We spent New Year's Eve with my parents and a few other family members. The 2010 glasses I bought in New York City were a big hit.
What is that crazy woman doing? you might ask. And rightfully so, for she does appear crazy. In fact, she is twirling an old wooden noisemaker that used to be used as an air-raid siren back during WWII. It is hellishly loud. Perfect for disturbing a peaceful and quiet neighborhood who are just way too lame for the Turner family!
If you hang around the Hartley family for too long, eventually my mom is going to teach you how to ski. It has happened to all my cousins and countless childhood friends of ours. Now, it was Francis's turn. Either Francis is extremely adept at learning new sports or my mom is an excellent coach or both, but he picked it up very quickly. By the end of the day, he was taking on regular slopes!
This happened rarely. But I couldn't help but catch him while he was down. Hehe. Do you like the bright yellow snow pants? Poor guy had to borrow them from my family. What a stud.
My cousin Trevor joined us as well. I spent most of the day taking on black diamonds with him while my mom worked the bunny slope with Francis.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...video of Francis skiing! The sound he is making is a reference to the Pixar movie Cars.
While Francis and I were staying in PA, I decided to expose him to some local culture. So we hit up the All-You-Can-Eat-Wings-And-Karaoke night at a country biker bar nearby. I also called Becky, my old friend from Friday's, to join us. We hadn't seen each other in nearly five years. My cousin Trevor also came. I can't believe he's old enough to drink beer with me now!
Ever since I moved to California in 2005, Christmas has become an especially important holiday to me. It is the only time of year that my entire family (on my mom's side) is able to be together. We used to all live within an hour of each other in Southeastern Pennsylvania. My brother and I grew up spending a lot of time with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. But as time has passed, we have been scattered to Ohio, Massachusetts, California, and Virginia. I really hope as my cousins and I grow older and start to take over the planning of family gatherings that we would be as dedicated to staying close-knit as my mom and her siblings (shown above) were.
My brother got them a sweet flat-screen TV so they wouldn't have to watch baseball on the teeny TV they had before. Apparently, it was hard to even see the ball.
Unwrapping gifts by the fireside, just as we have since we moved to that house in 1992. A snowman looks on from outside.
My Dad looks like an old-timey ship captain with that beard.
Intense game of Scrabble after dinner.
Me showing evidence of being ambushed by snowballs. Francis lured me outside by claiming he felt sick to his stomach. When I went outside to check on him, my brother, my cousin, and my husband pelted me with snowballs! They only landed two before I made it back inside.
Gifts! We always start unwrapping from youngest to oldest. Here my cousin's daughter Sophie unwraps her presents on the same floor where me and my cousins were spoiled rotten for years.
Cousin Daniel opening my lame gift that I ordered too late and had to send to his house in Ohio. A paper cut-out of a shirt represented what was coming in the mail.
Aunt Nancy and my cousin's 6 month old son Noah. This was the first time we met him. I love the name they chose. Genesis 6:9 "This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." What a legacy!
Asian-Caucasian babies are the cutest!
My cousin Doug received a box of logs for a fireplace. Except he doesn't have a fireplace at his house. Stupid gift, but at least it made us laugh.
Eric and Francis go head to head in chess.
As usual, Jen hid snippets of Scripture (from the Psalms) in her cake so we would discover them like buried treasure as we ate. And of course, we sang the Happy Birthday song to Jesus, our king. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas!
Mary's Song
Winter Sunset
The Star
The Nativity
The Lamb
The Holy Family
The Annuciation (after Dore)
Pine Smell
NY Christmas
No Vacancy
Immanuel
Darkness Fell
Christmas Tree
Christmas Puppy
In Rememberance of Me
In keeping with the grand tradition of anniversaries past, Francis set up a surprise get-away for us! The silent road ahead was my only hint as to what we would be doing that weekend, as well as the fact that Francis had said I didn't need to bring dressy shoes. Hmmm? What could he be up to?
We headed northeast past Sacramento. Were we going to Tahoe? To Reno? The trees by the side of the freeway were gorgeous shades of red and orange. This photo does not do it justice.
It turned out Francis had planned a trip to Apple Hill! Apple Hill is a touristy collection of orchards in Placerville, CA. It is to apples what Napa is to grapes. The orchards sell all sorts of apple-related products as well as fun, autumn-themed activities.
Francis was wise and brought lunch for us. The food sold there was super expensive. We ate Trader Joe's salads and waved away the bees. I'm not sure why he packed Trader Joe's sliced apples though. There were plenty of apples there.
Apple Hill is a sugar addict's dream come true. So naturally, I was in heaven. Glass display case after display case filled with candy apples of all sorts. Homemade fudge, local honey, apples of varities we had never heard of (our favorite unusual variety was called Winesap), apple butter, apple syrup, apple salsa, apple pie, apple cake, apple dumplings, apple donuts, apple beer, apple wine, apple cider, apple juice. It was incredible!
Lots and lots of families with children visit for the pumpkin patches, hay bale mazes, and pony rides. Every orchard we visited was packed with people.
Vendors set up shop at the orchards and sell completely useless items like tie die shirts, hemp jewelry, unoriginal art, hand-knit pot holders, rubber band guns, glass trinkets, stuffed animal pillows, sushi-making kits, and those signs with catchy phrases that make you laugh for like one second. Actually, the rubber band guns were pretty awesome. If Cru and Hudson were allowed to have guns, we would have gotten them one.
Here I am, about to indulge in apple pie a la mode. Ahhhh...
Oh yeah...
Relaxing in the sun after a stressful week.
This photo has a history. Francis taste-tested and eventually purchased a super spicy Vidalia Onion and Jalapeno hot sauce. He was excited about it. It was tasty. After he purchased it, I put it into my purse for safe keeping. Then I wanted to try on a pretty princess hat. Then I wanted him to take a picture of me in the pretty princess hat. Then I pulled the camera out of my purse. Then the Vidalia Onion and Jalapeno hot sauce fell and broke on the ground. Then he took this photo of me feeling bad about being, once again, the clumsiest person on earth.
I needed an apple beer after that one. Apple beer is basically just 1/4 apple cider to 3/4 regular beer. Pretty golden color.
Contemplating two years of marriage, honey?
You can see the rolling foothills of the Sierras behind us. And you can also see a trout "pond" that they stock with poor captive fish and rent fishing rods so people can pluck the poor guys out of the teeny pond with minimal sportsmanship.
Our last stop of the day was a local brewery. You can grab a beer at the bar inside and then hang out on the lawn to drink it. Francis was of course attracted to the only game available. It was a version of horseshoes with beanbags.
A fiery sunset was our nightcap. We stayed at a renovated Holiday Inn in Rancho Cordova that was super nice and yet inexpensive.
The next afternoon, we had a sumptuous meal of Thai food in Sacramento. The owners had had a business in Daly City for twenty years, but they decided to pack up and move to Sacramento in 2005 at the height of the real estate boom there. They were probably in search of a larger home and wanted to cash in on the growing communities there. Unfortunately, Sacramento was hit hard by the bust. It seems like their business is still thriving however. The food was incredible!
We ordered egg rolls and pad thai, but my favorite dish was vegetarian sour coconut milk soup that arrived in a flaming hot pot with fire shooting out of the middle.
Sugary sweet Thai tea made with condensed milk. Thai people like to do flavors to the extreme: super spicy, super sweet, or super sour.
