Friend's blog posts showing their children in matching pjs and about holiday happenings leading up to Christmas had me reminiscing about when my children were younger and happy to be in lots of photos and the fact we used to do the same thing. Most of that expat group has relocated or moved back to their home countries.
We still check out the kitschy holiday decor...
...and do the baking. I miss those cookie exchange parties from the past...well maybe not baking dozens of cookies in my tiny countertop oven, but the social aspect.
After Christmas, I smiled reading in a friend's blog how they hid a gift in a pots and pans box - not so appealing for a youngster, right? My parents did the same thing, like the year they hid a watch in a bag of chocolate kisses... We took the gift at face value, but my dad urged us to open the bag and eat one (we used to hoard our sweets), then lo and behold, the watch revealed itself in the loosened packaging.
The second week of this holiday break has given me precious downtime to reflect and remember the childhood experiences of myself and my children and to ponder on how to create more memories that last in this new year. Yes it's a cliche, but time flies - it's hard to believe Maggie will be graduating from high school soon and off to college and adulthood!
We had a fun trip to Niseko the first week of Christmas break. Despite losing a day due to weather, we had three days on the slopes - Alex snowboarding for the first time, Maggie the second, and Paul and I on skis.
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| -6C/21F Brr! |
We met up with friends traveling at the same time to ski a bit and for decadent dinners - wagyu beef shabu shabu and sukiyaki at the newly relocated/reopened Restaurant Sessa, Izakaya A Bu Cha 2, local seafood platter from
Ezo Seafoods and Hokkaido sirloins from
Steak Rosso Rosso, not to mention numerous bowls of ramen and soft serve ice cream cones! Oh, the food trucks - we got a chili cheese dog and fries from one and wood-fired pizzas from another guy who actually built a wood-fired oven in his little van - amazing!
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| Scallops at the izakaya |
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| Wagyu beef sukiyaki |
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| Crab legs, oysters, scallops, prawn, tuna, salmon, fried squid |
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| Hokkaido steak, yum! |
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| Wood-fired pizza oven built in a van |
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| Ramen, ramen, everywhere... |
