Tag Archives: Christmas

Bowled over

For my Christmas present to all the nieces and nephews this year, I planned a bowling party. Their enthusiasm and shenanigans, including lots of silly performances following strikes and spares, kept us in stitches. Compared to the last time they all bowled together in the summer of 2018, they’re all so dang big now. They still used the bumpers, but nobody needed the assist ramp to roll the ball onto the lane. There were no hissy fits or tears among the losers, and we could send them to the counter on their own to return their shoes. Perhaps the most dramatic change was when they all went to hug me at once, I was legitimately scared I would fall over. I guess that’s more a reflection on my aging than theirs!

July 20, 2018

December 28, 2022

No more babies! Wah! Middle: All my nieces and nephews with my mom.

30 years of Christmases together – Facetime reminiscing

Christmas Day 2022 started much like every other day in recent memory. I got up early and fed the horses, who were all dressed in toasty blankets because of the bitter cold snap pounding Florida. I sent a few texts to friends and family. I colored my hair, read my book, surfed social media, DIY’d some lotion bars to give as gifts, and took care of random housekeeping tasks.

Warm and stylish!

Later, I drove to the Villages to bake cookies and hang out with my mom and family friend, Bev, who whipped up a late lunch of fettuccine alfredo. My sister, Megan, who was in town Christmasing with her in-laws, popped by with her kids for awhile, which was fun. I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos at my only Christmas event!

Tony and I generally try to talk most days, but our Christmas Facetime call was especially fun. He dug out old passports, and I slogged through photos, Facebook posts, emails, and even old Christmas letters (written by hand on paper!) to figure out how we spent our 30 years of Christmases since we got married. Of course, there’s no digital footprint from those early days. Photos taken with film cameras and printed at an actual Fotomat are buried in our storage unit. Maybe someday, I’ll unearth them to finish our list.

Here’s the rundown (with some additional travel notes).

1992: Newly married and living in Lawrence, Kansas, we most likely split Christmas with my family at our house and Tony’s family in Sedalia, Missouri. Not sure.

1993: Again, not sure. Probably Lawrence and Sedalia? At some point during the holidays, we traveled to Weston, MO, and visited friends in St. Louis.

1994: My parents and sisters moved to Saudi Arabia this year, where my father worked as a contractor with General Dynamics. We all met up for Christmas in Germany and Austria.

1995: My parents bought a house in Lawrence to use as home base while they were abroad, and Tony and I moved in. No record of Christmas. Lawrence and Sedalia?

1996: My family came back from Saudi Arabia for Christmas, so I’m assuming we spent some time with them at our house in Lawrence and some time with Tony’s family in Olathe. I traveled to Switzerland for my sister, Kate’s, graduation from high school earlier that year.

1997: Tony and I joined my family and Dickinson grandparents for Christmas at Disney World in Orlando. Also that year, I traveled to the former Soviet republic of Georgia with my job at the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dickinsons at Disney

1998: Tony’s mother, Catherene Ann, died this year, so maybe we spent Christmas with his family in Olathe, or maybe we went to Michigan, where my parents were living after moving back from Saudi Arabia. We bought the house in Lawrence from my parents, and I went back to school to get my teaching certification. We traveled to Italy in the spring after my sister, Megan, graduated from high school in Switzerland.

1999: I spent Christmas with my parents and sisters in Michigan, where they were playing host to the daughter of their Sri Lankan driver from the Saudi days. I can’t remember if Tony was there. Maybe he spent the holidays with his family?

2000: Another Christmas mystery. I finished my teaching certification, so we prepared to move overseas.

2001: After landing jobs in Istanbul, we sold our house and moved to Turkey. During our four years there, we didn’t get a Christmas vacation, so we spent Christmas with our friends from school.

2002: Another Istanbul Christmas. We spent the summer in Germany, where my brother was stationed with the Air Force.

2003: Another Istanbul Christmas, but we traveled to Thailand in February.

2004: Another Istanbul Christmas. However, we made a weekend pork run to Cologne, Germany, in early December; traveled to Egypt in January; and enjoyed a Carnival Cruise and time in Miami before the February job fair at the University of Northern Iowa.

On the cruise.

2005: We moved to China and celebrated Christmas in Phuket, Thailand. Tony also started work on his master’s degree this year.

2006: We traveled to Malaysian Borneo with our friends, Scott and Amy.

Kapalai Dive Resort – spectacular!

2007: My family met in Germany and gathered at the home of my brother, who was deployed in Qatar. He surprised us by returning for the holidays. Other fun trips that winter were to the ice festival in Harbin, China, and Bangkok for my 40th birthday.

At a Christmas market in Germany with Summer.

2008: We spent Christmas in Yangshuo, China, followed by the Search Associates international educator job fair in Bangkok, and Chinese New Year in Cambodia.

I started my blog the year we left China, so I’ll add links to my old stories from here on.

