Gagabber: Holidays in America

After 18 months of living in Jakarta, we were long overdue for a visit back to beautiful America. Nervous about the weather, we dug out our hoodies, slippers, and boots and packed our jumbo suitcases. We booked the cheapest tickets we could find which included long layovers in Seoul, Korea. Instead of hanging around the airport we bundled up and headed to Seoul for some sightseeing.

Temple in Seoul

Inside the temple, full of worshippers

Palace in Seoul

Palace guards, yes we were freezing!

After 38 hours of travel, we arrived in Carson City full of Christmas excitement. We spent a wonderful week catching up with family, meeting our nephew Madden, trying to keep up with Morgan's energy, enjoying Dad's cooking, and reveling in how well stocked all the grocery stores were. Jeff even made this video!

Take 2 on the slide

Cookie decorating - a family tradition

Our handsome nephew Madden in his Christmas outfit

So fantastic to have grandma there for the holidays

After a week in Carson City, we headed up to Portland to catch up with our besties. On our first night, we decided to head out to dinner. We had no clue, but we were in for a huge shock when all of our closest friends were there waiting to surprise us!

Cheers!

While we were in PDX, we went a little crazy at New Season's, Powell's, Target, Trader Joes, and the Woodburn Outlets. Jeff ran up the credit card with beer purchases and I considered hiding my Sephora receipt to conceal the evidence. Our suitcases were bursting by the end of the week and we barely stayed below the 50 lb weight limit!

Jeff and I finally broke our streak of falling asleep before midnight on New Years Eve. Tav and Jenny hosted a dinner and dance party that included oysters, fondue, cured meats, along with plenty of champagne, wine, beer, and whiskey. The night ended with a moving group performance of "Wrecking Ball" at 4AM. Luckily it was caught on camera since I was fast asleep during the live show.