Last Wednesday school was canceled because it was predicted that a few feet of snow would fall. I'm not sure what the final tally was, but there was (and still is) a lot. We ventured out in the morning and lasted only 15 minutes or so since Claire is glove-averse.

Later that day we broke our homemade piñata.
This next picture is from a school presentation Elijah was in. He was a baby buho (owl) that constantly gave a thumbs-up.
A few weekends ago we had a spectacular Primary activity. In fact, it might be the last one I enjoy since the day after I was called to be the Primary president. I sure love the kids and my good friend Ruth is my one and only (for now) counselor.
Side note: David is the Young Men's pres, so ward council is going to be a party with the Garcia kids!
At the activity, Elijah was a lion in Daniel's den. Claire made a guest appearance.

The news is out

In the pamphlet I read about IUDs a few years ago, they were touted as the second best thing to a hysterectomy: a decade of babylessness. False advertising? My due date is August 3rd. We were surprised; now we are happy. The day I officially found out I was pregnant, I walked home from the doc’s across Central Park next to Kevin Bacon for 5 minutes (including 2 stop lights). Just me, Claire, Kevin, and his 2 dogs. We were both on the phone. I felt slightly awkward detailing the gory ob/gyn orifice-probing details to my mom with him in earshot. Though it didn’t stop an impulse deep within urging me to break out in dance in front of one of the famous ‘80s dancers. No, unfortunately I did not indulge the impulse.
PS. Never say you will not have another child while living in NYC without knocking on wood first.

Arizona

After New Orleans, David flew back to NYC to work. The kids and I braved the flight to AZ to meet some of my family for a last get-together before my parents head to Nairobi (they entered the MTC yesterday). It had been years since I had seen my Arizona uncles/aunts/cousins.
The Schmitts arrived on New Year's Eve and we roasted marshmallows over an open fire.

Visiting Grandma Joan:

Claire gets a taste of the future:Udall, Schmitt, Garcia grandkids

Pudding fun with Max:

The collaborators

Below is the first mountain Elijah has hiked. It was a 3.2 mile round-trip hike (820 foot elevation gain). Beside a few tears right before the summit, Elijah was a pro!

At the top:

Claire was a trooper too:

The flight back was complete with children spewing from both ends. But anything is worth hanging with family!

Is it too late for a Christmas post?

As always, Christmas in New Orleans was pure delight! Nothing is ever boring with the Garcias, especially when you throw a few saints games into the mix. The fun also included Brennan’s, Panchos, midnight mass at St Louis Cathedral, Café Du Monde beignets, Popeye's french fries, a French Quarter/French Market stroll, Boudreaux’s beef jerky, a men’s outing to a Hornets game, Haydel’s French Almond Croissants, fried shrimp poboys. I just realized the majority of those were food-related. I sure do love New Orleans!!!

A stroll through the French Quarter:
Take a close look. It might appear that Santa has an extra knee and other elongated body parts. The truth is that Claire hates Santa and is sitting on my lap in this picture.
The consolation prize: several rides on the train.
Hornets game. Side note: please disregard David's facial hair in all pictures. It was much more repulsive in person; I made him promise to shave it off as soon as Brian got in town. This semi-mustache included a puff on each side of his mouth.
The Nativity play on Christmas eve: I think Claire was a shepherd. Here she is sitting with cousin Olga.
The fearless Mary and Joseph protect baby Jesus (Vincent).

Every year I question the wisdom of carrying on the Midnight mass tradition. This tradition is over a decade old (maybe 13 years?). Most years I regret going because it's so late and even when we get there early, we usually end up standing in the back of the St. Louis cathedral. But the music is beautiful, the church is picturesque, and the company is superb. Plus, I maintain very, very few traditions in my life and for some reason this one fills that void.
Early, early Christmas morning:
David was in charge of picture taking during present opening. Therefore, we will skip to the family pictures we took the day after Christmas in City park.

My favorite:

All the grandkids

The Original Garcia Group

Best buddies Elijah and Katie

Claire enjoyed herself with both Dad

And Mom

Right after Vincent's baby blessing.

This is the tree outside of the church. Love the tree, I climbed on it as a wee lassie.

The Expanded Garcia Group

11 plane flights later

December/January included almost a month of vacation: The Bahamas, New Orleans, Mesa. Fear of both reader and self blog-asphyxiation forces me to break this into 3 different posts.

THE BAHAMAS
Relaxation on the beach. Lots of it, maybe too much. We stayed in Nassau. The city wasn’t too exciting, mainly catering to the hoards of cruise ships. David’s comment was that it didn’t have soul since all culture was wiped out by slave owners. We mainly chilled on the beach. Claire was afraid of both grass and sand, therefore, it was not the most ideal location for her.


She's on a beach chair above, so no sand worries. The picture below is a different story.
The hotel was complete with a waterfall, shuffleboard, giant checkers, volleyball, ping pong, canoeing, snorkeling...
A few trips into town. The set of 65 steps was carved out of the natural limestone wall that once rested in its place by slaves between 1793 and 1794.

This cannon was in a fort that was never used in battle.
An interesting part of the history involves pirates! We went to the pirate museum.

The picture below is where I felt most at home: there is a stuffed rat. Although I'd venture to say our domestic rodents could eat that one and its whole family alive.

After the museum we enjoyed fried conch. Claire was a special fan...seriously.
I started getting cabin fever towards the end of the trip so we went on the Dolphin Encounters excursion. We took a boat to a private island and Elijah got his first dolphin lip action. He was most excited about touching its teeth and feeding it a fish.


The island also had sea lions, turtles, a beach, and hammocks.

Claim to fame

So excited they finally came out with this. Daisy is in my ward and works in the primary with me. David is actually visiting her son right now. They video taped me hugging her too, but I gave the camera a weird look. So I didn't make the cut. I was also probably too white.

the 30th year

My birthday included blowing out a candle over a bowl full of flaming hot cheetos (Note to self: expect showers when blowing out a candle across from Elijah); I remembered why I haven’t eaten them in years. Nap with Claire. Youth temple trip. Dinner with David. Movie at home while David did the laundry. A good day all in all despite the fact that I still can't find angel food cake mix in Manhattan.

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There have been certain moments in my life when I have felt really old: turning 10 and knowing that I’d never be a single-digit age again, walking across campus at boarding school, driving a van full of my friends to TP someone’s house, riding in an airplane by myself on the way to the MTC, teaching a charla in Chile, sitting next to David as we drove away from the Baton Rouge temple, teaching myself to drive stick shift at 3am in freezing Ann Arbor, trying to vote while two kids fought for my attention, editing a manuscript, having Elijah in Primary with me last Sunday (his poor neighbor got quite a beating), turning 30.
This year I have often found myself stroking the skin where my neck meets my chin. I’m starting to look different, and besides my imaginary loosening skin, I can’t really put a finger on what it is exactly that makes me a decade older. Wisdom? Crows’ feet? Varicose veins? Perhaps all of the above. Perhaps it’s just Father Time. Perhaps I’ll wear a purple suit coat with shoulder pads tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get a perm and break a hip while I’m at it.


PS. Someday soon I will put up the Christmas post. The number of pictures to sort through has been slightly daunting.