Cousin Wedding #4

We made the drive to Utah for another wedding--our 4th one for Daddy-o's nieces and nephews in 16 months, 3rd one in Utah.

The roads were clear, but there was still a lot of snow from the last storms, which was beautiful through the Sierras.

It's a long drive, and we've done it a lot lately. We filled a chunk of the time playing a game with all of Bug's Spotify lists (just because he couldn't be with us didn't mean we didn't get to include him, haha.) I played songs from his different lists and Bean had to guess what the playlist was called. She's the only one familiar enough with his lists to have an idea of what he named them all, but she was pretty good at it. And she and Daddy-o are both excellent at knowing the song name and artist within the first few seconds. It helped the long drive across Nevada go by a little quicker.

And the next day, we got to celebrate the happy couple. They got married in the Provo City Center Temple in the morning, and it was COLD. We're not used to winter like this, but luckily the sun felt good and we didn't have to wait too long for them to come out.

And then we got to move indoors.

They had a family luncheon, and then the reception that night, in the ballroom in the Provo Library, which is a gorgeous building and such a great spot for a celebrations.

So happy for these two!

These two cousins have loved all these weddings. Peanut didn't remember ever going to a wedding until the first one last September, but he's a pro now! 

They get up to all sorts of shenanigans, playing hide and seek in the venues, dancing, eating way too many sweets. It's fun.

We love getting to interact with all of these kids.

They all have so much fun.

And this time, we had a new great-niece to meet! 

The first couple to get married last September now has a sweet little girl in their new family. She's precious and it's really fun to see our extended family expanding with new spouses and kids.

And she has a lot of dotting aunts!

More Friends

We were so happy that the Prussos, who used to live down the street from us, came back to the Bay Area for Christmas this year. We got to have dinner with them and our other friends, the Cheneys, on Sunday, before we left for Utah the next morning. It's been a busy week or two of parties, family, celebrations, and SO MUCH FOOD, but it's so fun to spend time with all the people we love over the holidays. We've both hosted and attended several parties or gatherings this past month or so and it just feels like non-stop fun.

Christmas 2025

It felt a little weird only setting up gifts for 2 kids (and 4 adults--real adults, haha) this year. It also felt easier than normal, maybe because we didn't have any crazy big gifts that we had to manage.

But the gifts they got went over big. Peanut got a starter D & D kit--with modules, dice, books, and I don't know what else. After several years of having at least one kid playing, I still don't quite understand D & D.

And Bean was really happy with all of her new rock climbing gear, including these new shoes. She now has a harness, carabineers, and rope, so she's ready to go climb outdoors! 

We took a break midmorning for cinnamon rolls and quiches. For some reason, our Christmas mornings seem to take longer and longer each year. Maybe breakfast is less rushed, or the kids want to really examine each gift.

This year we had added breaks for calls with Bug. He called us first in the morning for a few minutes before he was headed into his Christmas party for the missionaries. He tried to call us from the party a little later, but it was too loud and we couldn't hear, so we told him to go have fun and call us that evening.

So we got to talk to him a third time later in the day. It sounded like he had a good Christmas, even if it didn't feel quite normal. He and his companion had gotten a basket of food and treats from their ward at a party a couple of days earlier, and so he stuffed a few of the goodies in his companion's stocking for that morning, which is not a tradition in Brazil, but he thought it would be fun to share one of his Christmas traditions with him. He's enjoyed seeing what the holidays are like down there.

All in all, it was a good Christmas, if a little weird not having Bug with us in person.

 

Sneaking in Some Sanity Time

It may be one of the busiest times of the year, with parties and friends and family, but it's been really nice to make time for some slower, quieter times., too.

While Peanut was hiking in Big Basin with his Ranger Explorers program one Saturday, Daddy-o and I signed up for a day of bird watching and nature journaling with John Muir Laws, who is one of my favorite naturalist people. I feel like we're pretty lucky that he lives in the Bay Area and there are occasional events that we can join with him.

And one of the best parts was spending a few hours with a bunch of other nature enthusiasts. We spent the morning at the Cosumnes River Preserve drawing ducks and other water birds, and then met up for a delicious potluck lunch (seriously, there was so much good food!) After lunch, someone from the Blue Point conservation group talked with us about bird migration and we shared our nature journals from the day.

And then it was on to the main event--driving out to where the Sandhill Cranes hang out in the winter. The feed in the fields in the delta area all day and then fly in to the flooded areas for the night. The fly in itself is supposed to be amazing, and I hope to see it soon, but it was a really cold day and after hours outside, we were so cold that we really didn't want to wait for an extra hour. But it was a really fun day and we'll be back for more cranes.