2009: We moved to Laos this year. Tony and I spent Christmas in Krabi, Thailand, followed by a visit from my sister Megan, who traveled with me to Cambodia and Luang Prabang, Laos.

Railay Beach at Krabi, Thailand.

2010: Our friends, the Hossacks, spent Christmas in Laos with us, and then Tony and I took off for the Search job fair in Bangkok.

The Hossacks at our house in Laos.

2011: We moved to India this year. We met up with my family for Christmas in Garmisch, Germany. Really, there’s no place like Germany at Christmas! It was my dad’s favorite place to spend the holidays.

Hiking the Partnachklamm in Garmisch.

2012: For the first time since moving abroad, we spent Christmas in the States, specifically to meet my new little nephew, William, at my parents’ house in Michigan. On our way back to India, we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Amsterdam.

My dad with baby William.

2013: Tony and I traveled to Korea for Christmas with my sister, Megan, and her family. Her husband was stationed there with the Air Force. This was the visit when baby William called me Shasha for the first time, melting my heart, and giving me my forever auntie name. On our way back to India, we enjoyed a little downtime in Koh Chang, Thailand.

A crazy exhibit in Seoul where kids could pose with taxidermied animals in wacky settings.

2014: One of my all-time favorite trips took us to Jordan for Christmas.

Entering Petra in Jordan.

2015: We traveled to Florida for Christmas to hang out with my parents and my sister, Kate’s, family. On our way back to India, we explored Dubai.

The manmade Dubai Marina, carved out of the desert.

2016: This year, we moved to Chile, where winter was summer and summer was winter, meaning our long “summer” break from school occurred from December to February. Rather than head to North America for Christmas, we spent the “summer” holidays discovering our new host city of Santiago in the warm sunshine.

Christmas brunch in Santiago.

2017: Just a red-eye flight away, we traveled to my parents’ place in Florida for Christmas. This year, my sister, Kate, drove from Michigan with her family to celebrate with us. Tony then flew to Kansas to visit his family, and I went to Del Rio, Texas, to see my sister, Megan, and her gang. We returned to Santiago for the rest of our long semester break.

We spent a day at Kennedy Space Center during our Florida Christmas.

2018: This was a very busy seven-week break from school! My family gathered at Megan’s house near Destin, Florida. Then Tony and I spent a few days in Chicago before preparing our Michigan lakehouse to go on the market. We sorted, packed, gave stuff away, and cleaned. Back in Chile, Tony played tourguide for his two sisters.

A Polar Vortex post-Christmas in Chicago.

2019: My father died this November, so Christmas felt a bit melancholy at times. The family (minus my brother, who was living in Abu Dhabi) met at Megan’s house, where Tony and I stuck around for an extended vacation. After a short time back in Santiago, we flew to Ilha Grande, a fabulous tropical island in Brazil.

Post-Christmas paradise in Brazil.

2020: Deep in the bowels of the pandemic, Tony and I spent Christmas alone at the Villages in Florida. My mom went to a party, but after experiencing strict social-distancing rules in Chile, we weren’t ready to risk it. After a short visit with Megan, we returned to Chile for the rest of our break.

Back in Santiago after an uneventful Christmas.

2021: We spent Christmas in Michigan with my sisters and mom, and then Tony traveled to Kansas to celebrate with his family. Later, we headed to Florida for some beach time, followed by a few petsitting gigs, including at the farm where I’m spending this gap year.

Before the Christmas Nerf War had even started, we had our first casualty.

2022: That brings us to this year. I’m in Ocala, Florida, attending Equine Studies classes and caring for 15 animals at a little farm, and Tony is in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching middle school English at KIS International School. Here we are Christmas morning my time, Christmas evening his time.

A very Facetime Christmas!

After compiling this list from scratch, I discovered that we had already done this twice before in 2012 and 2017. See why I need to document my life? I can’t even remember stuff that I already blogged, much less parts of my life that I failed to record. Sigh… note to self: Next time you want to remember all your Christmases, just open The Guide Hog and search “Christmas.”

Summer Break Part one: Florida

School wrapped up the first semester on Dec. 20, and we immediately flew to the States to spend Christmas with my family. I had scheduled three weeks in Florida because I assumed my mother would need help. In the week after my father died, I felt so useful: organizing her paperwork, answering phone calls, contacting friends and family with the sad news, and so on. I figured I would pick up where I had left off a month ago. We crossed paths with our pet sitters at the Santiago Airport, handed over the keys and a few bits of information about caring for Ella, and then we were off.

Kaylene and Ned at the Santiago Airport

As always, I had a blast hanging out with my sisters and their families. Megan had decked out her home near Destin, FL, in full holiday regalia, including three Christmas trees. Kate and her family drove from Michigan with a van full of presents. My brother Mike and his family sat this one out, celebrating with out-of-town friends at their home in Abu Dhabi. My mom arrived on Christmas Eve. Of course, we had many melancholy moments, missing my dad. His absence was everywhere. With a bunch of little kids at Christmas, though, you have to keep a happy face. Kind of a blessing.

Megan and Britt had the most festive house in the neighborhood.

We all went to the movies. Some of us saw “Star Wars”; some saw “Frozen 2.” Posing outside the theater…

Not sure what happened here…
The night before Christmas …
We caught Santa setting up the Magnatiles!

I was a little bummed that Tony and I had failed to gear up in anticipation of the annual Dickinson Family Nerf War. I couldn’t find any weapons from past years, and I didn’t want to invest in more plastic junk. I begged my sister Kate to let us borrow some of her artillery. Her three boys easily own enough Nerf weaponry to outfit the actual U.S. Army. “We totally forgot to bring it,” she said. “We were in such a rush to pack the van and get down here!”

Turns out Megan also dropped the ball. She had purchased Nerf guns with incompatible bullets. Doh!

Christmas morning, we enjoyed the usual traditions: Kids wait upstairs until adults check to see whether Santa came. Play with stocking stuffers and eat cinnamon rolls. Open presents. On our “journey to zero waste,” Tony and I had requested no gifts this year. I tried to find plastic-free options for our presents to everyone else. I made lotion bars and bought homemade soaps for the adults, and I gave the kids photo puzzles made on the Shutterfly website.

At one point, the living room became eerily quiet. Suddenly, Kate’s whole family came barreling down the stairs in full attack mode, outfitted with helmets, face masks, cardboard shields, and Nerf weapons. I shouted out, “Embedded journalist! Hold your fire!” and ducked behind the kitchen island. So obviously, Kate had lied about forgetting the Nerf gear. Not only that, Nico had written an extremely detailed three-page battle plan with roles for each member of his family. It opened with:

After everyone is done opening presents, we run upstairs in the closet and get ready. This way, we already have the top floor cleared out as we make our way downstairs in the line going: Nico (shieldman), Dad (sheildman), Paul (gunman), Jack (gunman), and Mom (gunner) makes sure that we are not being ambushed from behind.

There’s even a diagram for clarification.

Classic.

Family Christmas Nerf War 2020
Megan wears protection while baking cinnamon rolls.

The only way to top an epic Nerf war is with a trip to the beach. So that’s what we did. Henderson State Park’s beach is practically perfect with baby powder sand and crystal clear water (too cold for me at this time of year, but the kids jumped right in).

Beach at Henderson State Park.

We had so much fun, we went back the next day.

Tony and I had promised to take the kids overnight, and Megan and Britt were looking forward to a romantic get-away. However, my mom was eager to get home, so Tony and I drove with her back to the Villages a few days earlier than planned.

Our rental property was free for the week, and we settled in, expecting to spend much of our time helping out at mom’s house. Turns out she didn’t really want or need help. Distracting herself from my father’s absence, she launched several big projects, including remodeling the master bedroom and bath. Realizing she and the workmen had things under control, and knowing we would have to check in to a hotel at the end of the week when our renters arrived, we decided to skip town again. Tony took a shuttle to the airport, rented a car, and picked me up to head back to Megan’s house. We figured we could offer to babysit for that get-away they wanted.

During the six-hour drive, I checked my messages using free wifi at a rest stop. Megan had texted, “Sha sha! I hope u get this, we booked our get-away room for tonight so we might leave the kids at the neighbors till u get here so we can spend a little extra time at the resort.” Ha! She didn’t even wait till we got there.

While I appreciate having the whole family together, there’s something particularly special about getting my lovebugs all to myself. No cousins to distract them. No siblings to distract me. We played Pokemon Monopoly and Sequence, assembled Annesley’s puzzle, read bunches of books, colored, ran around outside, and laughed a lot.

One day when Britt was at work, Megan took us all to Seaside, a quaint beach town where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed. We had brought the kids’ bikes, and we rented some for the adults. We cycled around a lovely lake and through the quiet lanes lined with picturesque cottages.

Cycling in Seaside.

After lunch, we strolled over to the beach, just planning to take a peek. As if. Will and Annesley immediately started playing in the sand and splashing in the water. Seriously, how could they resist?

One highlight of this visit was watching the kids at karate class. The sensei was brilliant. I wish I had his classroom management skills. And I felt super proud of my munchkins.

Before heading back to Santiago, we popped by for one last visit with my mom. She let me take one of my dad’s ukuleles, which was a nice distraction when we got stranded in Atlanta overnight.

Back in Chile, I spent much of my time dealing with time-consuming, Spanish-mandatory frustrations: A large sum of our money was “missing” after an issue with a mobile deposit. We had to get our vacuum repaired. Someone stole the side mirrors off my car while I was at an appointment. Two of our balcony doors were broken and wouldn’t close. In addition, our house in Michigan needs more foundation work before we put in on the market again, so I was on skype with contractors and emailing with my realtor.

