Christmas is ridiculous.

ly AWESOME! I went to Thunder Bay just before Christmas this year, and spent a small fortune on Starbucks Gingerbread Lattes whilst catching up with a handful of people I haven't seen in forever. (Well. Months at least.) I am a nervous flyer, and spent the trip back home sandwiched between two sweaty people, so I'm definitely thinking that my next trip down will have to be an awesome summer road trip, full of summer road trip songs, singing at the top of my lungs flying down the highway, and visits to quaint and creepy out of the way spots. I once made the trip back from Thunder Bay to B.C. in two days with Brad and a van full of stuff. The van was so full the seats were pushed forward at an incredibly uncomfortable 90 degree angle ... awesome.

While there I took some pictures of my little cousins, and it kind of blows my mind how much older they are than last time I saw them.

I also met up with my best friends -- we spent a good chunk of time watching Christmas specials in our pajamas, and it was FANTASTIC. Dallettes brought down her wee little one from Quebec and I got to meet the beautiful Aleksa Grace, who looks like a carbon copy of Dallettes, except that when she smiles she looks exactly like her dad. Coffee and bookstore shopping with Alicia, Partini with the family, and portraits of Melissa's brother's little Taylor one afternoon. Such a great trip!

So many great things happened in 2009 -- (my cousin Melissa had a baby! Lillia Grace!, and Dallettes became a first time mama!), not to mention various fun portraits, bookmarks at the Book Man and a visit from Alicia in August. And, starting off, my cousin Gen will be visiting at the beginning of January and I will show her the mountains, the oceans, and a thing or two about singing along to songs at the top of one's lungs whilst speeding down Vancouver side streets.