Week 70: Happy New Year!

Well, Christmas dinner was a mini Thanksgiving, so we spent a lot of time making pies (and the rest of the important stuff) and it was very good.  To work some of it off, Dani, Katie and I went for a walk.  In the new fallen snow.  I think my favorite part was the snowman we found.

THEY TRIED.

But it could also be all the Christmas songs we sang, or the car we helped push out of a drift. :)

Monday, we had family pictures taken. And it was COLD, so the poor photographer kept asking the kids to sit up instead of huddle. :)  I think everyone's favorite part there was when a certain 4 year old wouldn't smile so their mom said "If you smile for this, you can play on the I-pad" and suddenly they were laughing and happy!  :D  we all had to laugh at that!

After that, we went our separate ways and...

were busy.

Tuesday was fun! We went skiing!

snow bunnies!

Oh, yeah, this was our second day skiing, the first day was Friday. Yes. The Friday just after I had gotten in. Jet lag didn't stand a CHANCE. (I wasn't giving up SKIING)

Because it was right after Christmas, of course the lines were long, but well worth it, and just SO fun to ski!  Katie is the dedicated snowboarder of the family, and together we did pretty darn well!

Wednesday was when people started leaving. We had to clean out the house we rented and people went to the airport and ran errands and I tell you, just about everything went wrong!  (car batteries dying, missed turns, forgotten stuff, etc)  Those of us not running around found other ways to entertain ourselves.

like torturing the dog. No chocolate for YOU

(this dog is convinced whatever you're eating is meant for him, be it carrots or bread.)

I had to leave early Thursday morning, so of course I put off errands and packing until the last moment.  Got it done though!  And the parents were kind enough to pick me up and take me to the Airport. (way too early to be awake, I tell you)  And Dani and Katie saw me off! :)  I was sad to see everyone go and split up! It was fantastic to see everyone, and finally meet my nephews and niece!  All of them are just SO adorable, yes, even the grumpy butt. :)  It was just a FANTASTIC Christmas week that I wish could have been two.

The flight back was entertaining in itself.  First of all, the plane out of Salt Lake City was delayed!  I arrived in Denver about 5 minutes before I was supposed to be boarding the flight to Tokyo!  Of course, changing from domestic to international also meant the gate was WAAAAAAAAAY down the terminal, so I started jogging.  After only a minute or two, I came upon an airport cart trundling along the same direction as me. "I don't suppose I can catch a ride?"

Well, I'm glad I did, because I swear that gate was at LEAST 2 miles away!  And while I could jog slightly faster than the cart, it had better endurance. :P

When I got there, they were barely starting loading, and I managed to change my window seat for an aisle seat!  And even better!

THREE SEATS! AN EMPTY ROW!

Well, they moved someone from a full row, but it STILL meant there was an empty seat between us, and we were NOT shy about using the extra space!  It made things much more bearable.  Not to say the flight was nice, because I'm not sure a 10 hour flight CAN be, but it was better. :P

When I got into Tokyo, I didn't have a long layover, but enough time to get through customs. Only at the luggage belt, there was a sign saying I should talk to a representative.  Turns out while *I* barely made the connection in Denver, my luggage definitely didn't.

I hear you going "Oh no!"  But see it from my view.

I don't have to drag my luggage through customs.  I don't have to stand in line to re-check it. When I get to Osaka, I don't have to drag it through public transportation.  I just have to wait for it to be DELIVERED to my HOUSE.

There was nothing of immediate need in my luggage. I was FINE with this set up.

So I made the last jump to Osaka, went home (through public transportation) and DIED.  Thanks to the international date line, it was Friday night.

Saturday I did NOTHING.  I got out of bed, I made it to my computer, I took a shower, and around 5:30, I went to the grocery store and made dinner.  I finally went to bed at 9:00, completely exhausted.

Jet-lag is STUPID.

So no, I did NOT stay awake for New Year's midnight, I did NOT go to a temple to ring the bell, I was ASLEEP.

I did get to see the new year sunrise though.

which seems to be the important part here in Japan.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!