Still, we made time for a little fun. We saw the movie, “Yesterday,” at a free screening in the park by our house. I met up with a couple friends. We ate out (way too much!). The rest of the time, I could be found reading or napping on the balcony.

I really couldn’t complain … especially when I could look forward to our upcoming trip to Ilha Grande in Brazil!

Summer? Winter? Vacation! Part 1: Christmas in the USA

Now that winter is summer and summer is winter, our school vacation schedule is upside down. For the last 15 years in Turkey, China, Laos, and India, we followed a North American calendar with a couple weeks off at Christmas and a longer summer break. In Chile, our “summer break” occurs now – from December to February.

To kick it off, we joined my sister Kate and her family at my parent’s house in Florida. Check out my last post about The Villages to get the scoop on this unusual place.

Christmas usually explodes all over my parents’ house, but my dad was under the weather and my mom couldn’t tackle the job alone. They put up a naked tree, and Kate’s three boys made cute decorations.

The first few days in Florida were cool but sunny. Kate, Tony, and the kids even went for a swim. I just dipped my legs in the hot tub.

On Christmas morning, we all opened our presents. Tony had just one gift left, marked “Open last!” He ripped off the paper to find a box of Cheez-Its, his favorite snack. Everyone leaned in to have a laugh, but it was a ruse. Even Tony didn’t know that I had wrapped up two Nerf guns and extra ammo. We pulled out our weapons and started pelting everyone. The kids shrieked and dove behind the furniture. The Christmas Nerf War is a Dickinson family tradition, so we were shocked that nobody else was armed. Kate quickly ran out to her van, where the boys had coincidentally left a couple Nerf archery sets. The kids holed up in the kitchen to load their bows. Eventually, Tony and I ran out of bullets, and we were too lazy to get off the couch, so we called a truce.

The boys wearing their silly knitted hats from Chile.

I also gave them each a little leather coin purse from Atacama, which Nico said was his favorite present. What a love bug.

The day after Christmas we ditched my parents and took off for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The entrance featured the word “Explore” in huge letters with a rocket garden towering in the background. “This really is a dream come true for me,” said my brother-in-law John.

Visiting the various “mission zones” was like stepping through time, from the early days of America’s space program to the space race and moon landing to the ongoing efforts to get man to Mars. Most attractions featured videos with footage from the time period, NASA personnel commenting on their work, and astronauts reflecting on their experiences.

I had just watched the movie “Hidden Figures” on the flight to the States, so it was fun to put the true-ish story in context at the place where it all happened. One of the most fascinating take-aways for me was those first rockets launched with less computing power than we have in our cell phones today.

Gearing up for a 3-D movie about NASA heroes and legends.

Perhaps because I have such vivid memories of the space shuttle program, my favorite mission zone was “Shuttle: A Ship Like No Other.” I remember the pride and awe I felt over the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station, both made possible by shuttle missions. I also remember gathering in a friend’s dorm room at the University of Kansas to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger and its horrific explosion that killed everyone aboard. According to the Kennedy Space Center website, “A ship like no other, the space shuttle launched like a rocket and landed like a glider while transporting astronauts to space and back for thirty years.”

At the space shuttle mission zone, the shuttle Atlantis was suspended from the ceiling, and exhibits demonstrated life on board for the astronauts. Atlantis flew its last mission – and the last of the shuttle program – in July 2011.

Nico and Paul check out a Mars rover concept vehicle.

On the Kennedy Space Center bus tour, we saw the insanely enormous gas-guzzling crawler-transporter that moves spacecraft from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpads (which takes about five hours at a speed of 1 mph!). It is the largest self-powered land vehicle in the world. We also drove by the SpaceX building, where we glimpsed the Falcon Heavy rocket, the world’s most powerful operational rocket. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said he plans to die on Mars, “just not on impact.”

At the IMAX movie, “Journey to Space,” we got a 4-D overview of NASA’s accomplishments and future plans. Four-year-old Jack fell asleep, but the rest of us were absolutely blown away. Such an exciting reminder of how far we’ve come and space adventures that await! NASA’s research and development in preparation for a Mars mission was straight out of a sci-fi movie.

We had expected to spend a few hours at the visitor complex, but we got there shortly after it opened and we left at closing time. It was an incredible place!

A few days later, Kate and her family packed up the van and drove back to Michigan, and Tony took off for Kansas to meet up with his sisters. My other sister, Megan, joined me in Florida for a few days to hang out with Mom and Dad, and then she and I flew to her home at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas.

As soon as we pulled up to the house, these two cuties – Annesley and Will – ran out to greet me. So much love!

