We have Arrived!

Only took 3 days, but we (and our bags!) arrived in Capetown on Christmas Day.

The highlights of the trip...we arrived at Seatac at 3:45am on the 23rd for our 6am flight. Barely got to the gate on time due to chaos at the airport. We got on the plane and 2 hours later got off the plane still in Seatac. We spent a total of 14 hours at Seatac and then finally got on a plane to SFO where we sprinted as fast as possible and got our flight to London. We had a total of 18 minutes from the moment we got off one flight until the next flight departed (and wouldn't you know that flight was on time!). We made it!

In London, we got to have a Christmas Eve snack with Jo, Penny, Tony, and Lewis. Which made up for all of the delays.

But that is all behind us and we are here now...We arrived to the most lovely Guesthouse in the wine country an hour outside of Capetown. Truly a bit of paradise.

"Christmas Lunch" which is the tradition in England as well as here was spent at a quaint restaurant located in a wine cellar.

Photos to follow.

Our Honeymoon

Technically our honeymoon has begun! We have made it as far as the Sea-Tac Holiday Inn to find out our flight was canceled. We were fortunate to have a hotel room to set up Operation Center for "Operation Brrr: Find a New Flight & escape the cold".

After 2 hours on the phone last night and then 2 hours this morning at 5am, we are currently scheduled to fly out tomorrow at 6am to San Fran for an 8 hour layover, then London for a 6 hour layover and then to Capetown. This will get us in 2 days late but at this point feel very lucky to not be further delayed. it took a plea of "please help us, this is our honeymoon" to get us a flight tomorrow vs 6 days from now, no joke.

Delayed 6 days? This is not going according to plan.

We are home now and measuring our latest snow fall...9 inches!

Wow - Looks beautiful (And our snow covered Holly Tree) ...if only it didn't shut the airport down.

And a quick shout-out to Charlie and the Bishops for the rides to and fro the airport and David and Gena for the middle of the night "please scan and email a copy of marriage license" obstacle. - very much appreciated!

Our newly shoveled , clean driveway. Nothing less than a rather chilly work of art (we're very proud anyway, at least the car won't go sideways down the drive again).

Santa Came!

Santa made an early visit to our house, for our own version of a white Christmas...and boy did we make out! Thank you to everyone for all of the thoughtful gifts...we are very, very fortunate!

Fred, our very own Friendly Elf has been at our house for a couple weeks. Fred flies to Santa each night and reports back on whether Oli has been good or bad...and when he returns each morning, he lands in a different spot. Believe it or not, Oli was more interested in finding Fred than seeing what Santa left (however we suspect only to see if the bribes he'd been leaving had done the trick) . http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home

Thank You Great Grandma for the hand knit sweater...he loved how soft it is!

Auntie Penny, the magician costume was a BIG hit!

He is the one most impressed with his own magic!

"Thanks Santa for my very own stereo, my very own!" swiftly followed by "hey, guess what, i have my very own volume button!!"


Auntie Karen, you were thoughtful to include all of the ingredients to be able to make smores with the smore maker contraption you gave Oli. But a washcloth might have been nice too - now who want's a kiss?

Snow Day (again)!!!

Day 7 of our Arctic blitz, however today we woke up to a true winter wonderland. They said the snow was coming and did it ever...and hasn't stopped all day.

The park behind the house. That is our house covered in snow and Oli about to go down the hill on his sled. Now he has the taste of fresh tracks, i suspect we'll be up at 6am tomorrow to cut some more.



Oli and his new friend the snow-reindeer-alien-man. Built this morning, however remodelled into a hard core sledding ramp by 4pm.

One of the few "daddy approved" postures. The head first, the arms out front, the kneeling, the standing and sideways were all attempted. Stone cold nerves of steel required.

Angel in the snow... Who are you trying to kid?

And that's just mean! (the old, 'come here i've got something to show you' trick - works every time!!)

Snow Day!!!

As the weatherman predicted, we woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Sadly it was too icy to run, (or at a minimum shuffle rather cautiously) around the Kirkland 12k's of Christmas race, however we did take the opportunity to hang out with Maro, Charlie & of course Mr Fluffy.

Oli using an artificial height advantage to give Maro a dusting. The snow wasn't wet enough for snow balls, but that didn't stop us from having fun!

Almost learned the hard way that you don't lick things when it is cold outside (or when a thousand kids have gone before you - yuck!)

Gossett Holiday Party

For the second year in a row, the Gossett's threw a super fun Holiday Party. They have earned the tradition of hosting it every year (wait, dont run - only if you want to!!).


Natalie, hostess with the mostess, explaining the rules of the game. The gist is that 2 people will be dressed up as Santa Claus with a given set of supplies. The judge will be our very own Oliver Alston, who was completely impartial and unwilling to accept bribes in any way i might add...



The girls' team dressed up Steve...he did make the best Santa Claus, in my humble opinion. Check out Santa's hot groupies - Santa has never been so lucky!



