In-laws and the Avenue!

 

We are very happy to have Kelvin's family here in Humboldt County to celebrate Christmas. It took 12 hours for them to drive here from Orange County and they are so on top of things that they were here by 6 pm on Friday evening (almost beating us home from work!).  It's everyone's first trip to this part of the state so we wanted to show them around. Despite being on call for part of the weekend (had a delivery last night) and feeling rather crummy, battling a rather aggressive respiratory infection (I have a nasty cough, the worst sinus congestion I can ever recall, bilateral conjunctivitis, and laryngitis with a nearly absent voice), it is nice to have time around the holidays to spend with them.

Saturday's outing was to the Avenue of the Giants Redwoods about an hour south of here, which is surely one of the most beautiful places in California (or the U.S.). Unfortunately, the weather has been pretty awful.  On Friday, when we were discussing "The Itinerary," Theresa asked, "What happens if it rains?"  "It always rains," we replied. "We're still going (so put on your raingear)!"

Our Raingear 

I actually own about three raincoats and new boots since moving here.

Enjoy these photos of some of the famous Avenue trees, stolen from Eddie and Kenn.

Gettin' situated (and trying to stay dry!)

Mom, Katherine, Theresa, Dad

 

Our little family of three

Mom and Dad

 

(and the granddog)

 

Sisters!

 

  Eddie & Katherine

Lisa & Kenn

 

Us All

I love this "staggered" shot!

 Founders' Grove

Can you see the sisters amidst the tall, tall trees?

Theresa

Us & Pep

Kat/Eddie

Mom/Dad

The original four siblings!

The group!

Drive-through tree!

Kenn

Kenn and Lisa

Theresa and Dad

Theresa & Pep

Kat & Eddie

Drive-on log

(Unfortunately, the van was too large to make it through the drive-through tree's dimensions)

Picnic in Ferndale

Ferndale Gingerbread Mansion

Having seven additional people staying in our house has been... interesting. As I come from a rather small nuclear family (who I miss greatly this holiday season!), it has been really fun to have a big *family* holiday!  Neither Kelvin nor I have never really lived in a place big enough to host more than one or two guests, but we are hosting everyone, and somehow had enough mattresses/sleeping locations (including a guest bed, office futon, full-size aerobed, and very comfy sectional), sheets, towels, and houseslippers for them all without having to acquire anything extra! I stressed quite a bit about the food/meals (our fridge is rather small and I'm not really that confident in my cooking), that everyone was comfortable, and that they'd be entertained. Luckily, everyone is very low-maintenance and I no longer feel that I need to "impress." No one cares that we haven't been eating on fine china, or that some forks don't match. Everyone seems to have gotten plenty of sightseeing in while also entertaining themselves easily at home, and seem to agree that sweats are an acceptable form of attire most of the time.

I've learned that, in a family of 9:
-  two bathrooms are less-than-ideal but we can make it work
-  it takes a LONG time to get breakfast to everyone and to get out the door
-  daily trips to the grocery store are inevitable; we go through an awful lot of eggs
- I would need more dishes
- I'm glad laundry isn't my responsibility for their short visit

Here are some snaps of us, around the house:

Kelvin and Mom preparing breakfast!

Eddie and Kelvin, shucking our oysters yesterday. Yum!

Time with the pooch

Pep, while initially a bit intimidated by the large crowd, has now found some new buddies.
Here she is pictured with Lisa, to who she warmed up very quickly.

An always hilarious game: Jenga!!!! (or "Jumbling Tower")

Dinner #1 (Wasabi Tuna Steak with bok choy and rice)

 

More pictures and updates to come from our holiday weekend with my in-laws.... I had to do this in chunks since there was so much!

Her Voice

I don't have too much time for TV shows. While, back in med school and early residency, I watched "American Idol" (Go, Sanjaya!) as more of a social activity than in true dedication to the show, I haven't really followed it much since then. I tend not to be very happy with those shows as I feel that that the contestants who are genuinely the most musically talented rarely win.  I have never voted, despite feeling strongly about some contestants in the past. In my opinion, America generally votes stupidly and obviously doesn't have a real musical ear. And, on a side note, is the winner of last season's "Idol" really named "Philip Phillips"? How awful.

Kelvin enjoys one of the newer singing competition shows, "The Voice," and I've watched most of the past 2 seasons, DVR'd of course. On Wednesday night, we watched the finale of this season's show. I must say that I was a big fan of Cassadee Pope throughout the whole season, and felt that she really stood out in the last few rounds.  Being coached by Blake (Shelton) and singing some pop/country songs really set her apart from the others-- she was certainly one of the more powerful and versatile perfomers, and her artistry and lyricism definitely won me over.  I absolutely adore Faith Hill's song "Cry" and Cassadee's choice of that song for her final performance (shown below), gave me chills (and made me "cry a little"). You can also watch, below, her performances of "Stupid Boy" and "Over You," two other [country] songs which she really nailed.







I'm so happy that I picked a winner (2012 seems to be a successful year, election- and Voice-choice-wise!) and that Cassadee, who seemed a very heartfelt, genuine, and sweet person in addition to a very talented artist, came home with the prize. America got it right for once. And, again, I didn't even vote.

Rein-Deere Galore: the Ferndale Tractor Parade

Despite some not-so-stellar weather this past weekend, we did one holiday activity-- checked out the (20th annual) Ferndale Tractor Parade on Sunday evening.

The Victorian town of Ferndale was all lit up, including (at the end of Main Street) the tallest (at 151 ft) living (decorated) Christmas tree, a Sitka spruce.

 

The crowds (as much crowds as there can be in a rural area!) lined Main Street to get a glimpse of the lighted tractors.

Pep came along in the sling as it was really wet.

I did not plan the purple coordination, in case you were wondering.

Tractors came down the street, one by one, bearing lots of lights and Christmas decorations.

Yay, John Deere!

Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures speckled with raindrops! At least it wasn't cold enough to snow :)

This is Pepper's best "not impressed" look! She didn't seem to care what all the fuss was about :)

This one tractor was headed down the street, un-lit. We all wondered why.

Then, the driver hopped out, pulled the chain on the power-supply-thingie, and his tractor suddenly lit up, which was marked with much cheering and applause!

 

I loved this one, whose front was decorated with pairs of reindeer (rein-deere). :)

Can you see Rudolph leading the way?

Here, too:

 

(Ferndale has a lot of cows)

(and rednecks?)

Are you in the holiday spirit yet? Less than a week until Christmas!