M-E-R-R-Y

Very merry, indeed.

I don't know where to start. The Burt's Christmas of 2010 was merry and bright and full of everything I imagined Christmas with kids would be -- right down to the 10:15 p.m. Christmas Eve run to Walgreens (the only store still open in our sleepy town) for batteries and milk.

And now that the tree is down and the Santa mugs are bubble-wrapped, I am looking over a month's worth of festivities and marveling that we somehow fit this all in without losing our sense of holly and jolly (with the exception of one harried three-turned-five hour drive down a very snowy I-15). And though mother nature didn't deliver on the White Christmas I was hoping for, UPS did.

And that about sums up the low-key Christmas we enjoyed at home full of big huge plans that we pared down to manageable chunks of holiday magic.

Mismatched lounge wear and ragamuffin hair magic.

This year will go down as the year to beat in Burt family lore.



We kicked December off with the city's annual Christmas Storybook Parade, featuring every children's fairytale and Disney movie character you can imagine and complete with pared down Macy's Thanksgiving Day knock-offs and a visit from Ol' St. Nick.

 And I've said it a million times, but Andy and I both feel so lucky to have picked this place as our home-for-now. Where else would you see an entire town come out to see, quite possibly, the world's worst Kung Fu Panda impressionist? And where else would everyone cheer for our unlikely hero?

  

That I met my boyfriend-turned-husband in this little red-rock rimmed valley is just the beginning of why I love Cedar City. See what I mean?

And this little guy walked away from that encounter star-struck. As in, I don't ever want to wash this hand again.

Too bad parades are full of germs.

As a side note, I am still trying to identify the circus clown that knew Porter's name and kindly made his day with the friendly hello. Anyone?


A week later in our Christmas-at-home...

Any guesses?

Yep, that's the look of a kid who is just two more people away from visiting with Santa.

Sadly, we didn't get any great shots, thanks to an overtired and very dubious little girl, but our quick trip for a slew of family parties in SLC the week before Christmas took care of that when the jolly old elf crashed the annual McAfee Family Clam Chowder Party.

And this is what Porter first made of the surprise Santa

I just love the Popeye smile that comes out whenever he is nervous. Remind you of anyone, uncle Chris (Jen's brother -- we have two Uncle Chrises)?

And that's not all. While in the big city, we attended three family parties; did a little last-minute holiday crafting; hit up IKEA for a whole lot of randomness that somehow totaled $200 (pretty sure I "needed" it all, though); and headed downtown to see the Christmas windows and gingerbread house display at the Grand America.

The hat was the gift to beat until he got the boom crane truck from Grandpa Burt. But it enjoyed a good run; thanks Uncle Chris & Aunt Mariah

A girl after my own heart, she loved the shoe and jewelry windows.

The windows were magical. Each window had hidden letters (as in , "R is for Reindeer"), and the kids had little A-Z cards to fill out as they wandered, Olivia in tow (still a favorite. Kudos, Aunt Mandy).

At the end, when their cards were complete, the kids took them to the hotel's sweet shop for a special treat (the BEST sugar cookie I have ever tasted). And if you have ever been to the Grand America's sweet shop, you'll know that just standing in the middle of it all with a jaw-dropping gawk is a treat in itself. I felt like, well, a kid in a candy store, and really wanted to take pictures but my grinch--er, husband drew the line at gratuitous photography. Same goes for the children's toy store in said hotel. Beautiful.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before the week-before-Christmas, we enjoyed lots of cozy little holiday traditions we've formed with our own little family and with friends-turned-family here in Cedar.

Our favorites...

Gingerbread Houses.

Trimming the Tree
(and hunting the house for her favorite "suga-plum fairy" every. single. day. Look at the guilt in those eyes!)

Gingerbread Men (and women)

She preferred licking and talking to hers over decorating

The Santa plate and mugs from my grandma.

I snapped this just before it went back into the box for another year. Proof that I needed the no sugar challenge my running buddy has issued

 and Christmas Baking
(i.e. "how to entertain a toddler in the kitchen for hours on end")

Whew! Quite honestly, there would probably have been more run-around had we not all gotten sick the week of Christmas. But even that was a blessing in disguise. Who doesn't love the excuse to stay in jammies all day on the couch? Especially after a morning this exciting...

Waiting to see if Santa came

The aforementioned boom crane

 

He got a lecture after I uploaded all our pictures about how I would be the Bigfoot of the family if he didn't start helping to document my presence in their lives.

Runny noses and all, it was everything we had both been hoping for. Though we repeatedly questioned our budgeting when her favorite gifts ended up being the candy bracelets and giant cotton candy Lip Smackers chapstick Santa left in her stocking.

Yes, I know this is the longest post ever.

Zumba in the bathtub.

Just checking to see if you're still reading. If you are, thanks for humoring me. Here's a little more ho-ho-ho randomness because I, apparently, have no editorial filter when it comes to the most wonderful time of the year.

Our first handmade Porter ornaments

(another moment of sappy-hearted perfection)

Her favorite spot all of Christmas Eve

My own baby ornament, circa 1981 (that's right, the big 3-0 looms)

Another treasured heirloom brought back from the dead, courtesy of my beloved Target

I let her dress herself on Christmas day. We had no where to be.

And my favorite Christmas candy of all time. So delicious, that should you have been smart enough to exclude eating stuffs from your list of resolutions, I urge you to run to the store to snatch up any that may be left in the 90% off holiday bin. Eat some for me too.

Now get off the computer and go do something fun. Sheesh. Who writes a 25-minute long blog post, anyway?

Gobble, Gobble

Before I get into the mistletoe and holly, I need to take care of a little housekeeping. It seems that we were so busy a wassailing all through December that the blog got lost under a pile of wrapping paper and unfinished crafts, which means I never gave a second though to a Thanksgiving that was very deserving of a little warm and fuzzy blogging. Not very good form for someone who purports to love Thanksgiving above all other national holidays.

So yes, one month and 1-1/2 weeks late, our Thanksgiving highlights (sadly, not as thoughtful and articulate as they would have been had I not procrastinated -- story of my life):

1) My mom and sister's help in the kitchen.
No pics, because I was hosting in our home this year and I spent the week preceding the feast reciting my cooking timeline over and over and over again. No time to think about F-stops and lighting. BUT, very happy memories. Though I must say, I'm not sure I'm sold on the cook for three days to enjoy a 45-minute meal game plan.

2) Being left alone in my chefery (you can make up cooking terms once you spend days on end in the kitchen).
Really, not a tantrum or whine in sight, thanks to adoring uncles and aunts.

3) Watching my brother do the dishes.
I think that was a first in McAfee family history, and I am very much wishing I would have thought to capture it on film.

4) Black Friday success.
The trick, it turns out, is to take people with you who do not have children, and then manipulate their love for your own children into an obligation to stake out various aisles of the overcrowded toy section. Thanks to Mom and Mandy for almost never tiring of my dreaming and scheming.

5) The traditional McAfee family cookie painting contest.
We set out every year, full of gusto to best our siblings, but by the time we frost (and eat) more than six dozen sugar cookies, we are all too sugared out to remember the final judgement. But to hear us talk, the competition is something fierce.

This one spent the entire afternoon frosting and then licking
the one same cookie.

Look at that rainbow technique.
Too bad cookie painting wont pay the bills.

6) Family.

Grandma & Grandpa in their formal Thanksgiving Day attire

7) A month of gobbling and handprint turkey pictures from our own little turkey.