The boys' team dressed up Brett...a very strategic move since Oli's favorite person in the whole wide world (regardless of what he is wearing, I might add) is Daddy. But you must admit, the girls did make the better costume. (** Note from the editor - no evidence of judge tampering or bribery has been substantiated, however the new Basketball hoop & Transformer have been huge hits!)


Another highlight was the falling of snow outside. Oli ate as much snow as he did dinner.


Last but not least, the Gossett Man Room was a-buzzin' with "Lips", a new Xbox game that involves a singing competition. Oli and his passion for music and competition loved this game. Nate - keep practicing your chords, you've got some comptition coming your way & he's growing fast!

Theo Chocolate Factory

St John and I visited the Theo Chocolate Factory for a tour this afternoon. It is a very small chocolate factory, one of only 13 in the country. However, this one is unique...it is the only American chocolate factory that is Fair Trade and Organic.

Theo's tagline is, "..because chocolate grows on trees."

The tour was interesting and tasty...lots of samples. My favorite was the 75% cacoa Ivory Coast chocolate and St John's favorite was the Chai Chocolate.

This is a picture of their roaster...is from 1930, sent over from Europe (all the american equipment is too big, not a surprise)

Bowling and Snowflake Lane Show

Today we took off early from work so that at 5pm sharp we were at Lucky Strike Bowling to get in a fierce game and then off to dinner. From there, we saw the Snowflake Lane Show in between Lincoln Square and Bell Square. Three evenings in one...that is how we roll!

Notice the expert form...he did warn us that he is a "member" of a bowling alley at home. Uncle Brett still beat him by 1 point (and may I add, St John and I tied :))

Nice form!

"Shall I use the 11 lb or 14 lb??"


Snowflake Lane Holiday Show - What a treat! Definitely gets you into the holiday spirit, I am still humming Christmas Carols.

After the show, Oli said, "I didn't really feel like dancing with the snowman but he really wanted to dance.".

Benihana's Restaurant

Last night we enjoyed a great dinner and entertainment at Benihana's. This restaurant features teppanyaki style Japanese cooking - and it is right infront of you!

Our chef, named Tom Cruise :). He had a great sense of humor that we all enjoyed. Here he is slicing the prawns so quickly that it is hard to believe your eyes.

St John enjoying his meal and yet another "first time" experience. On the way home he said that what he will remember most about his trip here is all of the new things he tried and experienced. Today we are taking him to a raw Sushi lunch.

Uncle Brett practicing to be a hand model.

Full and happy...

Pure Luxury

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be rich enough to have a chef. You come home from work and all you need to do is sit down to a fantastic meal? Well, we experienced that tonight if you are wonderfing, it was pure luxury.

St John made a wondeful Indonesian Skewered Chicken dish with a peanut dipping sauce. Yummy.

For dessert we enjoyed the lovely Australian dessert Pavlova. The dessert is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy inside...we have just dished up seconds all around.

For you fun fact gatherer's out there....The dessert is believed to have been created to honour the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand. The exact location of its first creation and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two countries for many years, however more serious research into the matter indicates New Zealand as source of today's pavlova. St John says it is Aussie.

St John Weekend

Boy oh Boy, like us Alston's do...we crammed in LOTS in this weekend in order to show St John a great time.


Mt Rainier on Saturday...stunning day up there for December.

The "Fish Monger" at Pike Place Market, at least that is what St John calls it. I am learning new Aussie words and St John is unfortunatley learning our American English.

If I knew Photoshop, I would have added, "Hello, I'm an Australian" The original Starbucks....St John will be sufficiently hooked on Caramel Frappacino's by the time he leaves and better yet, be able to order one like a true American.

Tonight we saw the Thunderbirds Ice Hockey Game, last night was UW Husky Basketball.

And while I sit here to blog about our weekend, St John is cooking up our goodies from Pike Place Market....fresh Alaskan Salmon, tomato basil pasta and "spuds". He is an excellent chef and welcome back to Seattle anytime!

Shoe Dog with St John

We are thoroughly enjoying St John's visit (Brett's Godson here from Australia for 2 weeks). He is very much into his sports so as a Xmas gift, we took him to Road Runner Sports for the "Shoe Dog" treatment. This is where they fully analyze your feet and gait to get help you choose the perfect shoe for you.

Including the dog analogy instructions for all of you dog lovers out there.

St John's foot strike...during the "Paw Reading" phase of the analysis.

Trot and Analyze..we found out that he has a pretty normal gait, a little supination (one of many terms St John learned that day)
The chosen shoe. Mind you, he hasn't worn it again because he wants to keep them pristine. We are so glad that he enjoyed the experience and will enjoy having the "perfect" shoe.

The evening continued on with a tour of Seattle including HighLand Drive Park and trying to find a restaurant that wasn't booked. We wound up at our favorite italian Cafe Lago.