Holiday Travel and Cheer
Well, the holiday's have come and gone. Hard to believe I was just anticipating all the magic the holiday season brings. And now, it's over. Time is going too fast these days. Bart disagrees - which I find unfathomable!
This particular holiday season was nothing short of amazing. The only bummer was not getting to have Bart with us on Thanksgiving. But alas, he had swooping to do! We celebrated our 4 year anniversary on November 14, and on November 20 he left for a 3 week trip to Dubai. This would definitely be the longest time we'd ever spent apart, and I for one was not looking forward to it. Especially because I would've loved to join Bart in Dubai! But there was work to be done here. And I really didn't want to miss out on Thanksgiving. He had a wonderful time there though....at least in the beginning. He spent the first week training at the dropzone out in the desert, while staying with his Polish teammates. That week we got to Facetime quite a bit as his friend's internet connection was really good. Every time we spoke I felt as though I was interrupting the fun! They were jumping, partying, and having a blast. Then he moved to the hotel at the Palm dropzone and that's where things seemed to go downhill a bit. He was still having fun - I mean, how could you not? Skydivers are treated like royalty in Dubai as the Prince is himself a skydiver. They are put up in a very fancy hotel with fancy meals at a fancy dropzone with all kinds of multi million dollar fanciness all around. But I could tell Bart was getting homesick at that point. And amazingly, with the billions upon billions of dollars Dubai has, their internet is terrible and we weren't able to talk for sometimes days at a time. That got a little rough. But he was skydiving over the palm, and getting to be a part of the multi million dollar opening ceremonies and all the festivities during the course of the competition. Swoop comps sure are different over there!
While Bart was in Dubai, I headed out to California for Thanksgiving. I was really in need of some relaxation and time with the family, and I got just that! We had just about everyone present at Thanksgiving. The Piepgrass clan, Bart, and Brian were the missing links but I rested easy knowing they'd be there for Christmas! We had a wonderful day doing what anyone does on Thanksgiving. Eating, drinking, and plenty of conversation. I treasure these times so much!
Shortly after Thanksgiving we celebrated Erica's dirty 30! We surprised her with a dinner at Carmine's before accompanying her to her favorite dive bar. That was definitely an experience. Erica is a unique one - I'll say that much. :) But I was so glad to get to be in town for her celebration! The highlight for me was getting to surprise Erica with the Christmas CD I made her. I really didn't think I was going to be able to pull it off. And let's just say it was a less than simple process. But thanks to Bart's constant encouragement and putting up with my craziness, I managed to not only make the CD but thoroughly surprise her with it! I'll never forget the look on her face when she realized it wasn't Karen Carpenter on the player. :) Love you Erica!
After returning from California, I had another lonely week ahead before Bart returned from Dubai. But to my surprise, he came home 3 days early! I was SO happy when I got that text. He had finished the comp and didn't want to wait around and was able to change his flight for a pretty reasonable price. It was a very sweet moment when we finally reunited. I think we just hugged on the couch for a solid 8 hours. It was nice to have some time together getting things done at work, putting up Christmas decorations, and relaxing before our next trip to the airport.
We left on December 20 for California and prepared for a proper vacation! We travel a lot these days. Sometimes it's restful, but often there is still so much work to be done in one way or another. We really wanted Christmas to feel as much like a vacation as possible. It helps when most of the world is in the same mode. Customers seem more understanding, and generally it's just a bit easier to tune out for a few days. I think one of the highlights for both of us was deciding to hike Mount Wilson on Christmas Eve. We only went up about a mile and a half to the first stopping point, First Water. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day. 80 degrees and crystal clear. The views even from the lower parts of the hike were breathtaking, and only got better the higher up we went. It was a semi-difficult hike in that it's fairly steep, but the trails are nice and smooth. When we reached First Water we spent about 15 minutes just sitting by the little stream, covered by beautiful trees, listening to nature. It was such a peaceful experience and a great way to kick off Christmas.