We went to the base library and checked out a bunch of books. I must have read Where the Wild Things Are 25 times. Stories and snuggles on the sofa? I could do that all day! We also played Headbanz, which was hilarious. At five years old, Will is surprisingly savvy at asking the right questions to guess the picture on his card. Annesley just tells you your picture, which essentially ends the game. I logged quite a bit of time pushing Annesley on the swing in their backyard, which was wonderful because she chattered the whole time.

Another highlight was Annesley’s tea party with her fancy china and stuffed animals. She fed them grapes and Scooby Snacks (dog bone-shaped graham cracker treats) and entertained them with ring-around-the-rosie and duck-duck-goose (tricky when your party guests can’t run).

Britt played ball tag with the kids in the backyard after work. They looked forward to it all day!

I got to visit each kid’s school. Here’s Will’s classroom.

One day, Megan took us for a hike in the Seminole Canyon State Park. The kids were good little trekkers, and Will genuinely listened to the tour guide, even asking a couple questions. (Maybe he’s the next generation Guide Hog?!) We walked to the Fate Bell rock shelter, where 4,000-year-old pictographs decorate the canyon walls. Our guide, Tanya, explained the ancient artists used minerals, plants, animal fat, and other natural resources to produce their paint. What do the pictographs mean? Nobody knows for sure, she said. According to the Texas State Historical Association:

The Pecos River style is a polychrome style that is considered a manifestation of the shamanic cult. The central characters of the pictographs are faceless anthropomorphic figures, elaborately dressed and often holding a variety of accessories such as atlatls, darts, and fending sticks. The figures are often depicted with their arms outstretched, and in later pictographs the anthropomorphs’ arms are increasingly stylized and seem to be more akin to wings than arms. At one end of the shelter there are also examples of Red Linear figures-a Late Archaic Period style characterized by very small stick figures engaged in various activities.

Tanya shares some details about the site while I marvel at the weathering and erosion that has sculpted the rock.

Looking out at the canyon from the rock shelter.

Some of the pictographs.

Megan checked out a Junior Park Ranger backback for the kids, which included binoculars, a sketchpad and crayons, a magnifying glass, and wildlife guides. So cool!

A prehistoric sea left fantastic fossils embedded in the rocks.

On another day, I got to combine two of my favorite things: my sister’s kids and horses! My brother-in-law, Britt, works with Ms. Jill, who recently broke her ankle and needed help keeping up with her five horses. Britt and I mucked out the stalls, which was much harder work than I expected. I actually only mucked out about half a stall before my body gave out on me.

The highlight, though, was this little guy. About four months old, he was 50% pony, 50% horse, and 100% loco.

One night, Megan took me to the Del Rio Civic Center, where the Lions Club offers bingo a few nights a week. I had no idea what I was in for. Bingo was serious business to this crowd. I’m guessing there were more than 100 people in the room, and many had their dauber collection on display. I bought a bright orange dauber and a bunch of bingo cards and then prepared to hit the jackpot. I was just two numbers away from winning $750, but alas, we both walked away broke but amused. And it was a great way to practice my numbers in Spanish! The bingo ball always appeared on the video screen before the announcer called the number in English and Spanish. I tried to say the number in Spanish in my head before she said it aloud.

Although my visit was too short, I felt grateful to experience a slice of life with my sister and her family.

Now, farewell to winter and hello to summer back in Santiago. We still have another month off work!

Christmases Past and Present

After more than 16 years of living overseas, I often struggle to remember where we went or what we did for any given holiday. Fortunately, I started this blog to act as my memory (a little too late, unfortunately). Sometimes I find it useful to touch base with the Ghost of Christmas Past. In 2012, I recapped all the holiday breaks since our move overseas in “Twelve Years of Christmas.”

Here’s an update.

During our years in India, we had three weeks off between semesters.
2013-14: We visited my sister, Megan, and her family in Seoul, Korea. Check out those posts here. Then we popped by Koh Chang, Thailand on our way home. Check out those posts here.
2014-15: We explored Jordan. Check out those posts here.
2015-16: We traveled to Florida to hang out with my parents and my sister Kate’s family. On our way home, we spent some time in Dubai. Check out those posts here.

In July, we moved to Santiago, Chile. In this hemisphere, our summer break comes in December, which is really messing with our minds! With seven weeks off school between semesters, we didn’t want to head to Michigan like we usually do in the real summer; it’s winter there. Too busy settling in to our new city, home, and jobs, we never made any plans. And so, for this first summer/winter break, we have hunkered down for a Santiago staycation.

So far, so good!

Christmas 2016 – done and dusted

We decorated.

We shopped.

We listened to Christmas music.

We exchanged stockings and a couple gifts.

It was nice and everything, but just a little … anticlimactic.

