suburban transcendentalism: ring out wild bells!

life is worth noticing. if anything i'll try to blog more to keep this life an "examined" one...even if it is just pictures. Christmas came and went... now that's an american cultural experience. i think it's just a celebration of winter and each other..in my culture there is a strong emphasis to try to tie in ribbons and bows and lights with the nativity...wasn't Christ born in april? i'd be more inclined to celebrate then (or everyday) and try out Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or just enjoy the advent season. surely this isn't blasphemous. either way we followed the program in a simple, minimalist manner and enjoyed the festivities.

teddy's new grandma tami sent us a boku fun box full of amazing gifts, like this boss fleecy outer space blanket.

wishes come true: our very own beatific family chess board. (another treasure from tami casper.)

what teddy never knew he always wanted. ;) we're reading charlotte's web now. he really likes fern's big brother avery, who carries sling shots and frogs around.

if you were a family member you were blessed indeed by me and ty's diy vinyl bowl gifts.

dec 26th: the crocker museum held a kwanzaa festival. there were so many beautiful people there with a strong message, and i finally learned about kwanzaa from people who were celebrating. each of the seven days represents a belief or principle, and we were celebrating unity that day. what an awesome way to celebrate heritage.

and then we enjoyed the rest of the museum.

new years eve: teddy and i ventured into ol' sac and visited our favorite train museum. gettin' our self-timer on.

sunset on the river.

and a fancy old sac dinner at a locally sourced restaurant.

we then headed over to sac international, where tyler works as an air traffic controller. tall tower! it's a great arrangement because teddy loves airplanes and tyler equally.

getting an *exclusive* tour of the new terminal. it's a party y'all!

up in the tower.

at first teddy was scared, but then i swayed his opinions and reassured him that sparklers were very, very cool. he then went to bed not too long after the usual bedtime. why keep him up? we can party any night of the year, and sleep is as effective as any other celebration.

the picture says it all.

resolutions anyone? sometimes the calender can be a little aribtrary. a new year? every day is new. evaluate every day. celebrate everyday. make goals even in the spring. this year i want to find a big spreading tree branch, make a base for it, and put it on my dresser. among other things. if anything the new year is fun to track. what was i doing last new year's, or the years before? it's a good little memory test. this year midnight found me hanging out with tyler at home. and we were sleepy. probably the best new year's ever.

nothing like another session of "earth preschool," we've been saving cans to make this tape-dispenser-eyed tin man.

teddy loves to help....even if these buttermilk steelcut oat scones were nasty.

teddy the photographer. trying to finish a blanket before the baby comes.

and now teddy is learning how to play chess. i cant call it a fair match quite yet but he's competent enough to play if we're looking for something to do.