Christmas on the Range

We have our routine down for Christmas in Kansas. Find the most affordable airfare to give us roughly two weeks. Schedule those two weeks to maximize our time with both families and minimize our time in the car. Squeeze in our anniversary celebration and as many friends as possible. It's never everyone we'd love to see, but I remind myself there is next time. You can only do so much in two weeks at the end of December. And 2014, especially the fall, was overwhelming at times. A perfect storm of teaching and transitions at work and at church. We needed some of that two weeks for us, too.

We flew into Kansas City and made it a date. We wandered around Union Station, examining the details in all of the model train worlds and allowing the twinkling lights to amaze us. We had lunch at Anton's because we miss good beef (local! so cheap!). We wandered Crossroads to find things for dinner. We took a tour of Boulevard Brewery and Ian was in heaven. We made dinner for Karen and Jeremy, and chatted late into the night just like we used to (although the lateness of that night is inversely proportional to our age).



We drove to Manhattan the next morning. We ran errands and finally ate at Taco Lucha, at least a year after hearing glowing reviews from our K-State friends in Boston. And the rest of the day was all about Caleb, celebrating his graduation at Bourbon and Baker, since we weren't able to make it back for the ceremony the week prior. And then we were off to the farm.



I love the farm. It's quiet, remote, and beautiful. And Grandma is amazing. The cousins played board games. Ian and Grandma had lutfisk together. I learned how to make spritz from the master (Grandma). And we all learned about our Swedish heritage by flipping through Grandma's scrapbook of childhood and family photos.



Our next destination was Dodge City to see Grandma Marilyn and Aunt Susan. We passed the drive time with our newly discovered obsession: the Serial podcast. We also were able to turn our lunch stop into a meetup with friends we hadn't seen since their wedding almost three years prior. In Dodge, we chauffeured Grandma to her appointments, and enjoyed lots of time by the fire. It was a quick trip, but we were looking forward to the family reunion in February for Grandma's 85th birthday celebration.

On New Year's Day, we headed back to Manhattan to celebrate our anniversary. We hiked Konza Prairie, bundling against the brisk Kansas wind, had a dinner date at Old Chicago (we were thankful, because all our favorite fancy date restaurants were closed for the holiday). We spent the night at the Morning Star Bed and Breakfast, where we spent our wedding night seven years ago, and stopped by the first T on Manhattan Hill, where Ian proposed.

Ian on Konza Prairie on Vimeo.

We headed back to Kansas City and met up with Nathan and Sara. It was K-State bowl game night, so we headed to Barley's Brewhaus to meet up with friends (hi, Megan!), then consoled ourselves from the loss with a game night back at Sara's.

The next morning, we headed to Nathan and Sara's new neighborhood, where they're halfway through a gut renovation as first-time homeowners. We met up with Amber and Veronica for brunch, then drove to the house for a tour. They're doing a great job, and we can't wait to see it as a cozy home the next time we're in Kansas. (They're only mildly terrified by the renovation process...)



Like always, our two weeks felt short but sweet, full of people we love and miss. And after a fall of stress and busyness, it felt right to unwind and spend time together under the expansive Kansas sky. Never everything we want to squeeze in, but enough for now. Until next year.



See all our Christmas photos on Flickr. And another Ian slo-mo video on Vimeo.

thankful list | February 2015

01. good food and conversation with our community group coach.
02. made-from-scratch bananas foster Pop Tarts.
03. a Super Bowl watch party with great friends.
04. reading books to G.
05. a surprise Patriots win (because Monday at the office would be rough if they lost).
06. new gloves, because my old pair didn't keep my fingers warm.
07. a sweet new solid wood ironing board, half off, to replace the old rickety one Ian had in college.
08. a winter season clothing swap, organized by a coworker.
09. the Patriots parade (because we've added it to our Bruins and Sox parade experiences).
10. yoga.
11. Oscar shorts at the Coolidge.
12. Bootstrap Compost, for allowing us city folk to give our food scraps a new life.
13. a photoshoot for the Sasaki project in Dudley Square (a rare opportunity to be a project model!)
14. a fun party to celebrate a coworker's birthday.
15. Super Cluckin' Sunday at Cutty's.
16. the option to work from home (because snowstorm, again).
17. community group (despite the mountains of snow).
18. a catering tasting at the office (a perk to being a studio assistant: being courted by caterers).
19. Valentine's Day conversation heart sugar cookies with a catering order from Fuel.
20. a Valentine's Day date with Ian (brunch at The Merchant and an attempt to climb the MIT Alps).
21. getting our friend Anna as our server on said Valentine's Day date.
22. making the DR meeting happen virtually, when the snow prevented us from getting outside.
23. a holiday (i.e. no commuting through crazy snow on the Make Believe Transit Authority!).
24. far exceeding my step goal after walking from Kenmore to Coolidge (thanks, no-show C Line shuttle).
25. hosting Dane, Micki, and Grandma Judy before their 6 a.m. flight to Kansas.
26. meeting another one of Ian's favorite cab drivers.
27. safe and on-time flights back to Kansas.
28. catching up with family, some of whom we haven't seen in years.
29. fun stories at Grandma Marilyn's 85th birthday party (flopper stoppers and Fudgesicles).
30. unexpectedly visiting my parents while driving Ren and Emily halfway back to Boulder before the storm.
31. a safe drive back to Wichita despite the snowstorm.
32. no damage to the rental car after getting rear-ended bumped at a red light on our way to the airport.
33. two more safe and (mostly) on-time flights.
34. a ride home from Logan (thanks, Wilbs!).
35. K-State beating KU!
36. ordering Filipino food from JnJ Turo Turo for the office (for a discussion of our project work there).
37. carpooling with a coworker who we just learned is a neighbor.
38. great conversations to and from the office.
39. a clean apartment.
40. a night at the Paint Bar with coworkers (all our paintings turned out so well!).
41. the Kids Baking Championship.
42. Ingrid's surprise birthday party.