Possibly for the first time ever, we both wished we had some kids around. Not our own kids, of course, but maybe a few nieces and nephews. We missed seeing their excited little faces when they wake up at the crack of dawn to realize Santa had visited and then their disappointed little faces when they’re not allowed to open presents till after breakfast (cinnamon rolls … Dickinson family tradition). We missed playing with their new toys and hauling out our Nerf guns (Christmas War … another Dickinson family tradition).

Anyway, we enjoyed a sunny rooftop brunch with views of the Andes Mountains. And we got some good laughs watching Ella terrorize our Christmas tree. We watched “A Christmas Story” and ate a rotisserie chicken on the balcony for dinner. Really, it felt like just another day – albeit a slightly more special day – in our seven-week staycation.

The mall was a nightmare…just like malls in North America!
img_4219

Brunch at Hotel Noi.
img_0515

Ella attacks a Jolly Rancher from my stocking.

She had fun with the wrapping paper, too.
fullsizerender-1

Leading up to Christmas day, we discovered Santiago Starbucks serves up all the traditional holiday coffee treats.
img_3953

And Santa paid a visit to school on horseback while the preschool kids sang Jingle Bells. Pretty adorable!
img_4131

Tony’s birthday: Unpacking Christmas

For years, we celebrated Tony’s birthday, Dec. 8, by hauling out our boxes of Christmas decorations and transforming our home into a winter wonderland. From Kansas to Turkey to China to Laos, we unpacked our huge Rubbermaid tubs to fill our hearts with festive cheer.

That tradition stalled in India, where our holiday stash never emerged from the storage closet during the five years we spent in Delhi. I can’t explain why we didn’t bother to Christmas-ify our apartment there, but nevertheless, we decided to get back on track here in Chile.

On Tony’s birthday morning, we went for a walk so he could test out his birthday present – new sunglasses. Good thing it was a beautiful sunny summer day! We stopped for breakfast at a little café near our house and enjoyed some chirimoya juice (my latest obsession).
img_4044

img_4045

img_4048

Then it was time to get down to business. Tony uncrated our Christmas tree, while I started digging out the decorations. Ella was keen to help.
img_4052

As young, broke newlyweds, we filled these stockings (stitched by yours truly).
img_4073

But they really couldn’t hold the volume of candy and presents we required, so I picked up these beauties when we lived in China (designed by a fellow Shanghai American School teacher out of Chinese silk and maribou).
img_4074

Since 1995, Tony and I have exchanged tree ornaments every year. Of course, this was my idea, and the intention was to track our lives through representational ornaments: home purchases, vacations, pets, etc. Tony was slow to embrace this new tradition and failed to think about it prior to the holiday season, so he dashed out on Christmas Eve 1995 to pick up this winner at a gas station near our home in Lawrence, Kansas.
p1080284

Over the years, he has put a little more effort into his ornament selection. Unpacking the holiday boxes, we reminisced about the stages of our life together.

We bought a house in Lawrence in 1995. Tony set up a workshop in the garage to play the role of resident handyman.
p1080295

p1080297

In those days, we loved seeing neighborhoods decked out for the holidays, especially the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
p1080288

We sold that house when we prepared to move overseas, but we later purchased a rental property in Albuquerque and a summer home in Michigan (our Michigan Christmas ornament is actually IN Michigan).
p1080489

In 2001, we hit the road. Our ornaments continue to bring back memories of those wonderful places we were lucky to call home around the world.

Istanbul, Turkey
p1080490

Shanghai, China
p1080507-2

Vientiane, Laos
p1080487

New Delhi, India
p1080495

And now, Santiago, Chile.
p1080479

Other ornaments evoked some of our fantastic trips in the States and abroad.

My sister, Kate, and I traveled to Alaska in 1999 and fell in love with the musk ox.
p1080501

We visited my sister, Megan, when she and her family lived in Korea in 2013. I couldn’t find a tree ornament, so I gave Tony a luggage tag that year.
p1080285

Wow, sometimes I can’t believe how much of this incredible planet we have explored together over the years! Here are a few glimpses into our vacation history. Can you guess where they came from?

In addition to the purchased ornaments, we still have shoeboxes full of handmade decorations that adorned our Christmas trees early in this journey. Jingle bells tied with red satin bows, small pinecones with gold glitter, iridescent wrapping paper ribbon curled with scissors … we used whatever we could to create a little Christmas.

We added a new tradition to our Christmas decorating this year. As we settle in a new hemisphere where the holiday season falls in the summertime, it felt right to prop up Santa next to a vase of fresh flowers.
img_4236

No matter where you are, what you celebrate or which traditions you embrace, may your season be merry and full of joy!

Christmas in Korea

When I told people we were heading to Korea for the semester break, well-wishers told us which sights to see, what food to eat, where to find the best skiing, how to get around on public transportation and so on. I smiled, nodded and thanked everyone for their tips. But there was really only one attraction for me:

I am absolutely smitten with my third nephew, 15-month-old William. He is the son of my sister Megan and her husband Britt, who is stationed at Osan Air Force Base, about an hour south of Seoul. Our three-week winter holiday gave us the opportunity to spend Christmas with them. We’ve been here a week and done a couple touristy things, but I’m more than content to hang around the house with my little lovebug.

When I hear his babbling in the morning, I race to be the one who gets him out of bed. I say, “Good morning, William!” and he says, “Sha Sha.” Can there be a better way to start my day? We let Mommy sleep a bit longer while we eat breakfast and play.

Will’s enthusiasm for life is contagious. He loves to play with balls. In fact, “ball” was his first word, and he says it with a deep reverent voice. Baaaall. His grandparents bought him a mini ball pit, where he rolls around, giggling and tossing the balls in the air. He also loves cars and frequently has one gripped in his little hand, even when he eats (thus, many of his cars experience cheese-related axle problems). Vehicles shooting down his car ramp trigger an excited “Ooooooh!” and lots of clapping.

Another favorite toy is an activity center on a round stand. He smacks one of the buttons to start the music and then marches around the circle in a wiggly dance, slapping a button with each pass to keep the tunes playing. He gets a kick out of it if the grown-ups join in. As a teacher and avid reader, I know that strong reading habits start early. That’s why I’m so thrilled to see William independently choose books over other distractions. Often he pulls books off the shelf and flips through them alone. Other times, he will stop whatever he’s doing, pad into his bedroom and emerge with a book. He’ll hold the book up to me and then plop down in my lap to read. A Christmas gift that we’ve read over and over is Honk, Honk, Beep, Beep (which is so cute that I just ordered it for nephew #5, due in April to my brother Mike and his wife Summer).

Although the weather has been bitterly cold, we all bundle up for long walks through the neighborhood and downtown Songtan, a strip of shops, restaurants and bars aimed at the American community based here. Meg, Britt and Will live on the top of a VERY steep hill, so she actually tethers the stroller to herself when we walk down. We also pop over to the Air Force base to exercise. Meg, Will and I hang out at the Parent & Baby fitness center while Tony and Britt hit the gym.

Christmas morning was a low-key affair. We all had a few presents to open, but Tony and I were mostly excited to give Will his new car ramp, which has provided countless hours of entertainment. My mom sent another surprisingly engaging “toy” – a wooden spoon and small pot filled with red tinsel. William has cooked lots of “spaghetti” in the last few days.

My best Christmas present? Time with my little man. I haven’t seen him since July, and I won’t see him again until next summer. Every day with him is a wonderful gift.

Getting ready for a walk (in front of their apartment).

Ass’s Hair Shop downtown. Ahh, Asia …

Playing with cars.

Ball pit!

Bath time. Love that tongue!

Merry Christmas!

Making spaghetti.

Legos from Mike and Summer. Will made his first Lego car.

Reading with Uncle Tony.

Mmmm… pasta.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas War 2012

In the olden days, Santa left Nerf weapons under the tree or next to our stockings in plain sight. After opening our presents, playing with our new toys, loading our PEZ dispensers, and eating cinnamon rolls, we would break out the Nerf guns for a family battle in the wrapping paper wreckage of our living room. We never questioned the idea of a Christmas morning war.

Over the years, this tradition morphed a bit as adult children reunited for the holidays. Sometimes we delayed the war till later in the day or played a more mellow version, such as lining up cans for targets or aiming our sticky darts to fly through an upstairs window.

We often laugh about the year my parents hosted a Sri Lankan college student, Iranga, for the holiday. (When my parents lived in Saudi Arabia, where women aren’t allowed to drive, Iranga’s father was my mother’s driver.) Tony and I were living in Kansas at the time, but we traveled to Michigan for a Dickinson family gathering. On Christmas morning, my sisters and I were surprised to find no armaments under the tree. Did Santa think we had outgrown this annual event? Presents were distributed, and as per another family tradition, the youngest child opened all of hers first. Finally, it was my mother’s turn. As she unwrapped her last gift, we began to chatter about plans for the rest of the day. “Oh wait,” my father said. “There’s one more box hiding back here behind the tree.” He passed it to my mom, who gingerly peeled off the paper from a large cardboard box. She opened the flaps, peeked in and then quickly whipped out a huge Nerf blaster and passed a second one to my dad. They both pelted us with ping-pong balls as we dove behind furniture, crying with laughter and howling over the unfairness of being unarmed. Poor Iranga didn’t know what to think.

Although Tony and I moved abroad and skipped 11 years of family Christmases, we kept a photo on our fridge of my sisters in the heat of battle, Kate ducking behind an overstuffed chair and Meg peeking out from under a pile of wrapping paper. Returning to Michigan for Christmas 2012, we weren’t sure what to expect, but we invested in a couple Nerf guns, disguised them with tissue paper and stashed them in a gift bag, just in case.

