there'd be no distance that could hold us back

this time of the year often brings with it lots of food, lots of family and lots of photos, which doesn't actually start with f but well...it sounds just the same. this year was no different. when sifting through my photos to come up with some to share here i narrowed it down to a lean thirty, which is about twenty seven more than i may have words for but we'll give it a go.

we had our friends nicole and aaron over on christmas eve to try out the fondue pot i asked for and received as a wedding gift more than two years ago. i am not quite sure what i was waiting for because it was a sizzling good time. much wine was drank and although cohen was too excited to sleep that night i would say it was a success by all accounts. i will definitely do it again sometime.

christmas morning the three of us slept in quite late, almost noon to be exact and then i was up and the turkey was in and then we relaxed some more. family started arriving around three and as per the prescribed christmas tradition the chaos began. i don't do so well with chaos and i had a few moments where i almost ran from the building screaming but eventually dinner was served and gifts were opened and everything turned out better than planned (considering that i am a turkey amateur).

speaking of gifts, we chose not to exchange with everyone this year and instead opted for the drawing of names and the buying of only one gift (except for the kids of course, everyone got to buy for them). i drew my brother aaron and as luck would have it, he drew me as well. his gift to me was a pair of bookends that he crafted out of a light and dark coloured wood that i instantly fell in love with. right now they are holding up all of the great books that cohen got as gifts. as you can see he was more interested in eating them than reading them but i know in time he is going to love to read just as much as his mom and dad did as kids.




in other 'tis the season news worthy of noting, the day before christmas marko came home with one of those silly mugs from the dollar store that has a message on the side. he had bought a coffee at the shop downstairs and filled it almost to the brim before handing it to me. if you had asked me a few years ago i am not certain i would have imagined being so happy to receive such a thing but as i held my "worlds greatest mom" mug i felt somehow completely satisfied. it was the perfect thing. (this picture pretty clearly illustrates the fauxhawk that cohen is naturally sporting these days, without the spike it makes him look like a little greaser).




on boxing day i spent most of the day curled up in the hide-a-bed in the living room watching the entire first season of northern exposure. i love that show and am now convinced that i must purchase the entire series. everyday since i have been having little battles in my head over whether or not it is worth the money. so far i have remained purchase free, we will see if that stays true throughout the week.




the holidays also involved a trip to the aquarium which i foolishly believed wouldn't be too busy. i was grossly incorrect. it was busier than a saturday afternoon in august and as a result we only stayed for a short while. since we were there anyway we decided to take a ride on the bright lights train. cohen was more interested in the one light hanging right in front of him then the thousands scattered throughout the forest but i had a great time experimenting with the lights and long exposures on the camera.

yesterday found us out at my mom's place for a walk on the beach and then a ham dinner. it was the last of our holiday commitments and it was a great way to end the festive season. cohen had some roasted parsnips and squash off of my plate and i think he was quite proud of himself because of it!











so as we end the year i am feeling glad that marko and i both work at the university where you don't have to work over the holidays. it has been really nice having marko home with us this last week. i know that cohen loved having the time to sleep in and relax with his dad. i think in the end, for us, that was the very best gift of all.

throughout the holidays my mission was to get one good shot of the three of us, this little family we created together. it didn't work out as well as planned but here in no particular order is our three best (and not so best) attempts






wishing you all a happy new year, may this next year be even better than the last!