Way Back When . . . before a January full of nonstop work and nuptials, before Sophia learned to clap, crawl and decided that 4 am is her favorite playtime, before I tried to pack 48 hours of activity into a 24-hour day . . . there was a blog. One that kept my Mexico family in touch with my American family and friends. Way back when . . . we had a following. A small, intimate group of blog-stalkers who followed Sophia’s every move and our lives (despite it being mundane at times.) I have vowed to regain my blog-stalkers. And this is where I start . . . Way Back When there was a Christmas vacation.
On the 1st day of vacation, our travels got us stuck . . . 
Yep. What a way to start our long-awaited trip! With nearly a foot of snow closing down the Milwaukee airport, cancelling our flight and leaving us with two options of flying the 36 hours later to Chicago (a few hours short of our intended destination) OR flying to Milwaukee through Memphis 60 hours later (um . . . wrong direction folks!)
All was not lost, however, as the excitement of having my husband in the good ole US of A kept our spirits high! After hours at the airport getting rerouted and luggage returned, we found our way to the Houston Sheraton – the only shack with any rooms within half an hour of the airport! – and set about making the most of our unexpected Texan weekend!
Those of you who don’t know my husband well perhaps don’t know that he is obsessed with basketball. He plays it (or at least used to), watches it, loves it. And his first night in the US we were able to make one of his dreams come true! We got last minute, third row seats to the Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings NBA game! (Thank you Michelle for being our on-the-spot babysitter!)
Hmm . . . where's Pablo?
On the 2nd day of vacation, our travels got us home . . . 
Or at least closer to it! We got into Chicago around 11 pm and were greeted by Daniel and Stacy (and their awesome sign for Pablo)! Pablo got his first glance at snow (in the airport parking lot), tasted snow off a nearby car (to all our dismay), and we dashed home in time to crawl into warm beds and forget that it was a chilly below 0 temperature outside!
On the 3rd day of vacation, Pablo nearly died of cold . . . Ok, so maybe it wasn’t fair of me, but I couldn’t resist. In the below 0, 40-mile-an-hour-winds, I slid out of the driveway into the snow bank and required the assistance of David and Pablo (mittenless, hatless, never-been-in-the-cold Pablo) to push the car out! And maybe, just maybe, while they were telling me to put it in reverse and my husband’s hands were freezing . . . well just maybe I took a minute to take out the camera and catch the moment!
Pablo and I went whirlwind Christmas shopping for Sophia – Old Navy, Toys R Us, Target, Kohls . . . let’s just say that Soph hit the jackpot on her first Christmas. Sophia stayed with her doting Aunts and Uncles . . . and their furry ones!
And when we got back to home base, dad had arrived to whisk us away to Minocqua, but not before a quick catnap for grandpa and granddaughter!
On the 4th day of vacation, we did nothing. Home in Minocqua, Pablo and I did nothing. We hung with sniffling Soph – who seemed to be coming down with something, checked out mom and dad’s Christmas decorations (which were quite stellar if I do say so myself) . . .
That night, we tucked our daughter into bed and volunteered to do an evening grocery trip for mom who was incapacitated and a bit whiny (love you mom!) after recent foot surgery. A four-page-grocery-list/three-hour-shopping-trip, and by the end, even the store clerk didn’t recognize some of the things on mom’s list.
On the 5th day of vacation, David and Stacy came home.Woohoo! The arrival of the first aunt and uncle to Minocqua signaled the beginning of a fabulous Christmas week. They came bearing gifts and cookies, hugs and smiles; Sophia was in her glory!
Soph seemed to be getting used to donning the winter clothing, but Pablo and I were definitely not anywhere near used to getting it on her! Goodness – we quickly learned to start getting ready for a trip outside about 30 minutes before we actually wanted to step out the door!
Despite a quick trip to the emergency room at 2 am following a most serious Soph Meltdown (apparently her sniffling had turned into mass vomiting/sniffling/screaming), we left with some tablets to help her keep her food down and advice to use a vaporizer to decrease her congestion. We went home and said extra Christmas prayers that our baby would wake up happy and healthy the next morning. Which she did.
On the 6th day of vacation, we got all dressed up for church.After a bit of present-shaking, gift-wrapping and pasta-making, we dressed in our best for Christmas Eve church service.
Sophia was a trooper! She made it through the two-hour service by gnawing on the bulletin . . . ok, she actually half-consumed the church bulletin! I have begun to wonder if paper has any nutritional value? (I’m sure if any overachieving mom reads this, she’ll shake her head at the thought of me contenting my child with paper to keep her quiet at church. But who cares! It was Christmas Eve, and if paper was what my baby wanted… then paper was what she was going to get!)