My sister Kate and her family live a short distance away, but they spent the night Christmas Eve so we could all enjoy seeing Nico and Paul wake up to Christmas. Adults rose first and made coffee, warning the boys to stay in their room until we had set up with our cameras. As expected, the neighbor had left a Christmas cake on the front step. Our fridge and freezer were stuffed to capacity, so we had to leave it out there. Finally, we called the boys and got the morning under way. Everything was normal … for awhile.

Untitled

I love this shot of their sweet faces!
Untitled

William with his loot. The youngest kid gets to open his presents first.
Untitled

“Look, Buddy, you got a new belt!” said Nico. Or, a new collar, maybe.
Untitled

Nico loading his PEZ dispenser.
Untitled

Megan and Britt had given each couple, including themselves, a “family present.” They opened theirs first: Dart Tag vests with orange safety glasses. They high-fived, and we knew the game was on.
Untitled

Untitled

Suspense built as each couple opened the gift and donned their gear.

John and Kate
Untitled

Me and Tony – I was trying for gangsta, but my jammies killed the look.
Untitled

My brother Mike was oddly oblivious. We kept telling him, “Open your gift from Meg and Britt!” but he sweetly and innocently insisted on waiting to open joint presents until Summer arrived on the 28th. We all knew that would be too late …
Untitled

After everyone unwrapped their presents, my dad brought the Christmas cake inside and asked if anyone wanted any.
Untitled
However, he still had a couple gifts to open, so I stood up and moved the cake box from his lap to an end table. It felt suspiciously light, and I had a feeling all hell was about to break loose. I quickly set my camera to video, placed it strategically on a bookshelf and stepped away. Sure enough, Dad called Nico over to help him uncover the “cake.” Inside the box, were two Nerf guns. And this is how it unfolded:

Favorite moments from the initial attack:
* Everyone trying to be covert, reaching for their stashed weapons as Nico lifts the “cake box” lid.
* My mom protecting her face with the gift I brought her from India, a papier-mâché mask I found at a handicrafts fair in Delhi.
* My clueless brother shouting, “Hey, where’d you get the guns?” while holding the baby.
* Sidney, the Jimenez family dog, laying still through all the chaos, looking annoyed and a bit worried.
* Britt taking cover behind the sofa with his arsenal of Dart Tag guns. (He and Meg bought five Dart Tag sets, gave the vests and glasses as gifts and then kept all the weapons!)
* My pregnant sister, Kate, shouting, “I think I peed my pants!” followed by, “Watch the ninnies!”

Yeah, we’re all class.

Eventually, the action moved beyond the living room with teams spread out upstairs and downstairs. I claimed to be an embedded journalist, but that didn’t stop them from blasting me with their velcro darts, which stuck to my vest like little badges of courage.

Nice cover, Kate.
Untitled

Tony reloads while Paul has his back.
Untitled

Mike, finally armed, and trusty guard dog, Buddy.
Untitled

Thank goodness for safety glasses, eh Dad?
Untitled

Eventually, someone called a truce and everyone regrouped in the kitchen to enjoy another Dickinson Christmas tradition: cinnamon rolls. And then there was peace.
Untitled

Home for the Holidays

I have to admit I was feeling a tinge of resentment about heading to the States for Christmas. (So many destinations on my bucket list and so little time.) However, as our departure date approached, I started to get excited. In Michigan, we could stay at our little lake house, go to the movies, visit the amazing Detroit Institute for the Arts, take the nephews to kid-friendly attractions, enjoy the wonderful nature trails, eat at fantastic restaurants, drink quality wine at reasonable prices, hang out in fun pubs/coffee shops/cafes/etc., hit the sales, and otherwise sample aspects of American life we miss in India.

In reality, I rarely left my parents’ house. The place was so Christmas-y inside and out with over-the-top decorations – miles of twinkly lights, THREE Christmas trees, garland, ribbons, glittery snowflakes, life-sized quilted snowmen and wooden nutcrackers, wreaths, personalized stockings and myriad displays. It was like Santa’s Workshop exploded. Add that to a jam-packed fridge, bottomless pots of coffee and a kitchen table ringed with the people I love most – what more could I want? Somehow the hours slipped away, and we’d realize we had done nothing but sit around and chat, transitioning from coffee to wine as the day wore on. My mom prepared a bunch of family favorites for our dinners, so we didn’t even eat out much. Here are a few shots to set the mood.
(I made this little movie in iPhoto; not sure if I like the format. Does it make you dizzy?)

Tony spent one night at our lakehouse, and I drove out with him to see the lake in its snowy glory, but I couldn’t bear to spend a whole night away from the rest of the gang.
P1000581

Untitled

Of course, I was all about the nephews and wanted to spend nearly every waking moment with them.

Christmas morning started off like any normal Christmas. But at the Dickinson Resort, nothing stays normal for long. Stay tuned…