Back in action!

It has been a wild and crazy ride the past few months. We left off with a promise to post a pic of Baz's Halloween costume...

Better late than never? ;) Okay, my apologies. I have a whole pile of excuses, surely none of which anyone is interested in. On an up note: We moved! Loved the coast, but opportunities for work are slim to none in the off season (basically October through May) and Ben is ready to pursue some educational goals. We settled inland about 50 miles in a tiny town called Philomath. We are literally on the border of Corvallis, so best of both small town and college town worlds. Oh! Plus, Corvallis is so much like the positive parts of Davis that we are truly feeling at home here. Pics of the new place to come in the next few weeks!

Naturally, we couldn't stay away from the coast for long. We ventured on over to Newport last night for their community holiday celebration. We slipped into our old neighborhood haunt Savory Cafe and enjoyed ridiculously good pizza & salad before heading on over to the bay for the lighted boat parade. I had a tough time capturing photos of the lighted boats. Don't be fooled... they weren't whizzing by or anything. I was just verrrrry cold and shakey. Also, not sure if 7 boats counts as a parade... but it truly was a sweet idea and fun to warm our hands with hot beverages while we braved the crisp air.

Then, the meat of our visit! Holiday evening visit to Oregon Coast Aquarium! We arrived early and were some of the first in line which meant an hour long wait for the doors to open and one crazy wild Baz running around and talking to anyone who would listen.

Luckily, I was able to get him to stand still long enough to ensure that his photos weren't whizzy like the poor lighted boats' were.

Also, there is a RAD (and maybe a little sad) art display currently at the aquarium. All materials used are found objects/garbage from local beaches. This fish was incredible!

The ceiling to floor jellyfish is made entirely of plastic bottles! There was even a giant coral reef modeled out of styrofoam!

And then there was Santa! Baz climbed up and asked immediately for a blue wooden race car, much to my surprise. Now it is all he talks about. Thank goodness Mama was able to find one and let Santa know which one to bring for Solstice. ;) Honestly, Baz was so thrilled with the candy cane that I think he doesn't much care what Santa brings so long as he leaves behind some candy canes.

We had a good giggle over these fish sculptures getting into the holiday spirit:

Wondering why we had to be at the aquarium so early? Ben was part of the entertainment! He wanted to be a part of the caroling put on by his barbershop chorus, The Coastalaires. Since we moved he has been missing meeting with his guys weekly, but he still plans to study the music and meet back with them for performances until he can find a group he gels with in the valley.

Baz loved watching Daddy sing and wanted to join in, but he had a mouthful of candy cane, so he listened with quiet intent.

...and occasionally Baz would get the attention of the chorus and elicit some cheer from them.

It was a good time and a great kickoff to our holiday season. Looking forward to some snuggles by the fire, much hot cocoa & our annual Christmas Day enchilada feast. Ooooh! And a certain little one's approaching birthday (it's a hot topic in our house right now that he is not going to let us forget). We hope you are all enjoying the season as the dark approaches the light. May good cheer and gentleness fill you and may your December be the merriest!

Holiday snapshots: Zoolights!

Our little holiday season began with a week long visit from Ben's mama, Myrna, who hails from SoCal. We spent a whole lot of time lounging around the house, drinking coffee & chatting away the way-too-early o'clock in the morning hours and just enjoying our time together. We *did* get out of the house long enough to shop a bit and to take an evening walk around the zoo to experience Zoolights! We had so much fun enjoying the lights that we barely noticed our frozen noses in the frigid weather (It was in the teens!). This just might be the makings of a yearly tradition:

See what I mean? Fun *&* magical! Ben and Myrna were all smiles:

...and so were Ben and I:

We were astonished when we realized that we never got a photo of the 3 of us together this season... so much for a holiday photo. Looks like we will have to make use of the camera timer for once. Here is the continuation of the fam photo from above:

Man, those flashes sure are bright! The lights were plentiful and I only have room for so many pix. In addition to the animal light sculptures, many of the trees were covered in varying colors of lights and adorned with snowflakes, ornaments and stars. A little taste of the fantastically lit winter trees:

And any trip to the zoo would not be complete without a whirl around the good old carousel. Sebastian has decided that the up and down animal riding is just not okay, so we opted for a bench seat. I never ever thought I would have to sit on the bench seat, but it was surprisingly fun. I guess the lesson is that anything I do with Sebastian ends up being fun. It's blurry, but it captures the movement and joy:

We celebrated a birthday just days after this, another special visitor arrived and we had Christmas a few days later, so there are so many more photos to come. Can't wait to share! Hope you all enjoyed a holiday as magical as ours!

All is well: Celebrate!!!

It has been a lonnnnnng few weeks, yes ma'am/siree. I do declare: We are all *finally* well! We spent a whole lot of time getting over this cold and subsequently staying indoors since Thanksgiving. All is well. The tree is up:

The best part about the tree? It is 6 & a half feet tall, pre-lit and it was free (a dumpster dive rescue that was passed on to us... Thanks Gray family!) . We price compared at Target and Home Depot. Holy cow! Who knew that these things went for close to 200 dollars?!?!? Like I said: free! Free is good. 2 Strands of lights were dead and were replaced for 5 bux. Sweet deal! Sebastian LOVES to undecorate and redecorate the tree daily.

Other indoor fun? Making a "choo choo train" out of dining room chairs and kid table/chairs. I am constantly amazed by what this kid comes up with to entertain himself.

And then, of course, we had to get ourselves outside to experience a bit of snow and sunshine!

Smile Sebastian!:

Don't ask me what the underbite smile is all about. It is cute and totally his own.

Things are really good. We are anticipating a visit from Grandma Myrna (my Ma-in-law) beginning tomorrow and Grandma Winnie (my Mom) on Tuesday. Sebastian's birthday is on Sunday!!! I cannot quite wrap my brain around the fact that my kiddo is turning 2, though he reminds me daily that he will be opening "giffs" on his "happy birthday to me"... heheh. We are waiting to celebrate when the 2 grandmas are here on Tuesday and will surely overload you all with pix of the event. So many other loved ones will be missed this time around, but we will catch up with them and make up the difference down the road. Blessings to you all this week as you celebrate your brand of holiday! Happy Solstice/Hanukkah/Diwali/Holidays & Merry Christmas!