Jason and I have slowly been amassing Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Lego sets over the last couple of years. As foretold, the mightily magnificence of these sets remained concealed in their boxes until the ring saw its opportunity to seize the greater part of our living room. Finally, this December, the time had come.
We thought the release of the latest Hobbit movie a befitting occasion to create Middle-earth out of building blocks so we devoted a couple of afternoons to this epic quest and put together 4564 pieces of Tolkien’s fantastical land. This was my first experience constructing Legos and I have to say that it was more fun than I thought it would be. When you’re building a set you notice details missed by the uninvolved observer and you get the thrill of making something coherent out of nonsensical bits. Plus, forming Weathertop’s stairs or Bilbo’s door is reward enough for the incorrigible nerd. (Yes, I am incorrigible, obviously.)
I have faced the enemy’s forces of paint and plastic and I have pushed them together with my own hands of skin. One Rachel ruled them all! (I suppose Jason was sort of involved too.)
Jason and I throw a Christmas party every year. How many parties can one couple possibly host you ask? Regardless of the wisdom, for this couple that number is apparently a lot. Our holiday shindig usually involves a meal, white elephant gift exchange and the bearing of ugly Christmas sweaters and moustaches. This time, however, we decided to add another layer of seasonal wistfulness to the festivities.
Jason and I opted to rent a cabin near the Sundance Resort for our get-together and the entire corresponding weekend. We invited about twenty friends to enjoy the restful beauty and holiday aura of this 4400 sq. ft. rustic hideaway surrounded by hillsides of thick forest dressed in white.
For the party portion of this excursion we provided everything from soothing soup to cozy hot chocolate so that the lucky invited could warm and expand their innards as they chatted around a welcoming fire. There were lively games of pool and Dance Central following dinner but, for most, the evening was primarily spent simply enjoying the grub, company and nostalgic setting.
Although everyone was invited to linger for the weekend, the bulk of our friends left late that night after the revelries. (Seriously people, you’re offered a free stay at a giant cabin and you don’t take advantage of it?) Adam, Abigail, Drew, Simone, Tom and Aimee all stuck around though for a couple days of serene relaxation. After the party-goers departed, we eight played Saboteur until the wee hours of the morning and awoke the next day to oversized flakes of snow peacefully drifting down around us as if we were in the middle of some traveler’s globe trinket. The flurries didn’t let up the entire day; about 22 inches fell within 24 hours. I guess someone kept shaking that watery orb.
We all jumped in the patio’s hot tub that afternoon while fluffy powder silently built up on our heads and melted into tiny icicles in our hair. Honestly, it was a little magical. Later, after more gaming, we bundled up and walked down the buried mountain roads to eat dinner at Sundance’s Foundry Grill. It was a fun adventure and quite filling.
More board games were played, books read and stitches knitted that night and then, the next morning, the boys set about the laborious task of digging our frostily interred cars out so we could head home.
Our party and weekend were quite a success, if I do say so myself. Between the boisterous crackle of wood burning in an inviting fireplace, the glittering shavings of snow noiselessly floating down and the happy chatter of friends forgetting their to-dos, the holidays felt very close at hand in that comfy cabin.
Sick of the twenty-something temps that have put a freeze on Utah? Me too. That’s why I was extremely excited to leave them for Disneyland and a little 70+ bliss a couple of weeks ago.
Jason’s company graciously pays for all of their employees, and their families, to travel to Disneyland every December. The timing of that trip this year couldn’t have been better. As a snowstorm was dumping ten inches of powdery mayhem in Utah we were frolicking in shorts and t-shirts in nearly 80-degree weather. It was glorious!
Since Jason works with our friends Adam and Jeremy, their company’s Disneyland outing is typically accompanied by a lot of chuckling, screaming and strolling with buddies. We didn’t spend every second with our small gang of chums but we hung out with them plenty.
I made it a point this time to sample as many of the tasty treats afforded by the park as possible. Surprisingly, there are some great food options available if you know where to look. I gobbled all things delicious including: hand-dipped ice cream bars, asparagus-bacon skewers, pineapple whips and hand-battered corndogs. (Yes, I made an exception to my no-hotdog policy.) Along with all that fabulous junk, Jason and I also took in the fancy fare at Napa Rose and the Blue Bayou. Although we consumed a lot of yum and then some, I believe the Blue Bayou provided our best meal experience. Nibbling spicy grub with my spicy man beneath the glow of abundant twinkle-lights suspended from a serene faux-sky was far more romantic than the setting’s fakeness might suggest.
Disneyland is always impressive but Christmastime adds an extra layer of magic to the park. Between the enormous sparkling tree, the numerous glittering wreaths strung across Main Street, the occasional showering of bubble “snowflakes” and the nightly fizzing of Christmas fireworks, Disneyland is saturated with nostalgia during the holidays. We rode all of our favorite rides plus we took some time to appreciate the seasonal alterations to the Jingle Cruise, “it’s a small world” and the Haunted Mansion.
Disneyland in December, when the sunshine is warm, the food jolly and the decorations bright, might possibly deserve to be called the happiest place on earth.
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