Login

‘Tis the Season

This Christmas followed a very similar pattern to those that have come before. Jason and I spent a whole lot of time with family and reserved a bit to ourselves. We lavished each other with more gifts than we probably should have with no regrets. We ate a few too many cookies but not enough to grow our rumps. We found delight in the wonders of the season and joy in our togetherness. It was Christmas as it should be though I wouldn’t have complained if it had been a little less busy.

Peeking is not permitted in the Sabin household but shaking is encouraged.
Jason surprised me with holiday flowers a few days before Christmas. They were a cheery addition to our seasonal decor. And yes, I do have the best husband in the universe.

My family’s Christmas Eve tradition when I was growing up was ordering pizza and driving around to look at Christmas lights. I loved this when I was a kid. This year my sister was feeling nostalgic for those Christmas Eves gone by so at the last minute my kinfolk, or those that live in these parts, got together for a few hours on that magical night. We gorged ourselves on pizza and then settled in contentedly for the evening’s entertainment: holiday music performed by my sister’s family and the Christmas story read by my dad.

The Marshalls treated us to a number of Christmas tunes.
Isabelle was definitely old enough this year to understand the present concept.

Christmas morning Jason and I refused to see anyone but ourselves. We made healthy black bean breakfast burritos and opened gifts to each other. After that leisurely start we jumped on the family fast-track. We opened gifts with the Sabins and then hit present time at my family’s. At both places, when the fierce gift giving had subsided, heaps of disemboweled wrapping paper reached as far as the eye could see. With the constant exposure to such graphic displays, it’s no wonder that I have become desensitized to the suffering of gift wrap.

Christmas, like everything else, is always goofy with the Sabins.
Wes loves Legos and construction vehicles so the dump truck Lego set we gave him was a hit.

Our Christmas this year was a bit more hectic than we would have liked but not as hectic as some previous Christmases have been. Nonstop family exposure is part of the seasonal package and we have a lot of family to expose so I doubt Jason and I will ever get as mellow of a Christmas as we desire. While a relaxing Christmas Day remains one of our unlived fantasies, Jason and I are grateful for the nearness of so many relatives. Without them our Christmas would be peaceful but our lives would be lacking. Here’s to another season celebrated like crazy!

Rachel January 9, 2013 No Comments

Hands to Heads

Last February I decided to undertake a task that Jason believed was doomed to failure: knitting beanies for my mom, all of my sisters, and my sisters-in-law for Christmas. Unlike my doubting husband, I was convinced that this plan was accomplishable so shortly after the idea popped into my head I acquired supplies and commenced with the project.

Over the last 10 months I have leisurely worked my way through these hats as Jason and I have worked our way through movies. I finished the last cap around Thanksgiving in plenty of time to wrap them all up for Christmas. Jason should have known better than to question my ability to complete any job I set my mind to; I am, after all, one of the most stubborn people on the planet.

Although a long-term project, knitting beanies was a relaxing one.

Although not all of my family was present at my parents’ house on Christmas day, I gave my hatwears to those that were in attendance anyway. My headgoods appeared to be a hit. Drew seemed a little sad that he didn’t get one though. Sorry Drew, brothers just don’t deserve such niceties.

I made each hat different with the recipient in mind.

I enjoyed creating these comfy caps for the ladies in my family and was pleased that they came together at ever increasing speeds; Jason was shocked at how quickly I was able to construct them by the end. Regardless of my knitting rapidity, some might question the logic of spending any amount of time assembling an item you could just buy in a store for less dough. It’s true that baby alpaca hair yarn is not cheap and thus purchasing beanies would have been more economical for me than knitting them but nothing’s as cozy as a handmade hat. That extra warmth no doubt comes from the knowledge that someone decided you were worth unnecessary effort. You can’t help but feel cherished wearing a cap that’s got a little of the maker’s love in every stitch.

Rachel January 6, 2013 No Comments

Christmas the Midway Way

Jason and I try to make it to our timeshare in Midway once every winter. Sometimes it doesn’t happen but this year it did. Just a couple days before Christmas we took a break from the holiday hassles to enjoy the crunch of man-made snow under speeding inner tubes and the repose of an endless night of board games.

Jason and I never have to be convinced of the merits of going downhill fast.
Tubing entertained Isabelle for about an hour and a half and then she was no longer amused.

In keeping with tradition, we invited my brother’s family to join us on this outing. We started our getaway with an afternoon of sledding on the slopes of Soldier Hollow. Tubing went over far better with Drew’s kids this time than it did a couple of years back. Instead of disliking any rapidity, Isabelle alternated between demanding and detesting swiftness. Although she couldn’t decide if she wanted to go faster or slower, she handled the mountain mayhem relatively well. Jadon, the family chicken, surprisingly wasn’t intimidated by the hill this time; he particularly enjoyed racing down it. Even though he repeatedly insisted that his dad was the fastest sledder, experience proved otherwise. Drew failed to win any of our descent contests. Jadon eventually got wise and requested Jason as his racing partner, which resulted in an anticipated victory.

Jadon loved putting crusty chunks of snow in our inner tubes.
There’s never a dull moment with this boy.

After tubing we ate a yummy dinner at the Spin Café in Heber. This joint doesn’t look too impressive from the outside but the inside is cozy and the food is tasty. My favorite part of the meal was the candy cane chocolate gelato I ordered for dessert. The Spin Café makes their fantastic gelato in-house and I made a particularly excellent decision when I chose the candy cane flavor. Scrumptious!

Jadon thought getting served root beer in a cowboy boot was the height of sophistication.
We played a variety of games until 2:00 AM. Bananagrams turned out to be a little too extreme for Andrew. He had a wee meltdown during one round.

A night of intense board gaming later our quick trip was over. It was nice taking a breather from the all-consuming Christmas craziness. In just 24 hours we slid, gobbled, and gamed. Did I mention I lost at Sticheln? Such is the might of the mini-vacation!

Rachel January 2, 2013 No Comments
 Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments
Blogroll