The Holidays

This year it was back to our old holiday travel routine - a few days in OKC and a week in Mexico and then ringing in the new year on a plane - only this year we had our newest little travel buddy along for the ride. She was quite a trooper - a good little traveler.

Little Christmas Munchkin

Duendecita de Navidad

But before we left home we had a little bit of Christmas on our own, including a Christmas Tree! With a ton of generous help from Christy and Armando, I was able to pick up my native (but invasive!) eastern red cedar (from Laura at Blue Door Farm) at Badseed market. I do love a free-spirited Christmas Tree; Sergio calls it a Christmas Bush.

The Christmas "Bush"

Another little bit of Christmas, new this year - I finally made it back to the Messiah Singalong at church. I haven't been in 6 years, but I've wanted to go back all this while. So while Jujube hung out with her dad and her tio Armando and learned all about Pink Floyd, Mommy spent three lovely hours trying to remember all the alto parts from Freshman Choir in college. The singalong is a great Christmas tradition and I hope I can go next year.

Christmas candles with a bowl of torn construction paper Christmas ornaments that my brother and I made when we were kids.

our lil flower

A few days before Christmas, we crammed our luggage full of gifts and flew off, first to OKC, then to Mexico. I'm afraid there was no white Christmas for us this year - not like last year's unbelievable weather. But there were other treats to be had this year - getting to see family (quality time with Mema, Jujube getting to finally meet her Uncle Danny) and some long-awaited edible treats, too (tacos and quesadillas and atole and ponche).

eating her hands at Honey and Papa's

Julia's "boot" in Mexico (literal translation for the Spanish word for stocking)

And at the end of the whole trip, we even made it home in time to go to Spin! Neapolitan Pizza - one of the only places open on New Years Day! - to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.