and to all, a goodnight

christmas day was lovely. we awoke at dark o'thirty thanks to jonah's insistence on east coast wake up time. jason made a fire and coffee, both of which were soul-warming. jonah came down the stairs and immediately saw, not the present laden tree, not the bulging stocking but the helicopter which had landed next to santa's letter. jonah's letter to santa was short and to the point. I did not prompt him; i just wrote what he told me. "dear santa. i love you. i would like a helicopter santa. thank you santa. love jonah." all jonah could say was wow. wow. wow. did i mention the helicopter has fire rescue capabilities and squirts water? jonah tried to extinguish the fire in the stove and promptly lost the pilots helmet in a blaze of glory. oh well. easy come, easy go. we opened presents and enjoyed the early morning light coming in the windows on a windy northwest morning. i made scotch eggs for breakfast, a temple tradition, and we opened our christmas bon bons, a hobson tradition. afterwards, we ventured out in the wind and light rain for a walk down blossom lane and as usual, the clouds parted, the sun shone and jonah fell asleep. this blog posting will be the last of 2011. i hope it was a good year for you and i wish you and yours a very happy and healthy 2012. may all your dreams come true.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

last christmas, we decorated a mango tree, ate oysters and went for a surf after christmas lunch. this year will be a bit different. we cut down a Douglas Fir tree from the Olympic forest and brought it home atop the car like it was a prized buck. it was an incredibly clear crisp day with the mountains in full effect. jonah, toting his chainsaw, was very into tree hunting and he examined each tree with the eye of an expert. he kept saying, "this is going to be fun!" actually, he said, "karyn, this is going to be fun, karyn!" yep, he mostly calls me by my first name and occasionally by my full name. who does he think he is? i think its a phase. anyway, we've been opening the windows on the advent calendar all month and he loves the chocolate gold coins that i slip him. i hope he realizes money isn't normally edible. oh, and yes, santa. we're doing it. i've told jonah all about this big guy in red and white that lives up north with small elves and rides a flying cart driven by special reindeer. the problem is jonah is convinced santa is a koala, thanks to a charming songbook give n to him by his australian great aunty and sung to tune of Waltzing Matilda. so picture this - a huge koala with an aussie accent dressed in red fur driving flying kangaroo deer around the world climbing down chimneys delivering presents to good boys and girls. why? why do we tell these absurd stories to our impressionable children? because we can. merry christmas everyone.

"oh once a jolly santa, camped by the billabong, pulled up his sleigh by the coolabah tree. he had a little dip and he boiled up the billy can, soon he was snoring and fast asleep. down came koala and climbed aboard his santa sleigh, slipped on the suit, cause he had a plan. he called up his mates on the old bush telegraph, lets give ol' santa a helping hand. santa koala, santa koala, off in a flap like a mad cockatoo. in a christmas sleigh, full of aussie animals, santa koala good on you......."

A Proper Haircut

I suppose you could call this Jonah's first real haircut considering the first time we visited Denise, he was extremely tentative about the whole thing. She was only able to cut a few wisps off. This time he sat in the chair on his own, with the gown on and proceeded to give directions as to the cut and styling he wanted. He looks mahvelous!

Apple Of My Eye

we are very lucky to have inherited 4 apples trees with this lovely property we call home. despite creative pruning from previous owners, our trees have been generous with their fruit and i've transformed the bounty into jars of applesauce. jonah, ever willing and ready, helped pick the apples this year and oversaw the saucing from his small blue stepping stool. we also carved another pumpkin, and called on the fire fairies to light it for us. We sang together, "fire fairies, come to us. and when the fire fairies come, bringing light from the sun..." Oh, and if you think the Shark Tent has made an appearance, you are right!

Giving Thanks and a Reunion

We ventured east for Jason's 20 year high school reunion and a festive Thanksgiving with the Temple clan. We frolicked in the woods behind the house and also enjoyed a stroll through Old Town Alexandria with Grandpa Gordon and Gramma Lou. We even got a behind the scenes tour of the incredible Martin Luther King memorial from project manager, Uncle Andrew. Truly Amazing! Thanksgiving was a great day and we ate turkey shaped chocolate, turkey shaped butter and turkey shaped turkey. Deeelicious! Auntie Katherine put on a wonderful feast and good times were had by all. We even had 3 nights of babysitting!!!! Jason's high school reunion was lots of fun and we even squeezed in some dancing. And then of course, there was cousin time. Cousin time is like nothing else. Its like watching 3 small tornadoes that look vaguely similar dancing together, laughing and throwing themselves off couches. Will and Mackenzie are SO wonderful with Jonah and he loves them both very much. I can remember when they were Jonah's age; my, how time flies!