Christmas Goodness

For Christmas this year, Dad made us all his (soon to be traditional) Empanadas:

There is a great deal of craftsmanship that goes into these.

It takes two days.

And each individual empanada is made with love.

Aren't they cute??

Empanadas take forever... So here are some random pretty Christmas shots:

And the fabulous gingerbread houses!

This one is mine.

Ansil's had way more delicious candy and therefore, unfortunately, had already been attacked by the time I got around to photos.

Della, here is the tree, as requested :)

And Carl the wooden indian, decked out in his holiday best.

And more pretty ornaments...

So how about that?? We're still missing any nativity photos (that was the big gift this year), but getting closer by the day...

Love to you all!

Tree Day 2012

Pictures! Yes, truly, pictures!

As it turns out, the internet at my parents' house is far more compatible with my persnickety laptop than our crazy system in Etown and so, yes indeed, I present to you an actual blog post.

First, a photo.

Here's my dashing young stud of a husband, fabulously attired for the most important outing of our year:

You see, my parents had been away in New Zealand until just before Christmas (attending my brother's college graduation -- Congratulations, Peter!), and so were unable to attend to any of the usual Christmas traditions until they returned home on the 22nd.

Thus, we found ourselves venturing forth on the very last possible day to cut down a tree.

It being, as previously mentioned, the very last possible day, there wasn't exactly a huge crowd.

Or a ton of selection.

But hey, the weather was nice and I got some fun pictures.

Some very fun pictures.

Ansil enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Perhaps a little too thoroughly.

Some trees were just a little scrawny.

But others were simply majestic.

(And, as it turns out, crooked beyond all reason.)

But mostly, majestic.

So my handsome man got busy sawing away.

And he sawed some more...

And very sweetly paused in his labors for a glamour shot.

And so, as I stood as far away from all the actual manual labor as possible, Mom pitched in to make sure Ansil didn't end up squashed under a 9 foot majestic scotch pine.

She is a very thoughtful lady, my mother.

Victory!

Mom is so darn cute.

While waiting for the tractor to come pick us up, we meditated on the grandeur of our selection while recognizing the valiant efforts of a few surrounding Future Christmas Trees.

These babies don't even know it yet, but they are the luckiest trees alive.

Aha! The tractor. The nice owner even thought to pause and pose for my camera without any coaxing whatsoever!

The joyous ride back.

Down to business.

Ansil had apparently never seen (or noticed) a tree shaker.

He was pretty impressed.

And we even got to use Ansil's fabulous pickup to carry our treasure home.

So there you have it.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to one and all!

Tradition

In the interest of starting/continuing a tradition/pretending that our life is in any way stable enough to even have traditions, Ansil and I went back to Huber's for the second (!) year in a row. They pretty much have a U-pick for every season and every produce, but July is the best because July is for...

PEACHES!

My personal favorite part is the snazzy little tractor ride out there.

Who is that handsome young stud peering through the leaves?

Ah. I know him!

(Stylish new hair flip courtesy of yours truly ;) 

We had plenty of loot.

Aren't they beautiful??

Honeymoon -- Day 9

Ansil here (again).

Lucky you ;)

So on Thursday we strapped our boots up really tight (or at least laced up our Asics), and set off to (willingly) soar across the jungles and woods of Kauai on the zippingest, zippiest adventure of them all.   We have photographic AND video evidence!

On the trail up the mountain, riding in decommissioned European troop carriers with (would you believe it) LESS padding than current American troop carriers!

Gearing up. It's really high up.

And my lovely wife! Doesn't she look professional?

The bleached-hair, sun-tanned, cool lingo-slinging Zipline guides were kind enough to take our picture on top of the mountain.

Ready to rock!

The toad seemed happy where he was. He would miss out!!

It was very beautiful. 

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Last one!

By the end of the zipline (seven of them, to be precise), Danielle was ready to zip another seven!

Awkward suits, to say the least. I have BRUISES.

Cool bamboo trees at the end of the the hike. 

Danielle's couple self-portrait skills are legendary!

Danielle says it's artsy. For a one-eyed man, I guess she's right!

........

And now...

The Moment For Which You Have All Been Waiting....