Vacationing with Leo

Taking our little dog, Leo, on vacation with us was probably one of our biggest concerns. He's a lovely guy, but the longest he's ever been in the car with us is four hours, and he doesn't love it. Add to that our concern that Sophia wouldn't sleep in the back seat while he was there with her, and we were hoping it wasn't a terrible idea. 

Within the first hour of leaving home, Leo had growled at Sophia to get off him as she tried to lay down. She had complained that he was taking up too much room and she couldn't get comfortable. We were more than a little worried at this point.

Then... I don't know what shifted. Either they both finally got tired enough or they just accepted their fates. Regardless, they settled in, and never had any trouble again.

Having Leo with us was actually quite wonderful. In New Orleans, since it wasn't raining, we ate almost all our meals on patios, which meant that he was welcome to join us. He did so in a very mannerly way. He was charming to all and pleasant for us.

Here are Sophia and Leo in the lobby of our hotel. The Hotel Indigo is very dog friendly. During our first couple of trips through the lobby, we counted six or seven canine guests, all sweet and friendly. None quite as cute as our own, but then...

While we were in Gulf Shores, we didn't take him out to eat with us, but we had lots of time together. He loved hanging out on our deck watching the waves and the seagulls. He also loved running through the sand like a crazy dog.

Mostly, though, he enjoyed the same thing he enjoys at home: snuggling up on the couch.

Overall, I'd highly recommend traveling with Leo. He's a great companion. Sophia is very interested in taking him on our next flight, but that's an adventure that I'm not so sure about.

Winter Break Vacation

     Hi this is Sophia. Yesterday I got home from my winter vacation! We went to New Orleans, and Orange beach. New Orleans is always an amazing time. It is a ten hour drive to New Orleans, so that is never super fun. But the experiences you get there are 100% worth it.We stayed at a regular hotel with one room, one bathroom, and one tv. We went to a place  called Preservation Hall. At Preservation Hall they get jazz bands to  come. Sense I am a  kid I got to sit right up front. The main performance area is the size of a large dinning room! The whole thing looked like a old house. The paint on the outside was chipping, so it looked brown. Or maybe it was painted brown, I wasn't really sure. There was no snacks, or water inside. But the music made up for it all. It was amazing. It is a 4 hour drive to get to Orange beach. Orange beach is really close to Gulf Shores. I absolutely loved it. Although me and Daddy were sick. Both of us got sick. So our vacation did not turn out exactly how we imagined. But we were only sick for 1 day, so we got to play on the beach a lot. The gulf water is more warmer than other beaches. The sand is defiantly whiter. The sand isn't ruff or super inconsistent. But Gulf Shores and Orange beach, are a mostly beachside condo town. There are some turn offs you can go to, to get to the towns. But you are not by the beach any more. Sense there are so many condos you can't see the water anyway. My room in our condo/hotel was very nice. I had 2 full sized beds, and a tv in my room. But my rooms only view was the parking lot. Then next door to my bed room was a bathroom, ( for me only, un like this apartment with only 1bathroom to share between the 3 of us ) and another bed room ( that was not my mom and dad's) It was were we put Leo's crate so he basically had his own room. witch had twin sized beds ( we did not tell him mine were bigger.) He had the same "amazing" view as me. Plus he had 2 beds , and a tv. Again mine was bigger. down the hall, was the kitchen, witch I am not going to tell about, except it was a average kitchen. If you make a left turn n you are in the living room. Beside the living room is a set of sliding doors. To reveal a balcony over looking the pool and ocean. It has a amazing view. If you go back inside. Go a little past the couch and you will turn left to go into my mom and dad's room. they have a king sized bad, I think. A bigger tv than me. Plus a set of sliding doors to get to the balcony.
    

Delicious Christmas Tradition

Last Saturday, while we were in Columbia enjoying Christmas with Grandmary, most of my extended family was on the farm in Illinois having Christmas at Granny's. It is, I am almost sure, the first such Christmas I've missed. I'll make up for it soon by heading to the farm myself and visiting, but I won't get to eat more of Granny's fresh Santa cookies than I should.

In order to rectify this situation, Sophia and I made those Santa cookies today. I talked with my grandma today, and she said, "They're not the easiest cookies to make, are they?" Nope, they certainly aren't. But they're worth it.

First, of course, you need the recipe. I happen to keep my recipe on the counter all through the year.

Once you've made the dough, you have to chill it for a few hours. This is key in order to keep it workable but not sticky. When you're ready to roll it out, don't get stingy and make them thin. Be sure they're thick enough for the cutter details to show up. That's key.

After they cool down a little, they're ready to be iced. This is when the Santa cookies get a little tougher. The first step is actually a little water painted onto the red parts (hat and rosy cheeks) then sprinkled red sugar. The beard and hat ball are next.

To make the Santa cookies that will make Granny proud, he must have a piped on mustache and eyebrows. My frosting bag broke. I tried a couple of secondary baggie options, but those failed miserably. My only other option was to push the icing through - with my fingers. So, yeah. I got dirty.

Like I said, totally worth it. Granny would approve, especially since his beard looks windblown and he's delicious.

Traditions may be my favorite part of Christmas. That's why we're about to head to see The Nutcracker! Again. I asked Sophia if she wanted to try a different Christmas show this year, but nope. The Nutcracker it is.

Sophia's blog update

Sophia has not forgotten about the possibility of having a blog, but she has become a little overwhelmed by the responsibility that it inevitably brings.

So we'll see what becomes of that. In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Lots of good will and calmness, I hope!

To add to your joy, here's a little cuteness to brighten your day.

Hi, this is Sophia. I have exiting news. This Friday I might get my own blog! I am not sure what it's name is going to be. This weekend me, mommy and daddy went to a play called Peter And The Star-catcher. It was about Peter Pan before he was Peter Pan. This weekend I am going to my Grandma and Grandpa's house. It will be our Christmas with them. I am so exited!

Lovely Girl

We recently had our family pictures taken by a lovely photographer, Jessica. She captured some really great shots of our family, and some that I really love of Sophia.

We needed another good family photo this year, but I probably wouldn't have done it if she hadn't been running a charitable special. Donate to Doctors Without Borders or a similar charity that directly assists refugees and receive a photo shoot and images without paying her directly. I love being able to reward selfless action like that. 

And sometimes it results in something beautiful like this.

It's starting to feel like Christmas

This break we put up  our christmas decorations.

 It is always fun, but this year we went shopping while the tree was setting. This year we got an artificial tree. Finally after shopping it was time to decorate. First mommy and daddy put the lights on the tree. Then I helped put the ornaments on the tree. After boxes, and boxes, of ornaments, it was finally time to put the star on the tree. Unfortunately the old star didn't fit on the tree. We had to get a new one and try again.

Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos we put up my own winter wonderland. Finished with a snow globe that plays music, a regular snow globe, a big nutcracker, my nutcracker collection, and finally a white tree that reminds me of my old play room. It is very bittersweet but I'm glad I'm here.