Christmas Day was everything I hoped it would be. Just about everyone was there (we sure missed having Courtney and Ken!), there were kids running around all over the place, Christmas cheer filled the air and there was of course plenty of food and libations to heighten the mood even more. Our idea to have less gift giving chaos somewhat backfired, although it was a bit more mellow than last year. I enjoyed giving "gifts of experience" this year. Mom and Dad got a trip to Santa Barbara, The Roblee's are going to Disneyland, Erica and Brian are going to the Arroyo Chophouse, and AJ is getting a nice massage! I had a lot of fun preparing these gifts rather than just buying more "crap" for people to have to find a place for in their home. This is a tradition I hope to carry on for years to come. We also took the motor home up to Hastings Ranch to look at the Christmas lights. That was another highlight of the trip for me! I felt a bit overwhelmed with happiness at one point as we chugged up the streets singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs looking at all of the gorgeous light displays. There are some moments you just don't forget in life, and that was one of them. That entire day was one big unforgettable moment. The only bummer was having to take Bart to the airport late that night for his flight. It definitely harshed my buzz a bit. ;) But I got to spend the next 3 days with the family as Kristy and the kids stayed up at Mom and Dad's. We had a mellow 3 days just watching movies, going to the park, playing outside and generally just enjoying being with each other. I had a very hard time leaving, but I was very happy to get home to Bart!
We settled back into post-holiday life for a couple days before New Years Eve rolled in. We decided to stick with our tradition of a quiet New Years with just the two of us. We started off by making home made pizza - a tradition started 3 years ago - and of course Bart made 2 unbelievable pizzas and mine was a few ticks shy of a culinary masterpiece. We decided to stop by a friend's house for their annual NYE party. They have a big bon fire and pretty much all of my theatre friends were there. I always enjoy that crowd so I'm glad we stopped by for a bit. Then we came back and took the boat out on the lake just like we did last year. There is just something so magical about being alone out in the middle of our lake with complete silence and a view of the stars up above. We sipped on champagne, talked about the year that passed and the next year to come. We counted down the final seconds of 2013 together and shared a midnight kiss amongst the sounds of fireworks and cheering in the surrounding neighborhoods. One of the things I love about NYE is listening to everyone celebrate the same thing at the same time. There's something very unifying and peaceful about that moment. And of course it only got better when one of the houses on the lake began their fireworks show. It was like our own personal show! A perfect way to end the night.
New Years day we just watched the parade from the couch, relaxed, and tried to soak in that last bit of holiday before real life set back in. And here we are. Back to the grind! But what a wonderful holiday season it was. One that will stick with me forever. Because of all of these awesome memories, there are more photos in this blog than any Kimgowski blog post EVER! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the abundance of photos! :)
This particular holiday season was nothing short of amazing. The only bummer was not getting to have Bart with us on Thanksgiving. But alas, he had swooping to do! We celebrated our 4 year anniversary on November 14, and on November 20 he left for a 3 week trip to Dubai. This would definitely be the longest time we'd ever spent apart, and I for one was not looking forward to it. Especially because I would've loved to join Bart in Dubai! But there was work to be done here. And I really didn't want to miss out on Thanksgiving. He had a wonderful time there though....at least in the beginning. He spent the first week training at the dropzone out in the desert, while staying with his Polish teammates. That week we got to Facetime quite a bit as his friend's internet connection was really good. Every time we spoke I felt as though I was interrupting the fun! They were jumping, partying, and having a blast. Then he moved to the hotel at the Palm dropzone and that's where things seemed to go downhill a bit. He was still having fun - I mean, how could you not? Skydivers are treated like royalty in Dubai as the Prince is himself a skydiver. They are put up in a very fancy hotel with fancy meals at a fancy dropzone with all kinds of multi million dollar fanciness all around. But I could tell Bart was getting homesick at that point. And amazingly, with the billions upon billions of dollars Dubai has, their internet is terrible and we weren't able to talk for sometimes days at a time. That got a little rough. But he was skydiving over the palm, and getting to be a part of the multi million dollar opening ceremonies and all the festivities during the course of the competition. Swoop comps sure are different over there!
While Bart was in Dubai, I headed out to California for Thanksgiving. I was really in need of some relaxation and time with the family, and I got just that! We had just about everyone present at Thanksgiving. The Piepgrass clan, Bart, and Brian were the missing links but I rested easy knowing they'd be there for Christmas! We had a wonderful day doing what anyone does on Thanksgiving. Eating, drinking, and plenty of conversation. I treasure these times so much!
Shortly after Thanksgiving we celebrated Erica's dirty 30! We surprised her with a dinner at Carmine's before accompanying her to her favorite dive bar. That was definitely an experience. Erica is a unique one - I'll say that much. :) But I was so glad to get to be in town for her celebration! The highlight for me was getting to surprise Erica with the Christmas CD I made her. I really didn't think I was going to be able to pull it off. And let's just say it was a less than simple process. But thanks to Bart's constant encouragement and putting up with my craziness, I managed to not only make the CD but thoroughly surprise her with it! I'll never forget the look on her face when she realized it wasn't Karen Carpenter on the player. :) Love you Erica!
