a christmas to remember

so being it my youngest's first christmas, the first time i'd been to arizona, my brother's first christmas home from afghanistan... for all these reasons christmas should be remembered and cherished. and somewhere in the back of my mind, sticking to this day like little post-it notes they will exist in some meager way- but holy cow for entirely different reasons will this be this christmas to remember for years to come....

after a 14 hour drive we arrived in arizona, myself working on 2 1/2 hours of sleep. we get there, hugs exchanged, bags unloaded, furniture (yes, i said furniture) our trip was accompanied by a 5x8 trailer stuffed to the brim with goodies such as gifts, a tree, dinging room table, decor for the house. this was to be the first holiday my brother and sister-in-law were to host. exciting isn't it?? okay back to the story- we got showers, air mattresses blown up, and settled in. ready to assemble the tree, dec out the house and enjoy the evening together, only to find our christmas tree in all its pre-lit glory is missing a vital organ- the base : we had absolutely nothing to hold this tree up. so we kiss the idea of ending the evening with a finished tree and stockings hung. the next day a search party sets out looking in stores for a tree stand visiting countless retailers only to come up empty handed in their quest. in my mother's infinite brainstorming she comes across a solution to help us in our tree dilemma. so we gather rocks from outside, putting them in a pot and sticking the tree in- after a bit of fanagling this proves to be the way to go, it worked awesome. then my little nephew becomes ill, throwing up and having an awful time :( however a highlight came through that day, we got snow. i'm partial to a green landscape, but i have to admit, snow in the desert is pretty friggin amazing to see- absolutely beautiful. that night after decorating and having a few drinks we turned in. christmas eve we vowed not to leave the house, last minute shopping had rendered us useless. the stresses of all the food, wrapping gifts, finishing desserts, setting out presents for good girls and boys- our holiday readiness kept us going until almost 2 am!- yeah we were beat. and of course the little ones are up with the chicken, dying to know what awaits them under the tree. so we pull ourselves up out of bed and share christmas and about 4 pots of coffee to start the day. around 10 o'clock, we have stuck the turkey in the oven, the house is filling with amazing smells, everyone squeezing in a shower and a smoke when they can along with filling something with batteries or turning things on little hands aren't quite capable of doing. and almost like out of a storybook- BOOM! the clock strikes noon.

and
every
powersource
is
out.

the electricity for the entire post has been knocked out. no hot water, no tv for the big games on or so we may watch the christmas parades, no heat (remember we had snow) but most importantly- no power in the kitchen.

we hear that a huge bird had run itself into a transformer (i think thats crap, but whatever) and the ENTIRE, now let me stress this- the ENTIRE post was powerless. not, fun. so we assume patience is the way and we will stick it out until it comes back on, no big, we'll just eat a little later. so we occupy ourselves with the last battery power on the laptops, make sandwiches and other provisions that require no power. the warm turkey smell permiating from the oven is starting to fade. the sun is starting to set a bit and we realize we need a backup food plan.

yeah, umm... okay- no backups-
we needed something that could be grilled- hmmm......

how we came up with baked potatoes and hot dogs i still don't know but thats what we had. thats what our christmas dinner consisted of. my poor sis-in-law, she curled up the couch and left reality for a while whilst we tried and made the best of everything. my brother on the other hand was loving it. after whining about missing the game he almost became excited about the situation. it forced us to come together and left the distractions electricity can provide. everyone in their own little digital world.

we got word that the power would be back on no later than 10pm. um, thanks- we think.

it was getting really cold in the house and with no way to warm ourselves my brother and his infinite ingenuity pulls his grill and our huge bag of christmas wrappings out and begins making a fire for us to warm ourselves with on the back porch. and seriously- it really did bring us together. the family as well as some friends gathered around and we laughed and talked around the fire, away from everything- except eachother. and thats what matters right?

okay enough with the sentimentalism....

and like clockwork out of a tv show or lifetime christmas movie- the power popped back on, 10pm sharp.

my sis-in-law was so dissapointed in the day i turned to her and said screw it, "we are doing in now, fire up everything."

so diligently her and i put our nose to the grindstone creating a christmas midnight meal for us all. and at around 11:30 we were finally finished. and was sat around eating our late, but delicious christmas dinner- with 30 minutes of christmas to spare.

the day after christmas we made the spiral ham that got ignored in the day before's fiasco and the christmas dinner leftover were the perfect accompanyment. we planned on leaving the next morning so we took it easy, heading to the mall, grabbing a frosty from wendys and just enjoying our last full day. and the electricity.

that evening we were all resting in the livingroom when my other nephew in almost a dead sleep pops up and starts hurling onto the couch and floor, down the hall way and into the bathroom where the poor thing is found hugging the porcelain god. we decide on that note after we get him settled in its really time to call it a night. we were setting ourselves to wake at around 4 and head out- BUT apparently three more invites to the puke party were passed out. my two girls, and my sister all woke to the same fate as my nephew the night before. but we had to leave, we were working on deadline. people going back to work, planes to catch, papers to sign- lots of good stuff that could be put off, great.

so we pile in the vehicle, smushed by numerous packages, bags, and suitcases. my sister and my eldest in the very back, puking into grocery sacks armed with a roll of paper towels. my infant had ceased thank goodness. so halfway through our return home, the random hacking in the back was our soundtrack. nice.

we finally arrived after numerous stops and seat switching, cig breaks.

and in the days since we have arrived home 3 more people have fell victim to this puking epidemic, myself included. it is sick now i'm writing this wonderful story, lol. the only upside it is seems to some and go with a day so hopefully by tonight i shall be back to good again.

so that is what christmas was for me and mine this year, pretty eventful, interesting and downright crazy, sounds like words most would use to describe holiday with relatives doesn't it?

but i have to say i think this ones for the books, one that takes the cake (a from scratch, delicious, red velvet cake)

like i said one to remember.