So long is too long

Dearest of dear family and friends, words are incapable of expressing the joy I felt to see you, hold you, and have you geographically close again and the sadness I now feel in my heart having said, "so long, see you later." This holiday season has truly been unforgettable (pipe in the music please) So, as a way to cuddle up with my nostalgia and also catch up with all of you, here are some photos and small kind recaps.

Being in the desert always feels most like home. I suppose because it is where the majority of my family members are concentrated, but maybe it is something more than that. Perhaps there truly is something energetic and magical in the dry wintry air that blankets the impressive rock formations that surround the valley, anxious yucca plants competing for space with thirsty Joshua trees, soaking up and storing into their roots the water from melted winter frost.
Snapshot like moments linger in my memory and will continue to do so until the next time we meet. Like Juan's expression when he met his namesake, how he instantly threw out his arms to my father as though they were old friends, the way they seemed to have a secret language of their own that only they spoke and understood.

Grandpa Cariker's breakfasts are unforgettable and are a topic of daily conversation as Claudio especially misses the gravy and I particularly miss our morning coffees!
Let me not forget how amazing it was to be present for my Grandpa's 75th birthday! Boy oh boy did we eat good that night!

We had a lovely time with Mr. G-Pa Hawley and enjoyed each minute we were in his presence. We truly have a deep running karmic connection! I would like to add that I had forgotten just how decadent root beer floats are! Thanks for helping me remember!Perhaps Christmas Eve was one of the funniest nights, not only of our trip, but of my entire life! Imagine my grandmother ass grabbing my husband after a bottle or so of good red wine and begging him to teach her to tango, meanwhile, my father, behaved like a complete gentleman, that is until I overheard him saying, and I quote, to his ex-mother-in-law, "Oh Carolyne, I don't know what you are talking about, you look damn good for your age! Hell, I'd do ya!" I am pretty sure I did tinkle in my pants a bit from the fits of laughter that caused me to loose control of more than just my bladder. I must admit though, no one ever accused my father of being a liar. She is quite a looker for 70! Juan had fun on Christmas too! I have never seen a kid so happy about a new toy!

Claudio notched up on his list of favorites his 38th birthday party at Aunt Kim's and Uncle Jim's place. He said it was the best birthday he had ever celebrated! Between the mouth watering BBQ, eehm I mean Asado, the company, and of course his newly discovered love for the Wii, well he was a lot like his son; a kid at Christmas!
Then of course, we had to close a chapter, rent a car, say our "see you laters," and drive to Vegas. The drive was beautiful thanks to the flooding rains that came in the weeks prior, turning dry desert beds of cracked earth into lakes.

It was a sweet arrival, which made our departure from the desert a bit less bitter. We arrived directly to my Aunt Amy's house and it was Christmas all over again, presents galore!
New Year's Eve was super eventful in every way. I finally met my Mother's oh so talked about boyfriend, and we had a beautiful dinner cooked by yours truly and washed it down with some fantastically rich red wine. We sat outside in the crisp air of Vegas winter but were kept warm by outdoor heaters while we appreciated the view of the entire city.
How we ever ended up in my grandmother's bedroom having a heated discussion on politics, (where I was wrongly accused of being a communist I might add) I will never know, but that too gets charted up there in ranking as one the best days in Vegas. And when grandma pulled out the old photo albums revealing one of my first hand written thank you letters, well that brought tears to my eyes.
On New Year's Day, while we were all being lazy and watching very intense movie, Juan was simply entertaining himself, and suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw him take his first steps! Not towards me or Claudio or Grandma, but towards Leonardo DiCaprio on the Television screen. hehe. Now, nearly a month later, he is unstoppable!
Who knew Hoover dam could be so cool the 2nd time around?! I do believe that personal tastes and interests change as we grow older and time passes, bringing about an appreciation for things that would not normally have been appreciated in our past. The man power it took to build such a monster of project is beyond my power of thought, and while I am on the fence about the manipulation of mother nature Hoover Dam has done great wonders for what is today a fairly non-polluting response to supply and demand of both water and electricity.
Saying "see you later" to my mother was one of the hardest goodbyes I had to do this time around. Funny how becoming a mother makes you need yours a little more. I would like to point out how amazingly beautiful a woman she is. I am not talking "heart and soul" kind of beauty. I would say that is a mere understatement. When I say the word "beauty" I am talking about the kind that seeps out of every pore of her mind, body and spirit. She is beauty in breathing form. She lights up a room with her smile and she doesn't even know it.

Mouth watering food and imported beer narrating our every waking breathe is a good way to describe our stay in San Francisco. We rented a fabulous little 2 bedroom apartment with my sister who met us there on our first day. The apartment was perfectly located, and served us well in every way. Our first days there were spent with friends who had come from near and far to see us and meet Juan and we did our best to combine those friendly visits with some site seeing and meandering of the crooked and creative streets adorning one of my favorite cities.

There are several moments that stand out in my memory, like how Juan's daily ritual of waking early to play a while by himself and then, almost suddenly, as if he had remembered something important, he would crawl just as fast as his little arms and legs would carry him to Amber's door, hitting it open with one swift shove and then, standing on all fours in the door way he would yell something to the sort of, "Hey auntie, get up and play with me!"
The day we took the train out to Ocean Beach was a beautiful day of adventures. We started at the beach front and dreamed of having a little cottage like house somewhere nearby.

We spent the rest of that day traipsing through the Golden Gate park, loosing and finding our way through the winding streets and paths that stretch across roughly 48 city blocks.
At one point, Amber wanted to wear the backpack so as to have Juan close to her.
I am embarrassed to say I had lived in San Francisco for a little more than 2 years and had never taken the ferry across the bay. In discovering this, we decided to do so one one of San Francisco's classically drizzly days.
P.S. Claudio is making this Taliban face on purpose.
Upon arriving, Claudio immediately asked if we could move to Saucelito, an incredibly picturesque hot spot for yacht's men and millionaires.
Finally, and in bringing to a close our first family vacation, San Francisco was the hardest of all three cities to leave. Maybe because we were not only saying goodbye to SF but to the US in general, and not necessarily because we were saying goodbye to family and friends there in San Francisco, but in some way, saying "so long" to all of you. And perhaps because we had peered into what it would be like to live as a family somewhere other than Argentina.
All of these things together sent the both of us into a state of questioning and "what ifs" that took a few days to recover from and left us asking ourselves, "why?"
We are now, however, back into the swing of things, working and saving and planning for our next big vacation, though we have yet to define where and when.