After returning from California, I had another lonely week ahead before Bart returned from Dubai. But to my surprise, he came home 3 days early! I was SO happy when I got that text. He had finished the comp and didn't want to wait around and was able to change his flight for a pretty reasonable price. It was a very sweet moment when we finally reunited. I think we just hugged on the couch for a solid 8 hours. It was nice to have some time together getting things done at work, putting up Christmas decorations, and relaxing before our next trip to the airport.
We left on December 20 for California and prepared for a proper vacation! We travel a lot these days. Sometimes it's restful, but often there is still so much work to be done in one way or another. We really wanted Christmas to feel as much like a vacation as possible. It helps when most of the world is in the same mode. Customers seem more understanding, and generally it's just a bit easier to tune out for a few days. I think one of the highlights for both of us was deciding to hike Mount Wilson on Christmas Eve. We only went up about a mile and a half to the first stopping point, First Water. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day. 80 degrees and crystal clear. The views even from the lower parts of the hike were breathtaking, and only got better the higher up we went. It was a semi-difficult hike in that it's fairly steep, but the trails are nice and smooth. When we reached First Water we spent about 15 minutes just sitting by the little stream, covered by beautiful trees, listening to nature. It was such a peaceful experience and a great way to kick off Christmas.
Christmas Day was everything I hoped it would be. Just about everyone was there (we sure missed having Courtney and Ken!), there were kids running around all over the place, Christmas cheer filled the air and there was of course plenty of food and libations to heighten the mood even more. Our idea to have less gift giving chaos somewhat backfired, although it was a bit more mellow than last year. I enjoyed giving "gifts of experience" this year. Mom and Dad got a trip to Santa Barbara, The Roblee's are going to Disneyland, Erica and Brian are going to the Arroyo Chophouse, and AJ is getting a nice massage! I had a lot of fun preparing these gifts rather than just buying more "crap" for people to have to find a place for in their home. This is a tradition I hope to carry on for years to come. We also took the motor home up to Hastings Ranch to look at the Christmas lights. That was another highlight of the trip for me! I felt a bit overwhelmed with happiness at one point as we chugged up the streets singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs looking at all of the gorgeous light displays. There are some moments you just don't forget in life, and that was one of them. That entire day was one big unforgettable moment. The only bummer was having to take Bart to the airport late that night for his flight. It definitely harshed my buzz a bit. ;) But I got to spend the next 3 days with the family as Kristy and the kids stayed up at Mom and Dad's. We had a mellow 3 days just watching movies, going to the park, playing outside and generally just enjoying being with each other. I had a very hard time leaving, but I was very happy to get home to Bart!
We settled back into post-holiday life for a couple days before New Years Eve rolled in. We decided to stick with our tradition of a quiet New Years with just the two of us. We started off by making home made pizza - a tradition started 3 years ago - and of course Bart made 2 unbelievable pizzas and mine was a few ticks shy of a culinary masterpiece. We decided to stop by a friend's house for their annual NYE party. They have a big bon fire and pretty much all of my theatre friends were there. I always enjoy that crowd so I'm glad we stopped by for a bit. Then we came back and took the boat out on the lake just like we did last year. There is just something so magical about being alone out in the middle of our lake with complete silence and a view of the stars up above. We sipped on champagne, talked about the year that passed and the next year to come. We counted down the final seconds of 2013 together and shared a midnight kiss amongst the sounds of fireworks and cheering in the surrounding neighborhoods. One of the things I love about NYE is listening to everyone celebrate the same thing at the same time. There's something very unifying and peaceful about that moment. And of course it only got better when one of the houses on the lake began their fireworks show. It was like our own personal show! A perfect way to end the night.
New Years day we just watched the parade from the couch, relaxed, and tried to soak in that last bit of holiday before real life set back in. And here we are. Back to the grind! But what a wonderful holiday season it was. One that will stick with me forever. Because of all of these awesome memories, there are more photos in this blog than any Kimgowski blog post EVER! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the abundance of photos! :)
Hotel View
Dropzone restaurant. A little different than the Bombshelter in Perris!
A rough view to endure under canopy. ;)
Dropzone bathroom.
When I went to check on my dough I had a nice surprise waiting for me courtesy of Bart.
The engineer's pizza.
............and Kimmy's pizza. It was actually inedible due to its thickness.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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