Home again- back from 2 holidays

In case anyone is wondering, we are all home again, and doing well. We had a fun time at the beach... fun is interpreted differently with an 18-month old though. I've decided. Fun takes into account the relative amounts and pitch of the tantrums, the duration of them, and then compares them to the length and power of the giggling bright-eyed delight of every other moment that doesn't involve a melt-down. Fun is running on an endless expanse of sand for the first time, sitting down in it and covering yourself in it from head to toe as quickly as possible. Joy is splashing and jumping in this strange new salty water, while parents smile and watch extra carefully for dangerous things you cannot imagine... stonefish for example, which are the same colour as the sand, look like stones, and are perfectly harmless, unless you step on them. Then they puff up into insanely poisonous balls of spike, There were way too many stonefish in the water for me. We did a good job keeping out of their way :)

There are other nice memories too... Sophie's vocabulary growing every day "b(ea)ch," "hot," "no car!"... eating all our meals outside on the balcony looking over the ocean, going for long walks through the little town, visiting the reef aquarium - Sophie really enjoyed that. She got to touch starfish and coral, look at massive big fish and all kind of colourful little ones right up close, and participate in feeding some sea turtles. And I thought it was pretty fantastic too.

And now we're home again. Feeling pretty amazingly lucky, blessed, fortunate - pick your favourite adjective. It had been so so long since we'd had any kind of real vacation, and now Sophie and I are just home from 2. And after being away for the best part of a month, it is really peaceful and right to be home.
But I haven't really mentioned Christmas, or for that matter any of the latter days of our excellent journey home in Minnesota. I guess that's the tricky thing about having 2 places to put things - There are heaps of photos up on facebook, and a few videos too. It's much easier to upload them there. But I'll just put a few favourites here.
In summary of our trip to Minnesota...

Sophie very quickly acclimatised to the cold weather, and started to love it! By the 2nd time she played in the snow, she was giggling and throwing herself into it. By the 3rd week of our trip, she was asking walking to the door and asking to play outside in the "coooooold" first thing every morning.

We made a couple of trips to the Childrens' Museum with friends, and we all enjoyed that!

Sophie learned to walk while we were there. She left home as a crawler who could take a few steps, and came home a walker (with a few good bruises and a whole lot of determination to go faster and faster!)

I had the rare opportunity to share long, grown up conversations with my family and some of my closest friends. To play games and hang out and share Christmas and laughing and good food being together. Those memories are the most unforgettable Christmas goodies for me this year.

And Sophie - she absolutely loved her cousins and her grandparents. It was so fun for her to meet all kinds of big people who love her, she basks in the centre of attention :) But her big boy cousins Noah and Aaron, they were pretty exciting! She loves to point to them in photos still and tell long stories about them.

And now we are so happy to be home. Sophie's happy to be home to her vegimite and mangos and her daddy. But we're also missing everyone we got to see in Minnesota. Thanks to all of you who welcomed us into your homes and gave us such excellent memories. Thank you!

Blessings and peace and a very happy New Year!