Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I'll blame it on pregnancy...

Admittedly, it was with heavy heart that I recognized the photos on my camera were in no way a representation of our Christmas vacation. As in...there are absolutely no photographs of the 5 family Christmas parties we attended, or the wonderful and beautiful people there...or that I missed opportunities to document the massive and wonderful array of food, the magic of Christmas morning, the traditional shotgun shoot off at the beginning of the new year, and all the shopping and excursions we reveled in.
***
But as I sat staring at the anemic photo file "Dec '08", a small epiphany occurred in which I realized that my 6 little pictures were indeed a very accurate portrayal of at least one aspect of the holiday...me. A little scattered, a little distracted, but able to recognize the inherent beauty of small and simple moments that make my life meaningful.

bubbles in the BIG tub
rolling hills and gorgeous sunsets, space to breathe...Missouri in my heart
We're a competitive bunch, and I like it that way.
The ability to be yourself...sweats and 25" shoes at the bowling alley.
Crazy weather. When we arrived the thermometer said 0 degrees. We had ice, snow, a warm up with thunderstorms and yes...even a tornado...then back to more cold/ice/snow all within the first 6 days I was home. It makes me happy.
And finally, Quick Trip. Deserving of an entire post of it's own. Oh how I miss your sparkling and spacious bathrooms, the plethora of pumps so that you never wait, your amazing beverage assortment, the best gas station hot chocolate in the country, friendly and QUICK service. I believe I can say with a fair amount of confidence there is not another station brand to match your superiority.

19 comments:

Isaura said...

i'm glad you had a fun christmas!! i feel the same way you do about pictures, like I hardly got any. i was sad that i didn't even get a picture with all my sisters, as the four of us are RARELY all together at one time. Oh well...that means we were having too much fun! :)

Miss Sarah in Georgia said...

Cute pictures! Sounds like Missouri was wonderful. I agree that Quick Trip is amazing.

On another note ... I just noticed you have The Weepies in your playlist. My co-worker introduced them a year or so ago and I love them, too!

Kellie said...

My camera has been at the repair shop for the last three weeks(!?) but I know that my pictures would be few at best anyway. I've actually been thinking about you a lot lately and wondering how you were doing. I'm glad you had a fun Christmas and a great trip!

Nicole said...

i missed you! i loved how you explained your lack of pictures, and sometimes that happens. sometimes it's more fun to enjoy and be in the moment then to always be behind the camera. happy new year!

love the bath picture though :)

Lora said...

Oh Tara with photos like yours you need no nore! I do however know how you feel it was Elleah's first christmas and I was terrible! I have nothing to blame it on..at least I better not! I loved the post..and your amazing work

Zach 'n' Jack said...

i'm in love with that pic of Zach in the tub!!! How adorable!! I hardly took any pictures either, and I don't have any good reason to blame it on. My best one is that I was enjoying it myself, instead of enjoying it behind a camera.... can we get some of those gas stations out west??? Where is a pic of your cute belly??

The Rylanders said...

I think your trip sounded amazing! How fun to be with family. Your pictures are always wonderful no matter what they're of! Miss you guys!

Lisa said...

I loved this post. Glad you had a great trip home and glad you made it the drive back safely! It was great to see you and have our kiddos play.

Bailey Family said...

Well done, well said, well documented.
I am glad that I was able to spend some time with you while you were here.
Hope to see you soon.

Christy said...

looks like lots of fun! although we are very glad you guys are back and can't wait for the park tomorrow! :)

Missy said...

I've never even been to Kansas City Tara and yet somehow I am missing the Quick Trip (never even knew what it was before reading this) and everything about being at YOUR home.

Your blog always makes me happy.

(I came away with even less Christmas photos than that - chalk it up to having a really, really great time too - no time to take photos).

shakenbake said...

SO TRUE ABOUT QUIK TRIP! Oh if they would only add styrofoam cups instead of the plastic ones that melt your ice, I might be able to call it a little bit of heaven... And the fountain drinks are unmatched!

shakenbake said...

PS. I only got 1 picture of Jayden at Christmas and about 50 of Brady...but I’m not pregnant!

dixonfamily said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bubble bath picture!! So fun!! Your pictures are always wonderful. I'm glad that you got to go home for Christmas. We had a tornado too while we were in Missouri. I hope you are feeling well.

Will & Amy said...

I absolutely love reading your posts, they are so very intertaining! Glad you had a nice trip home for Christmas!! The weather was rather crazy over the break...

Holbrook's said...

I am so with you on the QT...there really is nothing quite like it!!

kat and jason said...

oh i loved kc too. probably not as much as you since you are from there. i also love quicktrip--and i know jason misses all the free drinks he could get there (as a cop). i love the bubble bath pic and the special pictures. you do a good job of remembering the important things. also--hurray!!!! for a boy!!! ash tells me sometimes "i want a baby bwother" hmmmm.....we've tried it 2x's already--not sure it's going to happen this time either...:) hehe.

Whit said...

I absolutely love this post. So abstract and so perfect for Kansas City...ok so I guess there's only one picture besides family (Quik trip...but that's a very important part of KC! haha) I hope you had fun! Looks like it!

Isaura said...

Tara!
I thought of you yesterday because there's this place in Ft Worth I love to go to to get Diet Dr Pepper with a shot of cherry flavoring. It has fountain drinks galore and I am not one for gas station hotdogs, but if needed, I could commit to one at this place.
It's so sparkly and bright and all I knew was that it was called "QT" and there are several in Ft Worth. THEN I realized "QT" meant Quick Trip!! Hello.
My point being I can totally relate to your love of the place. It truly is gas station heaven :)