The next week I headed to the redwoods for a hike with a friend. I wanted to scout it out for one of my upcoming Nature Explorers groups, and also just really wanted to see some mushrooms.

We got lucky and found a couple of rough skinned newts, too.

And a bunch of banana slugs, of course.

And mushrooms!

This area has always been good in the winter, and it looks like we're going to get a lot of rain, so I think we should be good for my scheduled hike in a few weeks.

I love finding them as they are emerging. 

And the little tiny ones are always some of my favorites.

It was an excellent way to spend one of the last days of school. 

I'm sure there were plenty of other things I "should" have been doing, but this was more fun for sure.

And Daddy-o and I also went to the Oakland temple one morning. It takes a little scheduling to fit it in so we can make sure Peanut gets to seminary and Daddy-o can still get to work for a chunk of the day, but it was a nice start to the day.

We got there almost early enough to enjoy the Christmas lights that are all over the grounds. I think we'll make it back with family one evening.

As much as I enjoy a lot of the louder, crazier parts of Christmas, and all the time with family and friends, I also really appreciate the time that I get in nature and to actually reflect on what it is we're celebrating this season.

Winter Begins

Another year of celebrating the solstice with friends. We made some adjustments because it was supposed to rain all day and evening, and we had invited more people than ever. Moved the fire to the carport area, which ended up not being a great idea since the smoke just couldn't clear out as well, so for most of the evening, there were only a few people willing to sit around out there. And then, of course it didn't even rain. But we got everyone out there for the burning of the goat (some friends have really latched on to the idea this being rooted in pagan tradition and think it's fun to make a paper/cardboard goat to burn, haha.) This year, we also wrote down something we want to let go of in the new season and burned those papers at the same time.

And then, there was all the game playing and eating. We did a baked potato bar for dinner, with salads and bread, and had way too much sugar as always.

It was a beautiful evening--the cloud cover has kept our temperatures so mild the past couple of days, which is really welcome after weeks of colder than normal temps. Made the time we were sitting around outside much more enoyable than normal (and really made me regret not having the fire in the backyard because that's usually the central space for everyone and this year it just felt a little more out of the way.)

We even had carolers who came with a choreographed dance routine! Two of the girls are from a family that is usually at our solstice party, but they had a family party conflict this year, so we appreciated that they were able to drop by for a few minutes later in the evening. And appreciated how much work they'd put into their caroling--it was more fun than the typical caroling visits.

And now, we start moving towards more light, more sun. The longest night is over.

Holidays are Coming

We kicked off the Christmas season with our church dinner which had a Dickens theme. 

Daddy-o dressed up and sang with the carolers. 

He can rock a top hat for sure!

Decorating at home has been a slow process. We came home from Thanksgiving a little under the weather (Daddy-o was still feeling pretty badly, Peanut and I were on the mend) and so we didn't get much done the first few days. And then, Peanut and I got hit with a SECOND cold before I was 100%, so it's been a sluggish couple of weeks getting things done. But we finally have the tree done and our village set up. It makes it feel a little more Christmasy. Now to finish shopping!

Other winter going-ons: The winter birds are back in Springtown. I went for a cold walk one afternoon--it's been colder than normal which makes it hard to find a good time of day to get outside, especially since I've had a cough. 

But I'm glad I made it out because along with some of the usual suspects (like egrets and mallards), I found a few other birds, including a goose I've never seen before (the Greater White-fronted Goose).

And there were a couple of these American Wigeons there, too, which I haven't seen in that location. I love how there are different birds from week to week, year to year.

And this week was my science escape room for my Chemistry classes. The kids LOVE these challenges and always surprise me with what things they figure out so quickly, and what things seem to stump them. They showed some recollection of the things we've learned this semester which always makes me happy--I like to know that at least some of them are picking up on some it!

And now, I've got one more hike and then I'm on winter break for 4 weeks! Good thing because I'm feeling a little behind after being under the weather for so long.

Trying to Get Back Into Things

Just because we're home doesn't mean I had to give up the sunsets and we had one that was on fire the other night!

Transition home has been a little much. Daddy-o got my cold by the end of the week, so we've both been dealing with rough nights where we can't sleep great because of congestion and he's still in the worst of it all. I've had a lot of catch up to do with work because I didn't actually get to any of the planning I was going to do while we were gone and still had 2 more weeks of science to plan, as well as getting everything set up with my class rosters for next semester. Add in the normal stuff to get our house running again and decorated for Christmas and it's been quite the week!