And later that night, headlights in the driveway marked the arrival of Dan and Tiffany! Everything was in place – food in the fridge, check. Presents under the tree, check. Family in the house, check. All we needed was a good night sleep!
On the 7th day of vacation . . . it was Christmas!Up in the morning and dressed in sheer Christmas glory, Sophia eagerly awaited present-opening.
Or was it me that eagerly awaited present-opening.
Either way, the paper-ripping excitement wasn’t in the cards for a few hours as a trip to grandma’s was first on the agenda.
Back home and finally, FINALLY it was time to unwrap some of that Christmas love awaiting us beneath the tree. Pablo and Tiffany were donned this year’s “Santas,” but the hats came off before five minutes were up.
Nevertheless, presents were distributed, and the fun went on and on and on . . .
On the 8th day of vacation, we felt the need for speed! The only real request I had for Christmas vacation was to go TUBING! I love tubing. Love love love it. We tried to rent tubes, we tried to find a place for tubing. We failed. So we bought tubes at Walmart, bundled in winter clothes and headed off to the golf course where we found the greatest tubing hill in the middle of a peaceful, quiet winter day. There was single tubing, double tubing, fast tubing, me falling, Tiffany sped down the hill screaming “Waaaaaaait!” to um, no one, and there was a ramp. Not really a ramp. It was more like a pile of snow in the middle of the track that caused for air-catching, back-breaking flips in the air. There was lots of huffing and puffing during the uphill hike, lots of breaks and snow-eating, Pablo’s first snow angel and facewash all on the same day!
Pablo caught air going over the "jump" that the guys thought so necessary to build.
Then we headed to see family where there were appetizers galore, presents to be opened, good times to be had!
On the 9th day of vacation, we ate ribs! We’ll get to the rib dinner in a second. First let’s address our afternoon activity which involved witnessing utter craziness as about 30 mature adults jumped into the freezing cold lake in the Polar Bear Plunge to raise money for local charities. And while I’m all for public service, I would not freeze my booty as these people did!
Not to be outdone, these guys proved they were a little crazy too - party animals! (Literally.)
Ok, so my only real second request for Christmas was to take Pablo to WhiteTail Inn for a meal. The place has awed me since it was built, and at one point, I even imagined my wedding there on New Year’s Eve (um, yes, this was before I met my husband, before visa issues and, well, before I understood what a WhiteTail wedding – nevermind on New Year’s Eve – would cost!) So we settled for a post-Christmas dinner feast! WhiteTail ribs are unmatched by any other. And Pablo (who later admitted he was embarrassed to just order his normal beer while everyone else ordered fancy drinks), tried his first Old Fashioned! Hee hee!
On the 10th day of vacation, we said Farewells! Christmas week came to an end, and Daniel, David, Stacy and Tiffany had to pack up and head home. I do believe Soph received sufficient hugs and kisses to see her through for at least the few days it would be until she saw them again!
On the 11th day of vacation, we hit downtown Minocqua! With four less people and three less dogs in the house, things went from wild, fun and chaotic to quiet, calm and restful! Pablo, Soph and I hit downtown Minocqua for a little post-Christmas shopping and lunch at a local restaurant – Polecat & Lace.
Eating in this rustic little diner (where Soph took an afternoon snooze right on the table) reminded me of the movie “Beautiful Girls” – one of my all-time favorites – and the innate appreciation of small-town life that only belongs to those who grew up in one!
Pablo also got treated to a whirl on the snowmobile by Mike and Dawson! I do believe he had to put aside that macho manhood of his as he gripped onto Michael for dear life!
That evening - more family and fun! Don’t be fooled by the photo; Sophia promptly woke to welcome the clan and spent nearly two hours entertaining Zachary (or was it the other way around?)
On the 12th day of vacation, we brought in the New Year!Before leaving the Northwoods, Pablo had one last item pending on his “To Do” list.
And after a long drive back to Milwaukee, we spent Sophia’s first New Year welcoming 2009! We barely made it to midnight as the next morning called for a 4 am wake-up call as our trip home to Mexico was underway.
On the 13th day of vacation, we crossed back over the border!Before the sun was up, we met Michelle at the airport and headed off to our South-of-the-Border home. Soph giggled her way through the plane ride, making friends at every turn!
And just as our trip began (stuck in the airport), so it ended! Our luggage was lost on the way home, and in order to get through Customs with all our items, we spent hours waiting in the airport for the next plane from Houston to arrive with our lost suitcase! Soph napped, Pablo and I waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.
Finally . . . Our suitcase came in. Our wait was over. Our daughter woke up to life again in Mexico.
