2007 Draws to a Close, Finally

SKBK hasn't found much time for blogging in the past month, and there is much to catch you all up on ...

With our beautiful Christmas tree as a backdrop, Graham and I hosted the most fun Game Night ever on December 21st. Our friends Kate and Melissa were back from Boulder for the holidays, reuniting our original Game Night Six ... and almost all of the more recent additions to the clan came, too. We ate yummy appetizers, drank Hot Buttered Rum (thank you for the recipe, Kristen), played Catch Phrase and laughed harder (and louder) than I have in a very long time. Most memorable moments: Kelly realizing we knew less about the US Constitution than his middle school students, and me trying to get my team to say the words "Sex Change" without mentioning our transgendered friend sitting a couple of seats away on the couch.

On the 23rd, G and I started our long holiday journey to the Midwest. Due to bad weather in Chicago (duh), our plane was so late leaving Seattle that, when we finally got to O'Hare, all the flights to madison--as well as all the Van Galder buses--had left for the night. It was probably too much to hope for that there'd be any rental cars available at America's busiest airport in the wee hours of Christmas Eve morning, but we tried in desperation anyways, before retiring to a nearby hotel for a deep dish pizza and a few hours sleep. So, for the second year in a row, Graham and I spent the night in a Chicago hotel eating pizza. (We missed you, Emily.)

ANYHOW, we finally made it to Madison (on the bus, since we couldn't get a confirmed spot on a flight until 3pm) around 10:30am. We went right to Mom's house for the annual Christmas Cookie decorating party with all the grandkids (and SJB). Later that night, we filled an entire pew with all Mom's kids and (almost) all the grandkids at FUMC for the candlelight service. Then G and I headed out to Middleton for appetizers and desserts with my other parents and siblings. It was so fun watching Maya explore her new rice table on Christmas morning!

On the 26th, we drove down to Wilmette to join my mom in visiting Grandma Lucile (94), Grandpa Bob (97) and Aunt Jan. We had a lovely time talking politics (!) before heading to our hotel, where we discovered that I had been named "Guest of the Day." In addition to having my name prominently displayed in the hotel lobby, this also meant we received a free room upgrade, free drinks (if the bar had been open) free dinner (if the restaurant had been open) and free breakfast (if we hadn't slept through it). We shared cucumber sandwiches with my grandparents for lunch on the 27th, and then drove back to Madison in time for pizza from Roman Candle with Pete, Susanne, my niece Cassie and my 4-month-old Great Nephew Jalen.

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of trips back and forth between various family members' houses and notable Madison establishments. We spent lots of time holding Baby Jalen (whose hair is a "fro-hawk," according to his doting "Grandpappy" Pete), playing games (Killer Bunnies, Wise & Otherwise, Wii Tennis and Rayman's Raving Rabbids 2), doing communal puzzles and hanging out in Dad & Susan's hot tub (you haven't lived until you've relaxed in an outdoor hot tub in 20-degree weather surrounded by snow).

Among our other stops were the Children's Museum (where Allison, Maya, Lucy, Jalen, Graham & I were joined by my college friend Angie and her kids Lexie & Brendan), Rocky's, Michael's, Big Mike's (not Milio's), The Great Dane, Paisan's (finally!), Kohl's (mom's traditional Christmas gift to Graham), Bahn Thai (for our traditional Thai Food Christmas Celebration w/ my brothers & families) and Sophia's (for brunch with Ru & Sara). Hanging out with family always makes me smile, but as Madison had a record snowfall in December, it's safe to say I was grinning from ear to ear for the entire week!

We flew back to Seattle (completely uneventfully this time) on New Year's Eve and rang in 2008 by lounging on the couch and watching television. As per usual, Graham had to wake me up at midnight to share a glass of champagne. :)

A 2008-to-date review is coming soon, but for now you can amuse yourselves by clicking on any of the pics above to see more photos from our trip. (You'll need a Snapfish account--and I haven't done any editing or labels yet--but they're there.)