, too!
We played dice and card games that night until pretty late. In fact, we ended up doing that every night until we left on Sunday because it was so fun! We played Liar's Dice (a game Garrett and I learned this summer at our friend's family's lake cabin), Gin Rummy, and BS.
The rest of the days of our long weekend consisted of sleeping in (it's so dark!), lounging, reading, eating, long walks outside, and chatting. It was nice and relaxing. I got to talk with my parents and grandparents on Christmas Day despite the bad cell service I have at their house. It was odd not being with my family on Christmas and partaking in our structured traditions (this was the first year EVER that I wasn't with them) but it was somehow ok. Change is good.
Garrett and I had an awesome weekend filled with Christmas festivities, long wintery walks, sled-hiking (I'll explain), gift wrapping, baking, and relaxing. Hard to believe we're only two days away from another great weekend!
Friday evening was my company's holiday party and since I was on the planning committee (of course I was, right?) I was particularly excited to see it all come together. I was the greeter and gift-taker which was nice because I rarely get to see everyone that works at the office since I'm hidden in the back corner. I'm 98% sure that a majority of the people I greeted had no idea I worked with them and simply thought I came with the venue as a welcomer. Should've worn my KPMG hat...
It was fun for Garrett and I to dress up together because we rarely get to. We even coordinated like the good ol' days of Sweetheart dances in high school! Garrett was thrilled (not). The event was really nice - we had two caricature artists, a made-to-order fancy pasta station, a gift exchange game, a raffle, and all within a beautiful venue. Because I got to the party earlier than most - due to me being the "welcomer" and all - I started chatting with the woman at the front desk of the clubhouse. She was an older Indian woman and very friendly. Somehow the topic of where I live came up and she said "Oh! You live right by me!" and I said "really? How funny!" She grabbed my hand and said "when we leave here? You can take me home? I can call my husband? Tell him not to come get me?" while smiling largely and shaking her head "yes" forty times. Of course my first response was "of course!" before I really thought about it and realized that meant I'd have to stay later because she probably had to shut down the whole place when the event ended. So yes, I had to stay until 11:30pm so I could take my new friend Shaheen home. Luckily she was good company.
On Saturday, Garrett and I did some major Christmas shopping. Our goal was to get it all done in one fell swoop so we didn't have to brave the crowds multiple times. You know me and crowds! We picked up a couple extra things on Sunday but are now officially done!
Also on Saturday, we met Bri and Thor at Kincaid to go on a wintery walk. She brought her boyfriend's son, Brennan, who's eleven and a reminder of how awkward I am around children. He quickly discovered how jumpy I am and took full advantage of it. He also asked me, right in the middle of a conversation we were having, to smile. So...I smiled without understanding and he said "why do you have two gold teeth?" (I have two fake teeth that were capped using a shade that doesn't match the rest of my teeth...I am VERY aware of this). Slightly saddened, I said "I do?" and he said "yeah, why are they gold?" I then quickly explained they were not gold, more of a nasty yellow, and because my small-town orthodontist wanted to ruin my life for some unknown reason. Then I ran away.
Anyway, we had so much fun gallivanting around Kincaid on Saturday that we decided to go back on Sunday! But this time we had sleds and an extra person - Bri's boyfriend, Dempsey. Basically we started off on one of the trails (there are TONS of trails throughout Kincaid) and hiked/sled our way around the park for almost four hours! We'd walk a little ways, then jump on our knees and sled down a hill, then walk to the next decline, then maybe surf on our sled (or, if you're me, try to surf and almost knee yourself in the throat when you fall). There was a big hill at the entrance and we went up and down that thing countless times. I felt like an 11 year old again! With two gold teeth!
Sunday night was for banana bread baking, present wrapping, and Christmas card writing. We love our weekends around here and luckily they arrive quickly!
I received the best thing since sliced bread in the mail on Monday - my annual Christmas advent calendar from my Aunt Tracy! I knew what it was the moment I laid eyes on it and Garrett can attest to the fact that I did an advent-calendar jig. Yes, I'm married and still get one. Be jealous.
Somehow a week has already gone by since Thanksgiving and I have yet to post anything about it!
Garrett, Remy and I headed up to Houston at around 10:00am on Thanksgiving day. The roads were surprisingly fine and we were excited to be going to Mammaw and Bill's. The snow-covered mountains took my breath away during the drive because it was the first time I'd seen them white! So beautiful.
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious - how could it not be? We had every dish you could think of and yes, I tried them all. There were ten of us total and it was nice to be somewhere, even if we didn't really know everyone. Just being in a group is comforting. It was strange not spending the day with our families, though. Last year we had one giant Thanksgiving dinner at Garrett's mom's house and it was so fun! The best part (to me, anyway) was that the power had gone out earlier in the day. Luckily Angela loves candles so my mom and I were sent to the storage room to search for all of the pillar candles and tea lights we could find. We found a huge box of them and began placing them around the house - probably about 50 candles in total. It made the rooms look so cozy and warm! Just as my mom was placing the last lit tea light onto the dining table, the power came back on! We just looked at each other and laughed then went around blowing them all out. Well, not all of them. We left plenty because they created such an awesome atmosphere.
I was doing fine all day until the after-dinner-chit-chat time began. Usually my family sits around with full bellies and tells stories or just catches up with one another after Thanksgiving dinner. We joke about the tryptophan and complain about being stuffed but still go for that second piece of pie. Last week, there was a family of four that joined us for dinner and were about the same age as my sibling and parents. They ate their dinners then huddled around one end of the long table and got to have their full-bellied tryptophan second-helping-of-pie time together and I just kind of watched. It was like sitting outside on my parents' deck watching a Thanksgiving I used to have with my family. That's when it hit me that I'm far away. I also took a slight jab to the heart when I noticed that my potato salad wasn't as big of a hit as I hoped it would be. I guess with mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, potato salad is kind of like ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE TUBERS but it never really stops me. I knew that if I had showed up at Thanksgiving with my family and they saw that giant bowl of mayo-coated starchy goodness, I would've been high-fived and hugged for a week. Luckily the salad turned out perfect for me and I ate more than my fair share.
We stayed over Thursday night but left before noon the next day. We were looking forward to spending our long weekend together and wanted to soak up some lazy time. We also managed to get Christmas lights up and our little house looks so cute! In my spare time I made some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that turned out to taste like little cakes and Garrett was overjoyed.
We took a long walk in Kincaid on Saturday and Remy got to run around off leash. The snow really transformed the park and it felt like a different place. There are tons of trails everywhere to ski, walk, snowshoe, and run on! Now if only I had some kind of gear...any kind... We found a little lake and people were ice fishing on it! So many fun things to do.
We also took a long walk by our old stomping grounds from last summer. I wanted to see the park by our old apartment when it's covered in snow. It was actually really pretty! I love how there are so many parks and trails in Anchorage. I think Garrett and I find a new one every week!
Monday was our 8 year dating anniversary! We went to dinner at a nice place downtown on Sunday then spent the morning together on Monday before he had to head to work. That's definitely a perk of my job - no big deal if I show up a little late!
Garrett has been working nights this week and it hasn't been much fun. I get up before he does, I leave for work after only getting a couple minutes to chat with him, I get home and he's gone, I hang out with Remy all night, and he gets home from work by the time I'm half-asleep. I'm hoping today's the last day of that routine!
