I feel qualified to welcome you to each and every new day, because I am in the future. Or at least, I'm 14 hours ahead, which always leads to lots of extra words when trying to make a skype date - 'my 10pm/your 8am,' etc. Time is a tricky little thing. We've been experiencing that firsthand, as both Jacob and I battled jetlag for a good week after arriving back in Singapore. But the jetlag was well worth it, because we got to spend the holidays at our homes! Which is not where we were expected to be.
Turns out, we are also tricky things.
In October, my dad started the scheme, proposing that we magically appear on my mom's doorstep a few days before Christmas. Though we contemplated whether it was 'too soon' to visit home again, we ended up realizing that it really is never 'too soon' to visit loved ones, especially if it also means getting to take part in holiday traditions and, best of all, if you get to be sneaky doing it!
Unfortunately, it is not possible to just 'magically' appear. It takes a lot of hours and money. We logged the hours ourselves, and for the second part - let's just say this was probably the biggest Christmas present we've ever received (or ever will receive!!). And let's also say THANK YOU, Mom & Dad! We booked tickets in October, then spent the next 2 months making secret plans, trying to keep from spilling the beans, and making fake plans to feed to our unsuspecting families! We enlisted the help of Erich, our brother in law, and Jacob's Aunt Kim, who kept us appraised of the situation in MN, while my Dad prepared for our arrival in Barrington. And yeah, there were code names involved.
As we entered December, we realized that we would need a fake vacation plan, as our families might get suspicious if we (who are so excited to travel) didn't make any plans for the holidays. So our fake trip to Laos was born - complete with itinerary and tour company. In fact, I did so much research that I see a trip to Laos in our future!
On December 22 we headed to the airport and what followed was 34 hours of travel haze. Four hours to Hong Kong, then a 12 hour layover in the (cold!) airport where they continuously played the same hour of bad christmas carols, then the 14+ hour beast of a plane ride to Chicago. Actually, we flew Cathay Pacific airlines and were so impressed - great movie selection, delicious food, ice cream and free beer/wine!* (I not-so-secretly love these long flights - alternating, guilt-free movie and nap binges!) We landed around noon on December 23rd and were met by Agent Boris bearing fleeces and santa hats. On the car ride to Barrington we festooned ourselves in garlands, bows, and huge gift tags. Upon arrival, we jumped out along the driveway and waited while my Dad went in to where my family (Handleys included) was gathered to receive the mystery gift. My dad gave my mom a package that, when opened, revealed the stockings she had made Jacob and I - that she knew we'd taken to Singapore with us. This is what happened next...
It's a bit fuzzy (I'll work on it) so here are some stills:
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| 'What? No...' |
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| Really?! |
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| !! |
Meanwhile, the Dalagers still did not know we were in the country. On Christmas day we skyped their cell phone and pretended to be calling them from Laos. We told them that the trip was nice, a bit rainy and mosquito-y but beautiful as well, but that we missed them. We even put on ambient jungle sounds in the background to make the illusion complete. Much credit to Aunt Kim, who was with Holly & Karl during this phone call and managed to keep a straight face (or at least escape to the kitchen before laughing).
On the 27th, we headed up to Hudson, WI, where Erich had arranged for the Dalagers to come to the Lippert's house for dinner. Arriving before them, Erich helped us hide behind the garage, then ushered Anna, Holly and Karl around the back to give Anna the 'surprise' he'd been planning. And, well, this is what followed:
We spent the next five days between Minneapolis and Austin, eating lots of food, playing games, cross country skiing, hanging out with the Dalager's two Chinese foreign exchange students and seeing friends and family! We even had Fon-deux (Fondue x2) - a Dalager Christmas eve tradition that was worth repeating! On New Years Day we had an afternoon reunion with the Swaningsons (Holly's sisters), followed by dinner with a Dalager reunion at the Buucks, including Steve & Sherry and Maia who drove down from Duluth! It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family.
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| Pablo is NOT amused! |
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| Fon-deux! |
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| Cross country skiing - the exact opposite of Singapore! |
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| Family photo! |
We returned to Barrington for a few more days, celebrating my brother's birthday, seeing my grandparents and the Hanraths, and having an awesome game night at the Handley's. On January 5th, we packed up our suitcases (including an extra one in which we packed our good kitchen knives - we've missed them!), soaked up the last cold and snow we'll see for awhile, and headed to the airport. Travel haze - and re-living the great moments of the last two weeks - and sleeping to prepare for jumping back into work in the new year.
All around, one of my very favorite Christmas/New Years ever!
Blessing to you in 2013!
*Not a paid endorsement for Cathay Pacific Airlines. But if anyone at Cathay reads this and wants to bump us up to first class next time, I wouldn't say no!!
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