Well, actually, I didn't forget (I know, I know, I've started the first blog of 2022 under false pretenses. Shame on me). For the past few months, every now and then, I'd be reading a book or watching a show or having dog toys flung at me by an over-excited terrier, and I'd randomly think, "oh yeah, I should post an update!"
Specifically, this terrier.
Shown here with her desert coyote backup.
But then, the moment would pass, and I'd push blogging to the back of my mind for another few weeks. I also admit to not feeling the call to write very often lately, and I attribute this to us having what must be the crappiest January on record, at least here at Casa de Olsen. I feel moderately compelled to share all of the sordid details, mainly because things are looking up (finally!), but also because we recently took a road trip, and I want to get the "here's all the updates since last November" business out of the way, so I can share pictures and stories of the ridiculousness we recently got into in Las Vegas, Death Valley, Bakersfield, Paso Robles, and Orange County. I understand that I could just jump right into the fun stuff, but I also feel like this blog sometimes becomes a "where are Amy and Chris now?" travel blog; while that's all fine and good (lots of people are making way more money than we do writing just those sorts of missives), it's not the way we actually live our lives, and some realism is probably called for, every now and then.
Anywhoodle, onward! As I started pulling pictures and looking back at my calendar to write this post, I realized enough has been going on that I'll need to split it into two installments.
First up, the good stuff!
Since the last set of blog posts (about the trip to New Mexico that involved dune sledding, meeting the world's largest pistachio, and destroying a tire), we've celebrated holidays, birthdays, and our anniversary; after a few years of not being able to travel and see most of our family, it was great to have the chance to visit with lots of them as well!
Thanksgiving 2021 - for Thanksgiving, we headed northwest to Sacramento, to spend time with Chris' Mom, Susan, and her husband, Andy. Since they live in a small apartment, we rented an Airbnb with a fully stocked kitchen (it was above the garage of the larger house on the lot, and our host family was outstanding, letting us borrow all the dishes and HDMI cords we needed). We picked a spot convenient to downtown, so the two of us started each day with a short run around the Capitol building and nearby plazas, ending at two different local coffee shops.
Posing in front of one of the downtown monuments,
with the Capitol building way in the background.
Once we made it back to Phoenix, we also spent a few days visiting with my Dad and his wife, Risa; they have lots of family and friends in Phoenix, and they made use of our empty house to stay local on the cheap for a few nights, keeping an eye on the place for us.
Anniversary 2021 - November 2021 meant our 18th wedding anniversary (dang, we're old!), and for the second year in a row, we headed to Quiessence (at the Farm at South Mountain) for a delicious celebratory dinner. Ain't nothing wrong with that!
All dressed up and time for noms!
Lovely flowers from my dear
Christmas Tree Acquisition 2021 - back in October, my good friend Kelley, knowing how much I love Christmas and road trips and tromping around in the woods, happened to mention that the state of Arizona would sell you a permit for $15 that would let you head north and chop down your own Christmas tree (or Hanukkah bush or Kwanza shrub or just to practice your beaver impression - they don't care what it's for). When I heard that, I was ALL IN. Once the permits went on sale, we picked the Kaibab National Forest's Williams Ranger District option (because 1 - it was near Flagstaff, and we could eat lunch there, if needed - and 2 - their maps and directions were the clearest, and this was our first time doing this sort of thing). On the first Sunday in December, we loaded the whole family in the truck and started our adventure.
The Olsen fam is ready to go!
Due to some traffic shenanigans on the 17, we ended up taking the northern route through the Prescott Valley, and by late morning, we were turning off the 40 and onto the 64, into our designated "cut zone." We first turned to the west off the 64, driving around the Kaibab Lake Campground, but we didn't find too much that would work for us (everything was either a teeny tiny bush or a giant, 100 foot tree). After everyone had a quick bathroom break, it was back in the truck and across the 64, turning east onto Garland Prairie Road where we found all sorts of good options (and lots of folks in trailers boondocking on the National Forest land - it's a good spot to keep in mind for future excursions with Arlene).
Locating a clearing with a few promising trees (we didn't want anything we couldn't fit in the bed of the truck or that was too tall or contained too many angry squirrels), we set up a dog run, to keep them safely out of the way of the timber zone.
August was more enthused about this than Zoe was.
Zoe is a "I like to stay at home, inside" kind of girl.
"Guys, can we go home yet?"
At some point in time, this happened...
While the girls were enjoying (?) themselves, we got to work chopping us down a tree!
This one!
Taking all the wee branches off...
Using the handsaw to work on the trunk...
Cutting off the bottom part of the trunk,
so we could take home the top half,
which actually had some branches.
Loading up!
Although we originally planned to eat lunch in Flag somewhere, once we decided to bring the girls, we figured a picnic would work just fine instead. After getting the tree sorted, it was time for food!
Lunch time!
(dog head photobomb)
Before too long, we loaded up and headed out, zooming back down the hill to Phoenix on the 17. Chris and I traded driving duties, and the girls, well, they didn't really help much...
Once we got the tree home, it took us a few days to get it upright in the stand, lighted, and decorated. As you can see, it's a bit less *full* than some other trees, but we still loved our sweet little dude; we ended up naming him Spike, as he was pretty prickly.
All lit up
Done!
Since Spike had some decent spacing between branches,
we hung ornaments by theme,
and used the tree more as a display rack.
Our little tree might have been a bit unconventional, but we loved him, and we had a great time heading north into the cold and cutting him down. We'll probably do it again next year, for the experience if nothing else (and if it doesn't work out, or we don't find anything, a $15 donation to the National Forest is a-okay with us, too).
Christmas 2021 - Christmas saw us flying again, but this time to the southeast to Florida, to spend time with my Mom and our family on that side. This was our first Christmas without my Granddad, and we thought it might be good to pick a neutral location, since past celebrations often occurred at his house near Orlando. After some discussion, we ended up picking the Jacksonville area, more specifically, Orange Park; it wasn't too far for the in-state folks to travel, and my cousin Aren already lives there, so we could rent
one larger Airbnb for family meals and have enough space for everyone. We had a great time!
We got into all sorts of shenanigans...
We made Granny Felts' butter cookies:
I mixed, rolled, and baked them,
and then I turned everyone loose on them to decorate.
I did one or two as well.
We celebrated our Birthmas babies:
Ethan, me, and Mom blowing out candles
On my actual birthday, Chris and I snuck away
to enjoy their tasting menu.
It was a great experience!
We ate and drank a lot:
Making a breakfast frittata with leftovers on the 26th
This is what most of our visit looked like -
everyone hanging out around the kitchen,
drinking adult beverages and snacking
We also had our first ever family White Elephant Gift Exchange (which was a blast):
Ethan, receiving Chris' contribution to the exchange
My gift, a giant, soft, tortilla-printed blanket,
was stolen a few times.
Judging by the feet, I think Randall has it here,
but the arm of the eventual owner,
Aunt Kim, is checking it out in the right of the shot.
Although Mom was able to come visit us last summer, this was the first time we'd seen this side of the family since before all of the COVID quarantines started, so it was wonderful to spend time with them.
As you can see, we had quite the late fall/early winter holiday season!
On the next blog, the not-so-great stuff I alluded to above - don't worry, everything turns out okay in the end (spoiler alert)!
Later!
Amy
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