Another Cousin Trip to Sin City

My flight was delayed, my bags were the last one off the plane, the shuttle was nowhere to be found, and I hit traffic on 540, which never happens. By the time I made it home I had about four seconds to throw my bags inside, grab a uniform, and make it to my early morning Tuesday meeting.

Naturally, Seth had chosen this as the first time since we moved in to lock this house with a key, and I didn't have one. He was in North Dakota with the kids. The pinpad wouldn't override the deadbolt, and every window I tried was locked, including the ones on the second floor. 

Vacation was definitely over.

I eventually abandoned ship, went to work looking and smelling exactly like I had just taken the redeye from Vegas, and called our realtor to beg her to unlock the door while I was gone. I got a text from Missy that said she too had arrived home to disaster: the necessity of shoveling her car out of snowbanks coupled with having dropped her keys in one. So I guess it could've been worse.

Luckily, a couple days with the Walters fam- even in my least favorite place- had been exactly what the doctor ordered. 

"Walters Christmas" commenced immediately upon our arrival

and the holiday spirit stuck around for the next 4.5 days. (This is how Ford ["Christmas boy"] took his naps.)

F+F love traveling in general (even though a suddenly-sick Ford threw up all over me minutes after this photo was taken, before we even took off),

but trips to see their "puzzins" (cousins) are their absolute favorite. Bonus if it's somewhere you can swim in December

and you get story time with Ana & Ata

and Missy time.

This hilarious get-together also involved these bizarre masks, for some reason

Hawaiian dresses,

and more makeovers than I could count. (Ford was a real sport about this one after Natalie told him she was making him look "like a football player!")

No Vegas trip is complete for the Walters family without a hike at Red Rock, and "puzzin" rock scrambling did not disappoint.

 (Ford came for the snacks.)

We also bit the bullet and took the kids to the Strip to see the Christmas decorations, and it was a total blast. Vegas is surprisingly kid-friendly if you go early enough, and I always forget how groovy the dancing fountains are at the Bellagio,

not to mention their stunning Conservatory Christmas display.

The kids loved trekking down Las Vegas Blvd. and staring at the lights and the sights and the...

sigh. M&M store. (Lisa hacked Vegas and brought Wal Mart M&Ms for a treat afterwards, and Missy and I enjoyed a real "proud sister-in-law" moment over this bit of ingenuity.)

And Finley's dream came true when she and Tyler got to become real, live Vegas performers at the New York New York Christmas show. 

Seth joined the fun in time for this super relaxing wake-up

and the marquee event, Ben's graduation from Weapons School.

We couldn't have been more proud, my "Twitch" in the above photo notwithstanding,

made even more so when we found out he was the honor grad!

The rest of our early Christmas weekend was a blur of  PJ time and hide and seek,

hikes with Mom,

"we miss you!!!" calls to Peru,

and lots and lots of park time in warm, sunny West Coast weather.

And before we hit the airport, we made the eleventh-hour discovery of one more tree, and the world's largest observation wheel (our new favorite thing in Vegas.) (It had a BAR.)

There are always lots of great photos from cousin get-togethers, but this may be my favorite, an adorable reminder to stop & smell the roses (or at least a family member's armpit) before boarding flights and barreling toward the holiday weekend!

Of weddings, blizzards, recitals, and raffle wins.

After Thanksgiving, it's basically a mad race for Christmas. The week+ that has followed has been full of Christmas tree lightings (and hot cocoa at Miss Sally's)

lovely pre-parade brunches with friends that included so many mimosas we didn't actually make it to the main event (and didn't care),

waffle (and whipped cream) dates with Dad,

Duck Donuts and terrible moods,

a sick day at home with Mom,

which involved dress up and terrible-ness (plus another one with Dad, terrorizing Camp Mackall),

and a surprise Federal holiday. Which meant a trip to our favorite, the Life & Science Museum.

Where we retreated to the butterfly house, and discovered the amazing butterfly identification cards, in a desperate attempt to stay warm.

The weekend was wild, the first year we had skipped Army-Navy in ages. I had my friend Mike's lovely wedding in Rhode Island (also a much-needed reunion with some of my best girlfriends),

and Seth had to work and rehearse for Finley's big dance recital Sunday, which included a Daddy-daughter dance. There's an adorable video on facebook, if you haven't seen it. The whole things was well worth the divide-and-conquer. although we hate those--

even if the big snowstorm meant cancelled flights, so I had to fly into Norfolk, rent an SUV, and white knuckle the long and hazardous drive to NC in order to make the big performance.

In "photo of the week" news, F+F could not be bothered to pose like normal humans upon my late arrival at the dance recital (but adorable Seth had gotten Ford dressed up for the occasion),

and "Ford" won the raffle. This picture of him with him counting his money makes me laugh every time.