after apartment shopping, joel and i flew to tacoma, washington to spend some time with the myers family. we had a wonderful (and relaxing) visit. during the day joel and i spent time with mark and john (joel's longtime friends from washington) and at night we would have dinner with his folks. my mom flew up over the weekend so she could meet his family. both families have been anxious to meet one another before the wedding and i thought this would be the perfect time for such an event - and it was! i believe they all liked each other and will enjoy being related.
i'm starting to get used to the idea that i have a whole new family. i've grown up with so many (i have 4 families...the product of too many divorces but they have added a richness to my life that i would not replace) and now i have one more. its cool to see how the two families are melding and how they will continue to grow into one large extended family. i'm very grateful that steve and wanda have accepted me as a daughter and that i too have accepted them as my new parents. it would be horrible if i didnt like them or vice versa.
on the sunday before christmas, mom and i flew back to orange and joel stayed in washington. we arrived at john wayne late sunday night so we both fell in to bed. oh, i forgot to mention - while we were in washington we heard back about two of the apartments - amos' place and doug's place. that was very good news because they both wanted us to be their tenants!
monday was the beginning of an eventful week. my dad, stepmom and brothers flew into town thus kicking off the week-o-christmas. we have started a tradition of celebrating christmas at my aunt's house. since everyone lives so far away, they all generally fly in to town for a week and all the festivities usually happen at my aunt and uncle's house. i like doing christmas this way!
so we had dinner on christmas eve at aunt holly's house. christmas morning we went back over to their house to open presents and have breakfast. my grandma used to make her homemade cinnamon rolls on christmas morning. since she hasn't been able to make them we have all missed them dearly. so i've decided to continue the tradition and made them this year. the first batch was not cooked enough but the second batch was incredible. everyone raved about them and said that i nailed grandma's recipe. that was a huge sigh of relief.
in the afternoon, my mom and i drove to my mom's brother's house for christmas with the cassidy family. the past few years we've done a gift exchange (where everyone brings a gift for $15 or less and then we choose, i mean steal, the presents we want) and we did this again this year. i love this idea and it makes christmas so much more affordable and fun! i walked off with a $20 target card which was dearly appreciated. we then had a delicious dinner and played poker the rest of the night.
on wednesday we went back to aunt holly's house and visited with the family. in the evening we went to my grandparents home for dinner. they recently moved in to a new retirement home and we all like it so much more than their last one. especially because now we can have wine for dinner!
on thursday my mom and i drove to fontana to pick up my sister, brother, and second step mom from the mcgoughs (my third family in case you were keeping track). we had breakfast with them and visited for awhile and then we drove back to my aunt holly's. this was the first time in a long time that my stepmom and dad would be in the same room together and some of us were quite nervous about it. but i am happy to report that it went swimmingly. in fact, it was the ultimate test because they spent 3 days together - and there was little to no tension!
the rest of the weekend consisted of visiting, playing games, and shopping. i love my brothers and sister and do not get to see them enough. christmas is great because its a week where i get unadulterated time with them. but its also a tough holiday because it reminds me how much i love them and how far away they are throughout the year.
this past wednesday, joel, uncle jim, and my mom helped me move to my new apartment. which apartment did we choose, you ask? doug's place!!! and we love it! i've been in the place for three days now and it gets better each day. its huge and i still do not have enough things to fill it up. i've had some of my santa monica friends over to see the place and help me unpack and joel has been here to get me situated. even though i have lived abroad and at school for the past 6 years, i feel like this move was me truly moving out of my mom's house. it was surprisingly tough and had an air of finality to it. but i love the feeling and idea of living on my own (at least until may...wink wink). i can leave the dishes in the sink, and my clothes on the floor and i can have everything situated just the way i like. its a neat feeling to know this all rests on my shoulders. it makes me feel grown up and mature. its also nice to finally have all my things in one place and to know that i can set my roots down here because i will be here for at least the next year. that's the longest i've been anywhere since graduating high school.
and now i have a wedding to plan. i put it off while in london and am now realizing how much there is to do. joel and i have been registering the past few days and its been so much fun to figure out how we want our place to look and what we want to have the rest of our lives. we've tried to pick pieces that will be heirlooms, pieces that will be passed down to future generations. some of my favorite things are those that i've received from grandparents...i hope one day i can do the same for our grandkids.
now i am attempting to settle in as well that i can before school starts on monday. it never ends, but i would rather have a busy life than a dull life. i will try to post pictures as soon as the internet and my computer behave.
and in case you are wondering, joel and i are currently registered at crate and barrel and bed, bath, and beyond.
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