"So This Is The New Year" or "I Need To Get Back To Tempe"

Wow, what a trip. I've really been around since I last updated everyone. So here's the big honkin' post I know you've all been waiting for. The huge Christmas road trip. First things first, I guess. We drove from Provo to Page, AZ on the 16th of December. It took about 8 hours because of a snowstorm, but luckily I'm a whiz behind the wheel and I got us to the hotel safe and sound.
I wish I'd snapped a couple shots of the rim of the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas, all snow-covered cuz it was amazing.

The next day we made our way down to the Valley. I met LOTS of people, which I must say, I dealt with much better than before. In my younger days, I thought my parents and grandparents were the only people who existed, and learning otherwise... well it kinda freaked me out. But enough talk. Let's get to the pictures.

Here I am, just passing the time with a balloon on Grandma J's living room couch:




I didn't really understand all the festivities and what they were about, until on Christmas morning, I opened up my present...



I guess you could say I was pretty excited. I even got a little inappropriate with the giraffe's ear at one point:




Yeah, I got a little carried away. But that's what little kids are supposed to do. What can I say? I like my toys in a very personal way.


We also went to Grandpa Robinson's house, way out in Thatcher:


It was a long drive, but I did get to meet some horses:




...and mess around with my cousins:



It was my first time to see that part of the Grand Canyon state, and I'm already a fan. Maybe one day we'll go back to Tempe.
From Arizona we went to Vista for New Year's Eve. Mom and dad were going to go to Escondido to see some fireworks, which sounded like a good idea to me. But then it turns out that they just drove through Albertaco's and watched 16 Blocks at grandma's house. I worry that this might mean I have lame parents. Then again, who am I to talk, since I just slept through it all? Besides, as this post's title suggests, I have no resolutions.

For me, New Year's Day was the really big event. I finally got to go to the BEACH. Wa-hoo!



We went to Carlsbad beach for a little bit, but it was actually cold, if you can believe that. There was a really nasty cold wind right on the water so we only stayed for a little bit, but I was still very pleased with what I saw:





It was high times in California, as always. And the beach is so cool I can barely stand it. I got to put my feet in the sand too, but I don't quite know how I feel about it getting all stuck on there, and then it gets tracked into the car, and so on. Then once again we hit the road. Vista to Mesquite, Nevada to stay for the night, then Mesquite to Provo.

On the way we stopped at a place I've been to once before. Not being able to eat solid food is already annoying, but it was close to unbearable when I once again beheld the glorious fast-food heaven of... In-N-Out Burger:




Speaking of food, I turned five months old the day after we got back to Utah, which is the time that the doc said I could start having rice cereal. Let's hear it for that stuff, although calling it "solid" food is a bit misleading: